This is the time of year when we’re approaching the New Year tradition of a little self-evaluation and goal setting. Some years I dabble a little in this, some years not, but always on the level of weight control or something about myself I would like to change. But I can’t recall ever doing this in the area of cameras or photography. You?
Anyway, there’s this Australian wedding and portrait professional by the name of Mike Biblino who doubles (apparently) as a free photo advice giver. I came across a recent web article of his entitled “10 Signs Your Photography Is Improving.” Here’s his list plus a link for the complete article:
- It has become second nature to pre-visualize all your photos
- You no longer say I will fix it later in photoshop or lightroom
- You take less photos and are happy with them
- You no longer think a new camera or lens will make you a better photographer
- You bring less equipment when you’re out photographing
- You spend less time editing your photos
- When you look back at old photos, you notice improvement and consistency
- You have become more comfortable with your camera
- You understand your subjects better
- You’re comfortable printing your photos
https://www.biblino.com/signs-your-photography-is-improving/
I’m going to spend more time checking myself against all of these before I get through. Meanwhile, there are some things that are NOT included that I think probably ought to be in such a list, at least as far as my own photography is concerned. These come to mind:
- You schedule regular times for taking pictures…all the time
- Your photos consistently lack evidence of camera shake
- You have nailed all the improvements in your post-processing software
As soon as I get this little document to bed, I intend to give some thought to the progress or lack thereof my personal photographic skills have made. And I just may take the important step of setting some goals for myself. I hope you will consider joining me.
P.S. The photograph accompanying this blog is of Radnor Lake and was made 32 years ago. It was the scan of a slide and the scanning color was weird and unusable. At least my recognition of the availability of post-processing software improvement and my personal skill in using is has gotten better.