The end of a year and the beginning of a new one is the perfect time to reflect on your photography progression and think about the year ahead. What will you work on improving? How will your approach change? The five tips offered in this video will help you have a strong start.
In this video, William Patino reflects on some of his favorite images from 2024 and shares five tips to help you with your photography. Patino’s tips are not tied to camera settings but are practical tips more about the approach and mindset for getting out there.
Patino notes how his own photography has evolved, from the early days of planning images meticulously to observing that his recent work has been much more spontaneous. Instead of planning photographs and locations, he simply puts himself in situations that are apt for good results. This can mean going to interesting locations without a plan or heading out when the light or weather is interesting and reacting to the scene.
Patino’s additional tips in the video follow these larger concepts and mindsets. These range from when to go out, what your expectations should be, and the importance of trying different things to reviewing those images when you get back home to find the successes or learn from mistakes.
I found Patino’s five tips quite refreshing, as they are simple to remember and likely to have a positive impact on your photography. I am eager to keep his composition tip in mind on my next outings.
Best advice! Just be out there! It is like doing sunrises, from the beginning of blue hour the light changes as well colors and you can get stars with the first bits of light at the bottom. The key is being there way before the sun even starts to come above the horizon. Also no one can say really what the cloud cover will be. It is the same for a sunset the best colors are when the sun slides below the horizon. And always look behind yourself for there is always color and clouds behind. It is kind of like to get a full moon rising and a lit foreground it go out the day before the full moon the foreground will be lit by the light of the setting sun. Another if you like doing astro Milky Ways, yes as you step out of say your hotel room and look up and see the stars you head to your target area but even with clouds are to float away you can play while you wait.
When you get used to the surprises you will no longer need an alarm to wake you for you will be out and about and hour early and for sunsets everyone is sitting down to dinner then but you will be out there during. This is when photography calls you and not you calling photography!
1 and 2 dinnertime and getting sunset colors while others are inside.
3. to get a moon the size of what your eye sees you need a long Telephoto zoomed in to your foreground.
4. Waiting for the clouds to float away with a front passing
Just getting out there is so important! Get yourself out there often enough and at the right time goes so far!