How You Can Become an Even More Fabulous Photographer

How You Can Become an Even More Fabulous Photographer

If you are reading articles on Fstoppers, it’s a sure sign that you want to improve your photography. You have the potential to become fabulous, and there are proven steps you can take to help you on that journey.

I struggled with the title of this article. I started by using the word “great,” but greatness might suggest historical importance and maybe fame, and that’s not what I meant. Likewise, “successful” can be ambiguous, as it can refer to financial success, popularity, as well as producing superb images, and the first two are a byproduct of the last. So, I settled on “more fabulous,” hoping you will understand that it is about the quest to take ever more compelling images.

What Makes a Good Photograph?

Most experienced photographers recognize good images, whether or not they are to our taste. Creating powerful and absorbing photographs is a challenge, and there is a journey we must travel to elevate our most recent photos above our previous work.

A good photo does need a high degree of technical skill. However, it is lifted to the next level by its artistic qualities. Beyond those factors, the photographer must show an ability to communicate their distinctive message and feelings. Such photographs, of course, require the viewer to have the ability to understand that; an uneducated viewer might appreciate a pretty picture but probably won’t necessarily recognize the factors that elevate a photo above others.

How to Take the Photographer’s Journey

Many photographers start with no clear objective of where they want to be. Consequently, they shoot randomly and don’t learn from their successes and failures. Many get stuck and never progress beyond this point. But there’s so much more to taking a photo than picking up a camera and pressing the shutter button.

Successful photographers follow a steady progression throughout their careers. It is the same as with any other skill—improvement requires both planning and practice. So, setting goals is important. If you don’t have an achievable destination, you could end up anywhere. Moreover, those goals must be specific and realistic. Perhaps you want to win photographic competitions or have a photo appear in a magazine. Maybe you want to earn your living from photography. Or, it's possible that you will be satisfied when your images are good enough to hang on your living room wall. It's your goal, not anyone else's.

The first step is usually technical knowledge. This is where they get to grips with the rudiments of the camera. It starts with learning about light, metering, exposure, focusing, depth of field, stopping and showing movement, and basic composition.

From there, photographers often start to experiment with different techniques. They may discover their favorite genre and play with ways of exploring it. They will feel deeply enthusiastic about their creativity, which will begin to show in their results. Ultimately, when they go out with their camera, it will be to fulfill a desire to express their innermost feelings in their photos, and, if they are successful, those feelings will be recognized by others who view their art.

The photographer can only reach that stage after mastering the earlier levels. There’s no shortcut. It may take years, and many don’t get there. But the most determined and dedicated do. Like with anything in life, it's that journey of continuous improvement that is important.

Dream Realistically

I believe in people's ability to achieve their realistic dreams. Realistic is an important term. I enjoy playing the guitar and singing. However, it would not have been a realistic dream for me to become a rock star. If you heard me sing, you would understand why. Nonetheless, with all modesty, I can claim a modicum of success with my photography. I had a plan to get where I am now, and I know where I want to be and what I need to do to get there. If I can do that, you can too.

Planning for Success

By breaking down your goal into what I call waypoints, which are smaller and nearer targets, you can create a map to keep yourself on track.

Let’s say your goal is to get outstanding photos of the yellow-bellied sapsucker. You’ve had a lifelong ambition to see and photograph this amusingly named member of the woodpecker family. Your plan might start with attending a general photography course. You then take a specialist course on bird photography. On that course, you might discover you need better equipment, so you invest in a camera with bird detection and a fast long lens. You then learn how to get the best results from them.

You are also finding out everything you can about the yellow-bellied sapsucker, and concurrently, you practice photographing birds where you live. Then you travel to the mixed forests of the Northeast States or Canada and get your photos. Once you have got the perfect shot, you get home but feel you want more. So, you set a new target to photograph pied kingfishers, and then you create a new series of small goals to reach that aim.

Get By With a Little Help From Your Friends

Some people have a harder starting position. That might be financial restraints. Others might face challenges with their health. However, although it may seem easier if you start over halfway up the ladder, great photography often arises from hardship. Whatever your starting point, with perseverance and a little help from those prepared to give you support, you can achieve your goals.

Help is important for everyone. Building a support network by surrounding yourself with good people who inspire and help you is key to getting over any barriers set in your way. That means proving yourself to others through perseverance. People want to help those who help themselves.

Moreover, your mindset affects how you are perceived. Focusing positively on solutions rather than dwelling on problems will help you and make you the type of person others want to support. However, if you act like an ass, opportunities will pass you by.

It's Okay to Change Your Plan

The path to improving in photography is rarely a straight line. Therefore, it’s important to be flexible and willing to adjust your plan as new opportunities arise. For example, after your yellow-bellied sapsucker photo shoot, you plan to photograph those pied kingfishers in Tanzania. But then a chance to photograph leopards arises, and you aim for that instead. That's okay.

There will be obstacles along the way too. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic changed many photographers' plans, which led to many choosing a new path.

Accept Being Influenced

If you read the biography of almost any great photographer or artist, you will find their work was influenced by others. Studying other photographers will embed their images into your subconscious mind and make you more likely to work towards a style of your own that is impacted and shaped by their work.

Picasso once said, "Good artists copy, but great artists steal.” He went on to suggest that copying is a mediocre act. Meanwhile, stealing is bold and involves taking someone else's ideas and adopting them. That is often misinterpreted as meaning it is okay to plagiarize, and some say that the quote is counterintuitive, polarizing, and meaningless. That’s wrong. He was suggesting great artists learn from their predecessors and are inspired by their ideas. They adopt and adapt ideas into their work. That, after all, is what creativity is. It’s taking ideas and mixing them up with others to make something new.

What Happens When You Reach the Top?

There is no top. Those who do reach a goal never think they have done enough and always want to push even further.

There have been many variations of words first attributed to Socrates, whom Plato quoted as saying, “I know that I know nothing.” That statement underscores the importance of recognizing personal ignorance in the endless pursuit of knowledge. It embodies the idea that wisdom comes from acknowledging the limits of our understanding. Similarly, “The more I learn, the more I realize how little I know,” points to the same conclusion. So, continuous lifelong learning, curiosity, and openness to new knowledge and skills are all essential to becoming fabulous.

How You Can Become a Fabulous Photographer

If you are reading articles on Fstoppers, it’s a sure sign that you want to improve your photography. You have the potential to become fabulous, and there are steps you can take to help you on that journey. However, there is no shortcut to becoming a fabulous photographer. It takes perseverance and effort over time. If you love doing photography, then you will discover it's the journey that is fabulous and not the destination.

Ivor Rackham's picture

A professional photographer, website developer, and writer, Ivor lives in the North East of England. His main work is training others in photography. He has a special interest in supporting people with their mental well-being. In 2023 he accepted becoming a brand ambassador for the OM System.

Log in or register to post comments
14 Comments