Taking photos and instantly sharing memories are vital parts of our lives especially in this digital era. Remember when we only take pictures when we go on a family vacation, or it was someone else's birthday party? Having a camera feature on most smartphones nowadays gives us so much flexibility in capturing anything from a particular moment or even documenting our day-to-day lives. It's difficult to imagine living without a camera phone these days.

In the summer of 2009, I decided that I should get my first DSLR a few days before my trip to Dubai, but I didn't know what to get. Good thing I knew someone who is a photographer who can recommend something for a beginner like me. I spoke to him on the phone hoping for a quick chit-chat, but I was wrong. He was kind enough to explain to me what I should be looking for and he talked about photography for almost half an hour. I want to get a brand name and model number of the DSLR. I don't want to talk about photography. Who wants to talk about photography? On a piece of paper, I wrote down Nikon D40 and went to the camera store in the mall. I still remember that feeling when I asked the sales person that I want to purchase a DSLR. After a few minutes of pretending like I know what I'm talking about, I left the store as a new DSLR owner.

I was very impressed with what my DSLR can do at that time. Of course, I shoot in auto mode for a long time. And oh my, I love using sepia when I'm editing my photos!

Here are some of few tips that you can few tips to improve your photos:

1. Read the manual.
I know you're super excited to start taking photos, share it on social media and start collection a gazillion likes but you have to learn what are all these weird buttons on the back, on top and in front of your camera.

2. Stop using the auto mode and switch to Manual mode.
I guaranteed that you would take horrible, overexposed, underexposed, blurry photos but that's okay. Go to the park and take photos of a squirrel. You will have a better idea how shutter speed and aperture works with different moving subjects.

3. Find other photographers to inspire you.
Instagram helped me a lot to find inspiration and motivation to go out there to shoot. Don't be discouraged if your photos are not as good with other talented photographers. Find local photographers and Instagram featured accounts. Here's a number of Instagram accounts that you can follow if you need street photography inspirations: Streets of Toronto, Toront_Insta, Weekly_Feature, and StreetMobs. If you're like me who is obsessed with black and white photography, check out: bnw_rose, bnw_fanatics, bnw_inst. You can even follow hashtag #blackandwhitephotography.

“Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst.”

― Henri Cartier-Bresson

4. Listen to podcasts while you're editing your photos.
Besides looking at photos on Instagram, I also listen to the podcast as my primary source of inspiration and to educate myself with other creatives out there. Chase Jarvis' podcast at The Chase Jarvis Live Show is one of the best in the business. He talks to some of the world's top creative entrepreneurs, celebrities, and artists who share their stories that will help you gain actionable insights to tap into your potential and achieve your creative goals. Youngman Brown's Your Creative Push podcast will not only give you a nudge but will push you to pursue your creative passion. And Ben Hartley's Six Figure Photography podcast will empower and challenge you to create an abundant photography business.

5. Keep shooting.
Best advice you can get if you want to improve your photography skills.

“Every artist was first an amateur.”

― Ralph Waldo Emerson

If you have a DSLR that you got for Christmas a couple of years ago and it's just collecting dust, you should take it with you next time you go for a walk. You don't need special occasions or reasons to take photos. It's never too late to be a better photographer. It is never too late to be what you might have been.

Published by: LOF Photography

Originally published on: September 12, 2018