Hello fellow photographers,

I'm curious and would love to explore some shifting points in your approach to photography and work.

We take those countless, often expensive workshops, promissing courses, just to learn this one missing piece that could improve our craft and help us stand out more in that already very competitive field or have a greater satisfaction from our work. We would study great works of art, of other photographers trying figure out what make it have such an impression on us. At times having completed our work and still having after-taste that you could do better.

So my question, I guess, is what single thing, realisation, technique, experience or piece of advice - has helped you guys improve your works on you creative journey as photographers, artists?

I'll go first and share that this year biggest change for me personally was -  a mindest of a perfectionist, paying extreem attention to all the details and coming to the set all prepared,  not leaving everything up to chance (i.e. in the past I would take hundreds of shots, to being left with only handful of good ones, what a waste!), only that has improved my works and was a mature step forward from being a dilettante to more of a professional.

Hope this little exploration here will give some insights for developing our talents, save us money or better - already limited time.

So, what was your recent 'evolution'?

Best,

Alexei

Alexei,

Thank you for starting this thread.  I hope it will generate an interesting discussion. 

I've been an enthusiastic photographer for a very long time - in fact, more than 50 years.  Without any formal training I learned slowly from magazines,  library books, talking with other photographers,  and now internet tutorials. 

One big step on this long path was about seven years ago when I joined 1X, and then later was invited to join the Senior Critics team.  Looking at hundreds of photos each day, examining them closely,  and thinking about how they are crafted - what makes them good photos - and what might have been done to make them even better - was - and still is - an education.  Writing about the photos posted in Critique and exchanging ideas with the photographers and the other Senior Critics has taught me even more.   When I think about composition and the editing techniques in my 'bag of tricks' I see that I learned much of it right here in 1X.   

I've heard that to be a good writer, one should read a lot and write a lot.  That's simple advice, but it rings true,  and I think it applies to the art and craft of Photography as well.   

That's my two cents worth. 

- Steven T.