If you love photography I hope you are using your camera as a creative tool and using its functions to create your art. A go-to for me is my exposure compensation dial. I use it almost every time I take a photo. If I had allowed my camera to make all the setting decisions when photographing the below anemone, sitting on my lightbox, we would have had a dark subject with little, if any detail visible. Even if I’d used spot metering I wouldn’t have achieved the result I was after. Instead I took control and metered for the light on the anemone. I wanted the anemone’s centre to be the star of the show and for the petals to become washed out - it was a creative decision. Before I pressed the shutter I visualised what I wanted to create and I thought through how to achieve this result.
If you want to consistently take good photos, using your camera on automatic and choosing the best shot of the bunch is not the way to learn and to make progress. Even before you press the shutter, think what you want to achieve, think how you want your subject to look - be it a flower, a mountain or a family portrait and use the camera to achieve the desired effect. Additionally, consider the angle, the lighting, any distractions behind etc.
Many years ago I took a photograph of two camels and their owner in the desert. I was out driving in Dubai and hadn’t expected to come across the scene. I pulled my car over and asked if I could take the photograph. I hastily took the shot, a little embarrassed at the guy having to stand there waiting for me in the heat. I loved the photo but at the time I didn’t know how/why it had turned out that way! Basically, with my then limited knowledge I had allowed my camera to make the decisions, the camera had read the light which was seriously bright Dubai sunshine reflecting off pale sand. As it happened, I liked the result (it has been manipulated a little since) but it was a fluke.
Thankfully since then, I have learnt a great deal - it takes time: reading books, watching YouTube videos and practicing with the camera again and again and again. But it all pays off and you start to become a master of your craft.
So take ownership of your art - get to know your camera. Practice regularly so that the camera becomes an extension of you and you take control of your creativity. With every mistake you make, you are one photograph closer to taking that great shot!
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