Five Signs your Photography is improving

In this blog, I will introduce you to five signs that your photography is improving. The information is totally based on my own experience and the list might be expanded as I progress further on my journey. The five signs I talk about are meant to motivate you to push your photography further and acknowledge the progress you have made so far.

You spend less on gear

Let’s get this one out of the way first. Gear matters because you first need to invest in the right tools that enable you to take the photos you want. I am also a firm believer that your camera equipment needs to be fun and motivating for you to continue using it and progressing with it. However, many photographers eventually fall victim to the gear trap. They invest their time and money in gear-related purchases instead of bringing their photography further. Eventually, you realise that the best camera and the best lens can only serve you as well as the photographer’s skill allows it to be. Therefore, prioritise spending your time and money on learning composition, knowing your current gear by heart, improving your editing skills and simply going out and shooting regularly. 

You take fewer photos overall

Beginner photographers tend to photograph everything they see and simply based on trial and error. In my first year, I ended up with 1000 photos per day, 99% of them to be discarded later. I just photographed everything I saw hoping to take home one shot that miraculously worked. As you grow, you develop a clearer vision for compositions that work and develop preferences for shots you want to take. You shoot less because you take your time on compositions that have potential and spend less time on compositions that your experience tells you won’t work. As you grow, you get more mindful when you to press the shutter and when not to. 

You stop down your aperture

When you start out as a photographer, you will eventually discover the magic of prime lenses to completely blur out the background. A blurry background is often associated with professionalism. Therefore, new photographers often park their aperture at f/1.4 and throw the background into oblivion in all their photos. There is nothing wrong with this per se. But there are two drawbacks to shooting everything wide open. First, blurring out everything might remove valuable context from the scene. Second, shooting wide open might be to the detriment of your composition. You think less about leading lines, framing and foreground elements because everything in front and behind the plane of focus will be blurry anyway. As you grow as a photographer, you will get better at finding the right aperture and you tend to stop down your lenses more often. Stopping down your lens includes context into your shots and you become more mindful about your compositions instead of your only composition rule being to blur out all possible distractions. 

You take less equipment on trips

Starting as a photographer often means bringing all your gear on trips. Why? Because you never know what you might need. This typically includes your standard zoom lens, telephoto lens, ultra-wide optics, and a bright prime lens for low light. For some genres of photography, it might be essential to carry the whole set of collection lenses. However, most photographers eventually realise that they can only shoot with one camera and one lens at a time, leaving most of their equipment unused in the bag. Observing the habits of great photographers, many often take a minimalist approach, using just one camera with a single prime lens. As I developed my craft, I realised that carrying a full bag of gear was holding me back. A heavy bag not only hurt my back but also made me too tired to find great compositions, leading to laziness. Furthermore, deciding which of your six lenses to use for a specific shot consumes valuable mental energy that is better spent on composing the shot and making the most of the lens you have. Ultimately, I found that minimal setups encouraged more creativity in my compositions, leading to better results, while an excess of lenses often led to poor decisions.

You review your portfolio

A great sign that your photography is progressing happens while reviewing your portfolio. You check out photos you have taken months or even years ago and you realise a handful of things you would have approached differently today. By simply comparing what you create today with what you created when you started, you might realise how far you have made it. This realisation is not only exciting and fulfilling in the moment but it also motivates you to push your boundaries even further. That’s why I have kept all my photos on my Instagram feed from the very start. Once in a while, I scroll down to compare what I create today with what I created when I started. Seeing progress can be hard to observe from day to day. Photographers often feel miserable because they think they are not progressing quickly enough. But by occasionally glancing at your old work you will realise that all your efforts to learn photography will pay off eventually.

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Author: Pit Haupert

Instagram: @pitsphotoblog.com

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