by Gary / 0 comments - Orginally published:17th July 2016
So I can take a reasonable photograph
Or so I am told. However, I am not a natural. I need to work at it. The good news is practice makes perfect, and now I would have the time to practice.
So here it is
I guess the phrase ‘I am not a natural’ might surprise some people, but it’s true. I know because the longer the break, the more my photography improves. The composition is better, my mind is switched to my artistic side, and I see the world slightly differently. I just wish that boot-up time was a little quicker. I wonder how many other folks are in the same boat?
So what’s the answer? Use your camera more, and now I have the time that will be the case. In my former life, the answer was to ensure I used the camera just before a planned break. Even if that was a walk through the English countryside with the camera firing shots, working on those areas where I knew I was deficient. If I made that effort, you could see the difference in the holiday shots.
However, there was a problem
Which was self-inflicted. I harp on about shooting in ‘camera raw’, the digital equivalent of shooting negatives. The flip side of that is that to get the best out of a shot; work needs to happen after the event. I have signed up for Adobe’s Photography plan, which, for a monthly fee, gives me Adobe Lightroom & Adobe Photoshop. So for every photography session, there is a period of time I need to dedicate in front of the computer.
Let me show you
Honfleur - Raw
So to just analyse some shots, to check I have my eye in, takes a little bit of work.
Honfleur - Processed in Lightroom
What’s the solution to that problem?
To remember, you are just practising; you could be brutal and delete those shots after. I generally don’t unless they are obviously rubbish. You know, excessively over/underexposed, blurred pictures of your feet, etc. If you are shooting in RAW, you can always revisit the good shots later and try a new technique.
So I settle back in front of the computer, fire up some tunes and get to work.
And when you cracked that.
I know that once you have a correctly exposed, well-composed shot, the rest is just a little work to make something memorable.
It is always rewarding to revisit images, flick through your own photo book, or look up on your wall and see an original piece of work that’s all yours. That makes it all so very worthwhile.
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