A Better Way to Practice.
Enough said.
Practice makes perfect, right? I disagree a little bit, let me explain…
We’ve all heard the classic “practice makes perfect”, but I believe this is shortsighted at best and simply wrong at worst. You DO need practice to become sufficient at a skill, of course, but what you need more than practice, is PERFECT practice.
We should be saying “Perfect practice makes perfect”…
Think about it. If you are practicing a skill, but you are practicing incorrectly, then all you will have achieved is how to perform something incorrectly, or at ,minimum prevent faster progress. I realized this when I hurt my back lifting weights. I had over 4 years of daily practice, but due to some freak issues in my shoulder, my form had been off, not by much, but just enough. Once my practice got into heavier weights, the poor form revealed itself in the form an injury. I was practicing WRONG, and I paid the price, setting me back on that goal tremendously.
Reflecting on that, I started thinking about how to apply this to photography. How to apply perfect practice, or at least better practice, to improve my images. If we combine the “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time” method of breaking a goal down into smaller achievable pieces, we should be able to eliminate some variables to really hone in on areas we may need to improve on.
So here’s a few things I’ll be implementing into my photo walks. Ways to eliminate some variables to better understand the different pieces of the puzzle that make up a good photo, and can help develop our “eye” as photographers and improve our images.
1. Use a Fixed Focal Length
Purpose: Forces you to focus on composition.
Skill Focus: Composition.
This one is pretty common. “Get a prime lens, Zoom with your feet”. Common, but still very underrated. Many people start with zooms as kit lenses, or for whatever reason, and this can put us in the habit of just zooming in to change the composition. But this changes other elements of the composition as well, compression for instance. Instead, only take your 85mm, 20mm, 50mm. If you don’t have a prime, just pick a focal length on your zoom and set it before you put the camera up to your face and don’t change it. Use an odd focal length to add a challenge, street photography on a 135mm?
2. Set a Specific Time of Day
Purpose: Only shoot at a specific time, like harsh noon light.
Skill Focus: Understanding natural light, and how to adapt to light you cannot control. Composition. Extreme contrast.
This is something I struggle with and I think others do as well, at least in the beginning. We all want to go out for sunrise, and sunset, and midday is never even an option. The light will be harsh, landscapes will have flat and uninteresting light, portraits will be unflattering, etc. But challenging ourselves to go out when we find it least pleasing, will allow us to expand our eye. Maybe find a sliver of light between some fenceposts for a more creative portrait. Maybe only shoot silhouettes against a harsh sky. I need far more practice at this one in particular.
3. Limit the Number of Frames
Purpose: Pretend you have a limited number of shots, similar to film.
Skill Focus: Shooting with intention, and planning each shot carefully.
Take your camera out of burst mode, go for a shoot, and give yourself ONE shot of each subject you see, and maybe 20 shots total. You’ll not only focus on finding more subjects, but also focus on how to best shoot that subject, be it composition or waiting for the person with the right color shirt to walk by and accent the a colored wall. Being more strategic and selective can expand your skill and help you find angles you may have missed by taking the easy shots.
4. Only Photograph Moving Subjects
Purpose: Focus entirely on moving subjects. Show people walking, practice panning cars.
Skill Focus: Timing, using slow shutter speeds to create effect.
Slow down that shutter speed, slap on an ND filter if you need to, go to a crowded area and shoot a super long shutter speed to eliminate people, or show how busy the intersection is. Pan a few cars. Go out at night and shoot light trails or star trails. I find shots with motion to be particularly pleasing. Some of my favorite shots are at 1/4 sec or slower.
5. Shoot a Series on a Single Theme
Purpose: Focus on a theme or concept for a set of images.
Skill Focus: Storytelling, thematic consistency, and visual cohesion.
Give yourself 3-5 shots to tell a story in, from start to finish. Or find a subject and shoot 2 wide shots, 2 medium, 2 detail and a creative shot where you break all the normal “rules” and take a wildcard shot. Building cohesion amongst your photos can help you find your style, as well as being beneficial to brands you may work with in the future who have a particular theme. Try out different styles and vibes in these sets.
The next time I go on a photo walk I’m going to pick one of these, and use it the entire time and just see how that affects the creative process. What kind of photos can I get if my shutter is stuck on 1/8 of a second? What kind of street photography can I get with a 105mm Macro lens? With any luck, I may inch myself towards being a better photographer.
Until next week.
Cheers,