Good morning, everyone, from Indiana
I’m back in the Midwest
I’m going to be here for a month
and even though I am not going to be going on many photography trips -if any-
I'm going to be doing plenty of photography during that time
That is because, as you know, I try to shoot as often as I can
almost daily, no matter where I am and no matter what I’m doing
even if it's just a busy day at home in front of the computer
I’ve been doing this for a few years and I believe it’s helped me quite a lot to
become a better photographer
In this video, we’ll talk about how a daily photography habit can be the key to making
great photographs
how it can help you to improve as a photographer
and how to develop a habit like this no matter your location or occupation
or the camera gear that you have with you
photography is a tricky art
anyone can get lucky and take a good photograph
all we need is to be at right place at the right time
and that’s great if it happens, but the chances are very, very low
what I want for you, instead, and what I want for myself as well
is consistency, we need to be consistent
we are not here for the instant gratification
we are not here for the once-in-a-lifetime hit
of course, we like making good images
we like seeing results
but we relish what photography adds to our life on a daily basis
because it makes us aware of things we wouldn’t have noticed otherwise
because it takes us out of that autopilot mode
even if only temporarily
so, why wait until the weekend to do photography?
why wait until the next big trip to the Grand Canyon?
and I hear you, you are busy, you have a job, you have kids
and no time for photography
perhaps, you live in a place where nothing ever happens
but I believe that pretty much anyone can take a daily photography habit
this is not about taking a lot of photos
it's not about spending a lot of time thinking about photography
it's more about making photography part of your life
practices makes perfect
as we said, the more we do it, the better we get at it
this is not only the case for photography but pretty much anything in life
if we try photography on a daily basis, we’ll be exposing ourselves to a lot of different
situations
we'll be testing our photography skills in very different situations very often
these experiences will make us better photographers
and the lessons learned from them will come in very handy when we do get the chance to
go somewhere on a photography trip
think of it as training for your eyes
training for your mind
training for photographers
you get to know your camera
because of course, the more you use your camera, the better you get to know it
if you only take pictures with your camera from trip to trip
with weeks or even months in between them
you might lose all the mechanisms that you had developed in the field
when we are in the field, the more we can focus on our subjects, on our compositions,
the better
that’s why I’m a huge advocate of automatic modes in digital cameras
because they make the camera less of a distraction
so we can pay more attention to what we have in front of us
to the composition, to the subject
it is when using the camera becomes second nature to us
that we can give 100% of your attention to the subject, to the composition
to the image that we are trying to make
you also get to know yourself a little bit better
whatever you might think about the place where you live
and the people you interact with on a daily basis
they are very unique to you
think about it, who else in the world gets to live your life?
no one else has access to the exact same places that you have to
no one else has access to the exact same people you havehang out with
you should use that
you should look for images there
I used to think my hometown was a boring place, and now it’s one of my favorite locations
to shoot at
I walked almost every single street in town
and I got to find spots I didn’t even know existed before
I also got to know myself a little bit better
because being constantly in the lookout for images made me more aware of what I’m thinking
and what I'm doing at any given moment
so, as we've seen, a daily photography habit can make you a better photographer
and it can make you get to know the place where you live
the people you hang out with
and yourself, a little bit better
so the question now is: how can we develop this habit?
patience
you are going to need a lot of patience
don't get too frustrated if you fail to take photos during the first days
this will take time
habits take time to build, especially when you are tight on time
be patient, this is a marathon, not a sprint
always carry a camera with you
as I said, this is about making photography part of your life
so you are going to need to have a camera on you at most times
any camera will do, a phone will do just fine
phones are more than capable these days
but I’d still recommend having an standalone camera on you
and if you can, the very same camera that you are going to be using in the field
maybe with a different lens
I carry with me my a7Rii with a tiny, small, compact, pancake lens
a 35mm f/2.8, I believe it is
because that combination recreates better the experience that I have in the field
and it makes me pay more attention to what’s around me
makes me look for more images than a phone really does
but hey, if the phone works for you, that's totally fine
I also like using compact cameras
in the winter, I always have one with me in the pocket of my jacket or winter coat
and in the summer, I use straps to bring my cameras with me
especially the full-frame camera
or a camera bag, a small sling bag
I have a video where I talk about the gear that I bring with me usually on walks
I'm going to link it on the top right corner
but again, whatever works best for you and your situation
the camera should be within reach and easily accessible, though
because if you leave it in the bottom of your backpack
chances are you are not going to take it out to take any photos
so as much as you can, have it within reach
maybe in your purse, in your camera bag, in your pocket
wherever you can, the best you can do in your situation
so it's more likely...
so you give yourself more chances and better odds at making images that will present to
you while you walk
while you go to work, or while you are with the kids
that leads us to the next point that is to try to find images everywhere, no matter where
you are
try, of course, inside your house, from your bedroom
but also try going to work, coming from work, try at work if you can
you CAN document your life, but that's not exactly what I'm talking about here
what I'm talking about in this video is about making images that resemble the ones that
we would make out in the field
or wherever, if you work in a studio, the images that you'd be making in a studio
in my case, that is black and white, "fine art" images
even though I don't like to call them that way
but I try to recreate that style, that mood that I look for when I go somewhere on a photography
trip
I try to find it in my day to day life
hard, you say? of course it’s hard, it's supposed to be hard, this is training
it's meant to make us better, so it needs to challenge us
but just think about it, because if you are able to make good images
images that you like, in your style, at home...
just imagine the images that you will be able to make when you go to a more interesting
location
it's all about finding beauty, it's all about finding those beautiful things
no matter where you are, no matter what you are doing
and that requires time, that requires effort, that requires a lot of practice
the good news is that you can do it every day, and you can start right now
find time
as I said, this is about making photography part of our life
so we shouldn't need to find time for it
but still, if you find yourself having a really hard time...
...finding that time to do photography, then I have a video from a couple of years ago
that might help a little bit
and it's about how to find time to make photographs
you can find the link on the top right corner as well
set a daily goal
this is totally not necessary, but it might help you
because having a set fixed number of pictures that you'd like to take every day
and that could be 5, it could be 100, the exact number doesn't really matter
the important thing here is to have a goal that pushes you, that forces you to look for
images on a daily basis
it could be the motivation that you might not have otherwise
so if it helps you, just set that number, try to take that many pictures every day
contact sheets
this is very related to the previous point
I don't have a daily fixed amount, or number of pictures that I want to take on a daily
basis
but I do collect all the images that I take, the good ones, the bad ones, all of them
and I put them all together in a book that is building up over time, slowly but surely
it's like contact sheets of all the photographs that I take
I've been doing this for a few months now
I'm sharing all of the monthly contact sheets over on my Patreon page
I'm going to leave the link in the description down below
if you want to support my work there and you want to have access to those contact sheets
but I think this is a good way..
this is a great idea to again, push you a little bit more
because it gives a little bit of purpose to those images that you might take on a daily
basis
because they are going to be part of that volume, of that book
not only have these contact sheets made me take more photos
but my hope is that in the future I can use them to look back and see my progress
see the photos that I was taking years ago
and see how I'm doing, or how I'll be doing in a few years from now
see how differently I act or behave towards some subjects, or landscapes, or whatever
I think that will be very interesting to see in a few years down the road
just shoot, just take the photograph
you can always delete them
sometimes all we need is that first click to get us going
that's why I start my days, my photography trips too, shooting very early
sometimes even before leaving the house
because that sets the mood for the rest of the day
alright, in conclusion
I take photos everyday
first and foremost, because I love it and because it enriches my life, it makes it better
but also because it's good practice, it's good training
it makes me a better photographer, it makes me more aware of what's around me
that, in turn, will make me a better photographer in the field
and I will be taking better photos when I go on a photography trip
not just that, but even though it might be hard to see right now, the potential in there
no matter where you live, no matter where you are, there's always an image to be made
the good thing about that one image is that is going to be unique to you
it's going to be original
and you are going to be even more proud of that image that you made at that place
than the images that you make in very exotic and stunning locations
where everyone is already making images
I hope the video was helpful and it gave you some ideas as well as some motivation to get
outside and try to make some images
thank you so much for watching, and you see in the next one!