Three Crucial Tips to Improving Your Photos

1. You can take a great photo with "any" camera. You just can't take any "great photo". You can make a great photo with any camera as long as you understand the limitations of that camera. Example: If you are using a box camera from the 50's you probably won't get a sharp close-up of a bird 50 feet up in a tree. Conversely you could get a stunning shot of your family standing in front of that tree 10 feet away.

2. Vision, knowing how to compose a shot will raise the level of your photography 500 percent. Making a great image can be as simple as getting in the right position to take the shot.

3. It's better to take and make a great image with a "average" camera than to take no image at all because you don't have the latest gear. Use what you have and understand why you need a certain piece of gear; not just that it's the hot item. Having the best stuff is not as important as learning how to use whatever you have.

Painting in a fraction of a second

Why Photography? We all have reasons for taking pictures. For some it's the doumenting of their children's growing up, travel or the sharing of some event but for the purpose of this post I want to focus on what makes photography so interesting as a creative endeavor.

I should preface this with a brief bit of history. My background is in Architecture; went to school, worked in the offices of several Architects and Architectural Engineers and was at times "own my own". I didn't have any mentors really; had to figure things out on my own and as a result explored other creative disciplines. I've always referred to myself as a designer and more recently as a creative simply because I don't stick to just one thing. I write, draw, teach, design and take photographs and all of that is simply a way to express the values of creativity. Making something both functional and beautiful is what I have been striving to accomplish during last 30 years.

Photography has been for me mostly a creative outlet but that is beginning to change. In the past I would shoot much the way a painter would paint; see something interesting and then make an image that captures that moment. In the artistic sense the photographer is in control; no committee telling them which f stop or shutter speed to use; oh use this lens or that one, none of that. Look compose and click "painting in a fraciton of a second" a moment never to be repeated but to be viewed over and over again. It's this element of control; the same one the painter enjoys, that makes photography an interesting endeavor, at least to me. It's not until you want to sell your work does the issue of value creep into the picture and now you must look at the work through your patrons eyes.

World Wide Photo Walk Saturday August 23rd 2008

Scott Kelby is hosting a worldwide photo walk to celebrate the launch of his new Lightroom 2 book for digital photographers. The date is August 23rd 2008 To discover what it's all about and see if your city is on the list [ they're not all listed yet, so stay tuned. ] or to host a photo walk for your city you can get all the details right here. [ Pictured ] The Minks-Adams hotel, details can be found here.

So far their are 108 photo walks listed world wide, some cities having more than one photowalk. The group size is limited to 50 and if your city is not listed you can sign up to be a host if you meet their criteria. This is mostly a social event for photographers and anyone can participate regardless of their skill level or equipment. Their are some prizes for the top photographs and a grand prize will be given for the best photo taken during the walk. Check it out.

Update: Now 151 photo walks listed and climbing from around the world.