Challenge Yourself to Take Better Photographs

Fuchsia Plant

Review of Tips to Becoming a Better Photographer

In this article I will review tips I have passed on in the past and offer a new tip to challenge yourself to increase your skills. Whether you like taking photos for yourself and your friends or you want to take them professionally there are several things you can do to enhance your skills. Of course the first is practice, practice, practice. But besides using your camera regularly there are many things you can do to become a better photographer.  Here are a few of my favorites.

Take a class on photography or attend a photography seminar.   

 No matter how many times I take classes or seminars, I always come away with something useful.  I try to take at least one class or seminar each year.   There are many different places to find classes or seminars.  Just type "Local Photography classes" into your search engine and you will find lots of choices.  If you are short for time you might try some of the online classes that are listed, but I always try to take one in person at least every other year.  I think sharing with other people you meet at the seminars and classes is a great part of the learning experience.   

Study the work of Photographers you Admire.

A great way to become a better photographer is to study the photos that you enjoy.  There are photographs all around us.  Look in books, check out photos of your friends or look at the many sources online.  I'm sure you've looked before, but have you looked at the photographs critically.  Take the time to examine  a photograph.

• What makes it appealing to you?
• Is the lighting good for the subject?
• What can you learn from the photo?
• What would you do differently?

Here is a photo I took of a bird in my backyard.  Take your time and examine this photo and answer the four questions above.

Baltimore  Oriole on Hummingbird Feeder

Now try the same four questions on this pot of flowers.

Backyard Flowers

Take a 52 week Photography Challenge.

This year I am taking a photography challenge.  The particular challenge I am taking is on Facebook in a group called 2 Lil Owls Photography Project.  You can find lots of similar challenges online or you and some friends could start your own.  Here is how the challenge works.  We have a list of words, one for each week in the year.  The challenge is to create a photograph using the word.  How you interpret the word is entirely up to you.  This challenge  has you getting out your camera each week and finding creative ways to use the weeks word.  Here are a few of the words we've had this year and some of my photos.

 Window

Path

In a Distance

    Shadows





A few of the other words for the challenge include: large, small, scattered, up close, looking out, red, flowers, fill the frame and daily habit.  Of course there are many  more but this gives you an idea of how it works.

Zazzle

Stop by my Zazzle stores to see my photos on products.Zazzle/mbgphoto

Great Egret in Flight Ceramic Ornament
by mbgphoto

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article.

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The Best Picture Hooks for Drywall

Available on Amazon

These hooks for hanging pictures are so amazing I'd be willing to do an Infomercial about them!

I first noticed the hooks advertised on TV a few years back, and remember thinking I really should give these a try. Well, I finally did...and yep, they're amazing. 

They're called 'The Monkey Hook', in fact the package says 'The Amazing Monkey Hook', with each hook holding up to 50lbs. Actually, they have hooks for various weights, so be sure to check the package to ensure it's the weight you wanted.

You don't need any tools whatsoever to put up a picture..not one tool. There's no mess, no major damage to the walls, no hammers, no plugs for the wall, and no nails for screws. Best of all, there's no need to try and find wall-studs. Use these directly on the drywall, where there isn't a stud, even for those heavier pictures.

For women, or at least for me, I found these hooks to be a HUGE time saver. I no longer ask my husband to put pictures on the wall.

How They Work:

They're shaped in a curve.

With the end of the curved hook, simply work a little hole into the wall then turn it upwards inside the wall where the hook then grips onto the drywall, leaving you with a nice little, but strong hook to hang your pictures on.

The absolute best part is they barely leave a mark on the wall. All you see when the photo is taken down is a tiny pinprick where the hook initially was.

If you've never tried The Monkey Hook, don't hesitate because it works exactly as it claims it does. I highly recommend these hooks. They're all I use now.

I'll add that I trust the hooks more than I do hooks that just stick to the wall, especially for heavy items.

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Add Interest to your Writing with your Photos

Wherever I go I carry a camera.  It might be a DSLR, a point and shoot or at times just my camera phone.  This gives me the flexibility to take photos to use with my writing.  When I first started writing online, I use to look for photos that I could use from a variety of online sources.  I found this to be cumbersome for several reasons.

• Difficulty finding the right photo
• Confusion on the copyright and how I could use the photo
• Very time consuming

To solve this dilemma I started to take more of my own photos.  I now keep files of photos on my computer labeled with keywords such as foods, flowers, lighthouse, etc.  This way  I can easily retrieve the photos when I need one for an article I am writing.  

I asked several of my fellow contributors to Review This to share lenses they created where they used their own photos.  As you will see there are many ways that photos can be used to highlight an article.

• When Pat wants to show items that she has for sale on Etsy she uses her own photos of the crochet creatures. Crochet, Crafts and Cute Critters
• Dawn loves to tell us about places to visit in her region.  Her photos always make me want to visit.  Here is one she did on Longwood Gardens.
• Coletta gives great how to directions and her photos really make the directions easy to follow. Big Bows for Steampunk Halloween Directions
• My hobby is photographing lighthouses and on this page I share with you photos from my latest adventure. Lighthouses on the Jersey Shore

Photos on this page are all my own-mbgphoto.

Top photo is a rose in front of the Smithsonian Castle in Washington D.C.  Photo to left in Concord Point lighthouse in Maryland.

As you can see from the links above there are many different ways you can use photos to enhance your writing, using your own is easy and you will be assured that you have the legal right to the photo.  I hope to see your photos on your pages soon.

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