You have almost mastered your device, you have the technical know how to take a picture at the right exposure, you know about f-stops , aperture, shutter speed, ISO and exposure triangle. You are familiar with zooms, primes and various different lenses and how they behave. You take good pictures, some of your friends applaud you. But now what ?
How to be a constant learner in photography. I think the way is to read, watch, listen and have hands on everyday on various aspects of photography. Learn photography , it’s history, techniques one at a time. I am in my constant learning journey and want to keep abreast with all techniques and philosophy regarding photography.
Today, I watched a couple of videos on youtube about Steve McCurry, some of the biggest takeaways were :
For any aspiring photographer, Steve’s advice is to be prepared to work hard, just as in any other profession.
Get familiar with your photography gear, almost on a daily basis.
Learn history of photography, a lot can be learnt from this.
Learn composition techniques such as Rule of thirds and placing your main subject on the intersection etc but be audacious enough to break the rules.
Coffee shops have been my go to place to sit and do some learning and reading up on photography and also get some hands on. Pictured here is The Coffee Shop in downtown Walnut Creek, CA.