1. Make sure people aren’t smiling. Otherwise you end up with a snapshot.
2. Move in closer when you’re taking people shots.
3. Find the right environment – by which I mean the right environment for that person.
4. Then make sure people aren’t smiling again. This is the biggest error in portraits taken by amateurs.
5. For candid shots, just keep persevering. Your luck will come in the end.
6. You should never think that the camera is the most important thing. You need to simply find a camera that you enjoy using and stick to that. You should just use the camera as a tool.
7. You need to experiment and take risks. This is what we did in the early days of Dazed & Confused. Take risks. Look at good work being done by other people, but never copy.
8. You need to think about light all the time. Photography is about light, and it can come from any source – the sun, a candle, a computer.
9. Try to engage with the subject. You have to like people to do my job. You need to look outside of the lens, get the relationship going, and only then take the photograph.
10. You can’t rush nature photography and you really have to watch your subject for a long time in order to understand its behaviour.
11. You need to know when it’s the perfect time to take the shot. I try to use only natural light and avoid heavy digital enhancement.
2. Move in closer when you’re taking people shots.
3. Find the right environment – by which I mean the right environment for that person.
4. Then make sure people aren’t smiling again. This is the biggest error in portraits taken by amateurs.
5. For candid shots, just keep persevering. Your luck will come in the end.
6. You should never think that the camera is the most important thing. You need to simply find a camera that you enjoy using and stick to that. You should just use the camera as a tool.
7. You need to experiment and take risks. This is what we did in the early days of Dazed & Confused. Take risks. Look at good work being done by other people, but never copy.
8. You need to think about light all the time. Photography is about light, and it can come from any source – the sun, a candle, a computer.
9. Try to engage with the subject. You have to like people to do my job. You need to look outside of the lens, get the relationship going, and only then take the photograph.
10. You can’t rush nature photography and you really have to watch your subject for a long time in order to understand its behaviour.
11. You need to know when it’s the perfect time to take the shot. I try to use only natural light and avoid heavy digital enhancement.
12. Spend time studying the species and habitat you’re shooting. Try to visualise how you’re going to take the shot before you do so.
13. Never disturb the animal or its habitat to get the shot.
14. Be engaged with your subject, but at the same time be considerate – you are the guest.
15. Think about combining the composition of the shot with the context of where you’re taking it. The two shouldn’t be separated.
16. For my kind of work, I try to use natural light wherever possible. It’s more natural!
17. Ask permission to get in close. It’s much better than trying to shoot people farther away.
18. I only use Photoshop very sparingly as I believe I shouldn’t add or remove anything from the kind of portraits I take. I just use software for dodging and burning in black and white for example.
19. Pre-empt the action. Even the fastest SLRs will have a delay.
20. Never forget about composition. The background is crucial.
21. Make sure the subject is big enough in the frame and think about what the subject will do next.
22. When shooting sports, you must have the right lens on a camera at the right time – there’s no time to change lenses.
23. Learn how to shoot in RAW. You won’t get the most from your photography if you only shoot JPEGs.
24. I remember one of the assistants at Herb Ritts’ studio said to me, always shoot another roll, even if you think you have it.
25. Always make people feel like it’s their photo, not yours. There’s nothing worse than a pushy photographer.
26. If you can see something odd in camera, then adjust it at the time you’re taking the shot. In my view it’s better than relying on using Photoshop later.
27. Have a camera with you at all times. You never know when something is going to happen.
28. Wear suitable shoes. If you’re walking around for a long time, you need something comfortable.
29. Keep your elbows in. If you put your elbows out like a chicken when you lift the camera to your face, it makes people very aware of you.
30. Be patient and optimistic. Give things as much time as you can and never lose hope that a great picture is just around the corner.
31. Don’t forget to smile at people when you’re photographing them. It makes you less threatening.
32. Respect your subject and try to be sensitive to their wishes.
33. Know the law where you’re shooting, and how it will affect you taking photos.
34. Take note: it’s very hard to make a good living out of serious news photography. Be persistent and be prepared to be quite broke too!
35. Underwater photographers need to get comfortable with water before they try to photograph it intimately.
36. Learn about light – study great images and see how they were made.
37. Go to a museum and learn about pictures – who made them, and which ones you like and why.
38. Lay on the bottom of a pool and watch the light. Learn how to use strobes to manipulate light, too.
39. Try everything – we’re no longer constrained by 36 exposures.
40. Be prepared. I saw The Who and missed Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend hugging as my lens had slipped from Auto to Manual focus.
41. Don’t forget other settings too. Is your card formatted? Have you got the right image size? I once shot Oasis at Glastonbury in the smallest JPEG format!
42. Always check your position – it’s not directly under the singer. Try stage left or stage right. It’s the same when shooting in the studio. Stand on a chair, lie on the floor – don’t get anchored to the spot.
13. Never disturb the animal or its habitat to get the shot.
14. Be engaged with your subject, but at the same time be considerate – you are the guest.
15. Think about combining the composition of the shot with the context of where you’re taking it. The two shouldn’t be separated.
16. For my kind of work, I try to use natural light wherever possible. It’s more natural!
17. Ask permission to get in close. It’s much better than trying to shoot people farther away.
18. I only use Photoshop very sparingly as I believe I shouldn’t add or remove anything from the kind of portraits I take. I just use software for dodging and burning in black and white for example.
19. Pre-empt the action. Even the fastest SLRs will have a delay.
20. Never forget about composition. The background is crucial.
21. Make sure the subject is big enough in the frame and think about what the subject will do next.
22. When shooting sports, you must have the right lens on a camera at the right time – there’s no time to change lenses.
23. Learn how to shoot in RAW. You won’t get the most from your photography if you only shoot JPEGs.
24. I remember one of the assistants at Herb Ritts’ studio said to me, always shoot another roll, even if you think you have it.
25. Always make people feel like it’s their photo, not yours. There’s nothing worse than a pushy photographer.
26. If you can see something odd in camera, then adjust it at the time you’re taking the shot. In my view it’s better than relying on using Photoshop later.
27. Have a camera with you at all times. You never know when something is going to happen.
28. Wear suitable shoes. If you’re walking around for a long time, you need something comfortable.
29. Keep your elbows in. If you put your elbows out like a chicken when you lift the camera to your face, it makes people very aware of you.
30. Be patient and optimistic. Give things as much time as you can and never lose hope that a great picture is just around the corner.
31. Don’t forget to smile at people when you’re photographing them. It makes you less threatening.
32. Respect your subject and try to be sensitive to their wishes.
33. Know the law where you’re shooting, and how it will affect you taking photos.
34. Take note: it’s very hard to make a good living out of serious news photography. Be persistent and be prepared to be quite broke too!
35. Underwater photographers need to get comfortable with water before they try to photograph it intimately.
36. Learn about light – study great images and see how they were made.
37. Go to a museum and learn about pictures – who made them, and which ones you like and why.
38. Lay on the bottom of a pool and watch the light. Learn how to use strobes to manipulate light, too.
39. Try everything – we’re no longer constrained by 36 exposures.
40. Be prepared. I saw The Who and missed Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend hugging as my lens had slipped from Auto to Manual focus.
41. Don’t forget other settings too. Is your card formatted? Have you got the right image size? I once shot Oasis at Glastonbury in the smallest JPEG format!
42. Always check your position – it’s not directly under the singer. Try stage left or stage right. It’s the same when shooting in the studio. Stand on a chair, lie on the floor – don’t get anchored to the spot.
43. Help your subject by finding out a little about them and having some conversation starters. Or bring along a prop – they might grab it and make a great shot!
44. Be prepared and know your gear. Also, time permitting, don’t be afraid to try a new lighting set-up during the shoot.
45. Keep the set-up simple and start with one light. If that looks good, shoot it.
46. Don’t be afraid to go in tight with a wide-angle lens.
47. Try shooting with a tripod – it’s easier to talk to your subject when you’re not holding a camera.
48. Make time to develop your skills – try to get a job that still gives you time for your photography and doesn’t stress you out! With faith and self-belief you can achieve your goals.
49. While it helps to have the cash to travel to great locations, you must be dedicated and work hard.
50. Know the craft of photography like a professional.
51. Find your niche, whether it’s a specific location, specific species or certain style.
52. Know your subjects well. The best wildlife photographers are also the best naturalists.
53. Be business-like – marketing is the other half of the story. Or hire someone to do the hustling!
54. Know your kit – you don’t want to be sitting there trying to figure out how your camera works just as the drivers roar past.
55. Know your capabilities.
56. Choose subjects you’re passionate about. I decided I wanted to shoot motorsports when I was a teenager.
57. Don’t be afraid to experiment in order to stand out from the crowd. Your work has to stand out.
58. Try to look at each shoot from a lateral perspective.
59. Follow your passion. You’ll do best shooting what you love, and I see this with my students.
60. Learn from your mistakes. Apply what you have learned, go back to a place and get it right.
61. If an image still isn’t working, really think about why this is happening. Retaking the shot in different circumstances could work.
62. Never stop learning about the endless subtleties of light.
63. Don’t follow trends or copy other people’s work.
44. Be prepared and know your gear. Also, time permitting, don’t be afraid to try a new lighting set-up during the shoot.
45. Keep the set-up simple and start with one light. If that looks good, shoot it.
46. Don’t be afraid to go in tight with a wide-angle lens.
47. Try shooting with a tripod – it’s easier to talk to your subject when you’re not holding a camera.
48. Make time to develop your skills – try to get a job that still gives you time for your photography and doesn’t stress you out! With faith and self-belief you can achieve your goals.
49. While it helps to have the cash to travel to great locations, you must be dedicated and work hard.
50. Know the craft of photography like a professional.
51. Find your niche, whether it’s a specific location, specific species or certain style.
52. Know your subjects well. The best wildlife photographers are also the best naturalists.
53. Be business-like – marketing is the other half of the story. Or hire someone to do the hustling!
54. Know your kit – you don’t want to be sitting there trying to figure out how your camera works just as the drivers roar past.
55. Know your capabilities.
56. Choose subjects you’re passionate about. I decided I wanted to shoot motorsports when I was a teenager.
57. Don’t be afraid to experiment in order to stand out from the crowd. Your work has to stand out.
58. Try to look at each shoot from a lateral perspective.
59. Follow your passion. You’ll do best shooting what you love, and I see this with my students.
60. Learn from your mistakes. Apply what you have learned, go back to a place and get it right.
61. If an image still isn’t working, really think about why this is happening. Retaking the shot in different circumstances could work.
62. Never stop learning about the endless subtleties of light.
63. Don’t follow trends or copy other people’s work.
64. Focus on the image and the emotion, and focus less on digital trickery.
65. Think about creating images that look fantastic straight out of the camera, without relying on post-processing Photoshop enhancements.
66. Concentrate on your unique vision and learn to listen to yourself.
67. Finally, shoot what you love. Then keep shooting, keep shooting and keep shooting.
68. Always use a tripod – it will help you to be more deliberate and thoughtful.
69. By tightly framing the subject the intent of the image comes through strong and clear.
70. Always look for colour and how best to capture it.
71. Allow enough time for wildlife subjects to relax to your presence and react with their surroundings and/or other animals in a natural way.
72. Choose your times – photograph at first and last light.
73. Mistakes do not necessarily mean failures... they’re a key part of learning so don’t be discouraged when things don’t work first time.
74. Always test your gear before a shoot and have a backup for when something goes wrong.
75. Try to travel light. This will encourage you to always take a camera out and about with you..
76. Take lots of breaks when retouching for long periods and invest in a good chair – this saved my life!
77. Listen to your inner voice... it’s usually right about everything.
78. If you want to make it as an advertising photographer, try to find a way of reflecting your passion for a subject that’s also relevant to a client.
79. There’s no quick formula to success in advertising and certainly no correlation between success and photographic quality! You need to embrace changing trends, so you stay relevant.
80. For photographing animals, ask yourself what you want to achieve. What’s your vision? Then you’ll find your craft.
81. Use a manually pre-set exposure to capture flying birds. Autoexposure systems can be fooled as birds pass across different backgrounds – from bright sky to dark forest, for instance.
82. Don’t overlook the small details – look for a change in a bird’s expression to lift a shot.
83. Don’t forget the non-photographic essentials. Sometimes I take binoculars, an easy-to-carry tent hide and an iPod loaded with sounds of specific birds, in order to attract them.
84. Do something different – most birds have been photographed many times before. Don’t feel that you have to chase ‘perfection’.
85. Try to find a really beautiful garden near to you that you can get to know really well. That way you can return when the weather and lighting conditions are at their best.
86. Learn to shoot against the light because this will give you the most atmospheric shots.
87. Look at the way that great photographers shoot flowers.Study the work of people such as Karl Blossfeldt, Ron Van Dongen, Jerry Harpur and Andrew Lawson, and try and gain some inspiration from their work.
88. Pay attention to the background, and get up early in order to get the best possible light.
89. You have to persevere and take lots of images. I take about 60,000 images and save about a dozen.
90. You have to be prepared to put the work in. There are no easy short cuts in pro photography.
91. You always need to be aware of how you can improve your work and what other people are doing. You also need a little luck to make it as a professional, too!
92. For me, it’s all about thinking about the final landscape image. You have to carefully plan how you're going to work with the light and consider the angle you’re going to approach the scene from.
93. You have to be prepared to climb around a scene to get the best possible composition, and this can be hard work. My back hurts, my feet hurt…
94. Getting an interesting foreground is crucial but you also need to stay free and creative – otherwise your shots will all look the same and your work will lack any kind of identity. And don’t focus so much on the foreground that you forget the landscape around you!
95. Follow your obsessions and take chances. I wasn’t inhibited by the thought of anyone else’s photography.
96. With digital pictures, do a lot of cropping until you have stuff you really like. This will sharpen your eye and eventually you’ll get it in the camera. People tend to look at the subject matter, grab that and forget about the dynamics of composition.
97. Pursue your muse, be it rock stars or lizards.
98. Practice over theory – I believe strongly that you should just grab a camera, get used to how it works, take lots of photographs and then go to the photography classes and read the books.
99. Be bold, especially with digital, as it doesn’t cost you anything to take lots of shots.
100. Do your homework – the more you know about your subject, the better you’ll be able to photograph it. And I don’t just mean reading books. Watching animals and learning to read their behaviour and anticipating what they’ll do next can make a huge difference in getting the shot of a decisive moment.
92. For me, it’s all about thinking about the final landscape image. You have to carefully plan how you're going to work with the light and consider the angle you’re going to approach the scene from.
93. You have to be prepared to climb around a scene to get the best possible composition, and this can be hard work. My back hurts, my feet hurt…
94. Getting an interesting foreground is crucial but you also need to stay free and creative – otherwise your shots will all look the same and your work will lack any kind of identity. And don’t focus so much on the foreground that you forget the landscape around you!
95. Follow your obsessions and take chances. I wasn’t inhibited by the thought of anyone else’s photography.
96. With digital pictures, do a lot of cropping until you have stuff you really like. This will sharpen your eye and eventually you’ll get it in the camera. People tend to look at the subject matter, grab that and forget about the dynamics of composition.
97. Pursue your muse, be it rock stars or lizards.
98. Practice over theory – I believe strongly that you should just grab a camera, get used to how it works, take lots of photographs and then go to the photography classes and read the books.
99. Be bold, especially with digital, as it doesn’t cost you anything to take lots of shots.
100. Do your homework – the more you know about your subject, the better you’ll be able to photograph it. And I don’t just mean reading books. Watching animals and learning to read their behaviour and anticipating what they’ll do next can make a huge difference in getting the shot of a decisive moment.
101. Put in the time – get out there and put your time in the field. The only way to guarantee that you won’t get any pictures is to be sitting at home.
102. Practice – shooting birds in flight, for example, even with autofocus, is an acquired skill. Find something to practice on, like gulls at a pier, and hone your reflexes.\
103. Get up ridiculously early to catch the best light.
104. Whenever humanly possible use a tripod – not just for stability but also to aid composition.
105. When taking plant portraits – be sure to look carefully at the subject first from all angles.
106. At the end of the day when you’re tired and you think you’ve finished shooting and the last glimmer of light pops up, just grit your teeth, unpack and shoot. Often this is when the best pictures happen!
107. Thinking of becoming a professional photographer? At the beginning, find another career that gets you outdoors a lot. Unless you’re brilliant or very lucky, it’s hard to survive as a full-time pro from day one.
108. Look at thousands of pictures of your area of speciality, and get to know your camera inside out.
109. Try to develop a personal style to make your work stand out. Chip Simons went as far as using yellow flash and fish-eye lenses, but every great pro has a unique style.
110. Don’t sell yourself short – make sure you get paid the going rate for a good shot, and don’t waste time with stock libraries.
111. When shooting travel, you can’t go back to the scene and expect it to be the same. Things will change, the light or whatever. So seize the moment, stop and make the effort to get the shot. In other words, don’t procrastinate!
112. You have to fully explore your subject – walk around it, literally and figuratively. To be a creative photographer you need to shoot at different times, in different light – experiment.
113. You have to get used to walking. I get up really early and just walk and walk. It’s amazing the shots you get if you make the effort and are inquisitive.
114. Photography is a craft and you have to work at it to get better. There are no shortcuts.
115. Always shoot from the heart – photography’s like painting or composing music.
116. Learn from others; find your own voice. There’s a lot in photography that’s yet to be discovered.
117. Respect the animal’s territory – unless you want to be attacked or just end up with lots of shots of the animal’s rear!
118. Do your research. There’s no point going to shoot a particular type of animal behaviour if it’s the wrong season for it.
119. Take plenty of memory cards. You don’t want to run out of storage in the middle of the action.
120. Find photographic topics you feel truly passionate about.
121. Put in the time, even if there’s no assignment. Profound photographic work only comes with time.
122. Get out of bed early so you get the wonderful early light.
123. Move around a lot – don’t be afraid of trying new ways of seeing.
124. Talk to a lot of people, all of the time.
125. Don’t be afraid to experiment. On digital SLRs, the flash/autofocus features are so much better – Nikon SLRs are amazing and have never failed me in the field even at arctic temperatures, so you’ve got nothing to lose by trying new things.
126. If you want to be a serious nature photographer, you have to stay fit and be able to cope with a range of environments, from the heat of the tropics to freezing mountains. You need to be mentally fit, too.
127. Be disciplined about workflow and post production, even though the latter can drive you out of your goddamn mind when you have to do it at night after shooting all day!
128. Don’t stress! Keep a sense of humour, and remember how lucky you are. Clients appreciate it, and word of arrogance and obnoxiousness soon gets around.
129. Show your portfolio to as many people as possible and persevere.
130. Make friends with your photo lab, Metro helped me immensely at the beginning, and always offered advice, and commiseration when things went wrong!
131. Always keep your copyright!
132. Take a back up camera and memory cards. And never rely on your hard drive...
133. Be an author of your own work, not merely an illustrator of other people’s ideas.
134. Do your research and become a mini-expert on your chosen subject.
135. Seek out mentors whose opinions you trust and have them regularly edit and critique your work.
136. Don’t be afraid to take calculated risks and don’t compromise your vision just for financial gain.
137. Be patient.
138. Study photographers from a range of disciplines. There’s a lot to learn and labels are silly and limiting.
139. Shoot constantly. Make sure you really love it and are willing to make a lot of sacrifices.
140. Care about your subjects and treat them as you would want to be treated yourself.
141. Be modest and open-minded.
142. Don’t use the camera as a filter. Be mindful and sensitive of the situation you’re in.
143. Use a prime or fixed lens that best meets your needs. Leave your zoom at home... your lens must be your own eye.
144. Let yourself be inspired by your favourite photographers.
145. Work in all directions at the beginning until you find your own style, your own way of shooting.
146. If somebody dismisses your work as being too simple, be proud of it. One of the hardest things in art is to stay simple.
147. Avoid backlight as cheaper digital cameras still don’t handle this well.
148. Avoid patchy light as extremes are not handled well by the camera's sensor and you’ll end up with hotspots with no details.
149. Shoot when the sun’s at an angle and has colour – that is, rising or falling (from sunrise to about 10am and again from about 3pm to sundown). Shooting in the middle of the day gives your subjects deep shadows under their eyes and there’s little or no colour in the daylight.
150. Shoot in open shade as much as possible during high noon.
151. To be a freelance photographer requires staying power, both financially and in your vision. A lot of patience is required.
152. Shoot in great light. Any photo will look better in it.
153. Know your equipment. There’s nothing more frustrating than not knowing how to capture something that’s right in front of you because you’re fumbling with your gear.
154. Stay organised. In the digital age, you’ll lose images if your workflow isn’t iron-clad. Also, caption your work the moment you’re done shooting.
155. Back up, back up, back up.
156. Don’t shoot junk figuring you can delete it. This wastes time. Is the picture interesting? Is it composed cleanly? Would you nudge the person next to you to take a look? A good picture is a good picture, no matter the medium.
157. Always shoot RAW. Convert your RAW files into the largest files appropriate (TIFF, not JPEG), in order to ensure that you have the best foundations for post-production work.
158. Always save your original (RAW) files, especially of your best images that you’ve gone on to process. Get a couple of hard drives (or a library of blank DVDs) to back them up to at least two places.
159. When you’ve spent time processing an image, compare it to the original – a lot of your (image-destructing) processing may have been unnecessary.
160. Get the balance right between confidence and modesty. Get different opinions, but don’t feel dismayed – you can’t please everyone anyway.
161. Move forward – whatever distance you’re shooting from, halve it.
162. Pay attention to what falls on the four edges of the frame. Crop in camera. Make sure you’re not including (or excluding) anything you didn’t pay attention to before you click the shutter.
163. Try not to centre all your images. Consider other places in the frame to place your subject.
164. Pay attention to what’s behind your subject and make sure what’s there doesn’t detract from the image.
165. Shoot RAW rather than JPEG. When you have a RAW file you’ve got so much more information to work with and it will vastly improve your ability to make better prints of your photos.
166. Don’t worry about the results – with digital you can afford to make mistakes.
167. Be open to the flow of things on a photo shoot and be open to what life can bring to you. If you get moved on and asked to shoot in a different place, try to turn it to your advantage.
168. Get comfortable with your equipment; you have to get to know your camera so it fits you like a shoe. But don’t get hung up on the technical specifications – it’s the person shooting that matters.
169. Be happy! Don’t imitate the news, show positive things. You don’t always have to show a harsh reality – photography’s a way of sharing joy.
170. Know your own kit. Understanding the technical side of your camera gives you creative freedom.
171. Keep it simple: don’t ruin the flow by overcomplicating things.
172. Communicate with your models. Good communicators can get much more out of models and stylists.
173. Try to get it right in camera and not later on your computer. Photoshop’s great for experimentation but it’s no substitute for poor lighting or a lack of technical knowledge.
174. Shoot what you see and what you feel. And what you know – it doesn’t have to be models, but if you take shots of what you know and are passionate about, your work will stand out.
175. Always work hard to make your model feel at ease, unless you want her to look awkward.
176. Preparation really is key – know where you are shooting and check out the venue first, as it will save time on the day.
177. Take clips, pegs, tape, safety pins, scissors for cutting off labels in see through lingerie.
178. If you’re shooting on location, take food and drink with you. Just because a model is slim doesn’t mean she doesn’t eat!
179. Keep a supply of shoes, gloves and accessories. You can’t have too much!
180. Don’t act like a photographer.
181. Don’t think like a photographer.
182. Don’t believe what you are thinking before you are seeing.
183. Walk, walk and walk.
184. Do all of these tips fast!
185. Think about your compositions as a painter would a canvas. Would I paint a picture this way? I call this ‘Big Picture Thinking’.
186. Remember that shooting with fill flash can create quite cold, harsh light. I often put a colour temperature gel over the flash to warm things up.
187. Travel photographers shouldn’t hide with a telephoto lens. Get close up and engage with your subject.
188. Shoot a lot in low light? Consider using fixed fast lenses rather than cheaper zoom lenses.
189. Remember depth of field. Use the LCD to help with this, or the Depth of Field preview. Think carefully about the best aperture setting for a shot.
190. The most important question to ask yourself is: what is a good image? If you can’t come up with any other answer apart from because people have told you what is good, go back to the start and do your own research.
191. Don’t just copy what you see, try to find your own approach. This is a real challenge in today’s flood of images.
192. Get to know art and the history of photography, so you don’t have to keep reinventing the wheel.
193. Find a subject that interests you and go into it deep. Find what has been done before, and do something different. Some people expect to be a world-class photographer after just practising a year or two. This is impossible. You have to put in the time to find your own style.
194. Master the local light – really go out and figure out the best time to shoot, wherever you are.
195. Be patient – you’ve got to be prepared to keep going back to scout out a subject or location.
196. Get to know the subjects.
197. Have a viewpoint, and know why you are there.
198. Tread as lightly as possible and be respectful of your subject. It’s not about you, it’s about them.
199. Be sincere, in terms of photography and editing. Think about what you want to communicate, how you can do it justice.
200. Be playful – try to be like a child again. Try new ways of shooting and grow through your mistakes.
201. Learn to use your camera’s manual controls. Don’t rely on what the camera can do for you.
202. Don’t trust your camera’s flash, rather, be its master. Nikon has amazing flash systems, but it’s up to you to be creative with them.
203. Don’t push your subject or environment too far. Don’t mess a place up or upset anyone.
204. If you want to make composite images, think how it will work beforehand. You have to pre-visualise the final image, rather than just taking lots of shots and hoping for the best.
205. You also have to create the environment for something to happen. So study the light, the best spots to get the shots and so on – you have to be spontaneous, but lay the groundwork for composites, too.
206. If you want to try your hand at advertising photography, try to get the look you want rather than what you think clients want to see. Be aware of trends and fashions, but don’t slavishly follow them as you’ll soon look dated.
207. Spend a lots of time in a place. Immerse yourself in it – it might cost more to stay longer, but you’ll end up with the interesting shots.
208. Get up early and stay out late to get the best light. Mid-day shots are nearly always rubbish.
209. I take a lot of shots at 24mm and 35mm so, in order to fill the frame I have to get in there and engage with what I’m shooting.
210. Communicate with people, even if you can’t speak the language. Show them shots on the LCD, do anything to get them on your side.
211. Don’t just fire off some frames and walk off. You often get the best shots of people by hanging around – after about 5 minutes, they forget you’re there.
212. Be self-confident and don’t wait for permission from other people – I wish I’d realised this when I was 20.
213. Get to know a subject you’re passionate about before you try to photograph it.
214. Learn as much as you can about light.
215. Learn from the master nature photographers of the past.
216. I’m not a teacher, but remember that the success of each image depends on the emotional quotient of each person looking at it.
217. Reject all those tired old strategies for visual communication – try to come up with something fresh.
218. Don’t be afraid of interpreting reality according to your personal style.
219. Don’t become a slave to your equipment – a good shot can be taken even with a cheap compact.
220. Understand that the photo isn’t an end to itself but a means to understand the world around us.
221. Looking back, the real plus for me was to have a great portfolio and great prints, so this is still really important if you want to get noticed.
222. Shoot what you really like, as your passion for the subject will shine through.
223. Look behind you when you’re out shooting, too.
224. Try to stick with one focal length – you get more interesting shots.
225. Study lighting and shooting angles until you’re an expert.
wow...perfect of information...thanx..
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