success

All posts tagged success

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Photographers

Posted by scottbourne on April 29, 2010
Posted in: Technique & Tutorials. Tagged: .

Copyright Scott Bourne 2000 - All Rights Reserved

With a hat tip to Stephen R. Covey, here’s a list of seven habits I’ve noticed in effective photographers.

1. They find a niche and they stick with it. Arthur Morris is capable of photographing just about anything well. But he’s known for his bird photography. He has few peers. Artie has realized that doing one thing well pays off. This doesn’t mean you can’t shoot more than one subject or style. It means you concentrate on one genre of photography.

2. They know their audience. If you’re a wedding photographer working in southern California, you will have a different approach than if you are a wedding photographer in southern Mississippi. Knowing what your audience believes, feels and desires (BFD) is important.

3. They work hard and often. If you don’t shoot every day, or at least work on showing, building, marketing or selling your images, you’re probably not as effective as someone who does. Photography isn’t as easy as it looks. It takes dedication and hard work to win.

4. They have a plan. Photographers who expect to get rich quick are almost always, always, always disappointed. Those who build a plan and work according to that plan have the best chance at not only being effective, but being successful and happy.

5. They don’t wait for permission. Unless you work for “the man,” you can’t afford to stand around and wait for someone to tell you to go out and shoot. Pick up your camera, go out and make images, show those images. It’s up to YOU to make something happen. Don’t wait around for someone to tell you what to do. Do SOMETHING and do it now.

6. They never stop learning. If you really want to be effective as a photographer, you owe it to yourself to spend as much time reading photo books, magazines and blogs as you can. You should be taking classes, attending conferences and workshops. No matter what stage of your career you’re in, try to learn something new today, and every day.

7. They move forward. Photography is a life-long pursuit that requires constant motion for success. You can only be moving in one of three directions: Backwards, Side-to-Side or Forward. If you aren’t moving forward, you aren’t making progress. Ignore the negative. Embrace the positive. Move forward and leave the doubt, fear, bitterness, anger and jealousy that plagues much of our world behind. You’ll be a better shooter for it.

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This post sponsored by X-Rite Color and the ColorChecker Passport

Short and Sweet Shooting Session #6 – 10 Key Factors To a Good Photograph

Posted by scottbourne on August 27, 2009
Posted in: Tips. Tagged: .

cameras
Image and Post by Rick Sammon

10 Key Factors To a Good Photograph

1) Interesting subject.

2) Nice setting or background.

3) Good lighting.

4) Careful composition.

5) Expert exposure.

6) Careful focus.

7) Correct lens choice.

8) Correct f-stop shutter speed combo.

9) Feeling or emotion you are trying to capture – and share. (Often overlooked, by the way.)

10) Creative post-processing.

Print this out and stuff it in your camera bag. See, it’s not really that hard to make a good picture.

P.S. I took the shot on the left with my G10 and the shot on the right with my 5D Mark II. Remember, cameras don’t take pictures……

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This post sponsored by the Digital SLR Store

Do You Want to be a Successful Photographer? Try These Three Things:

Posted by scottbourne on April 15, 2009
Posted in: Technique & Tutorials. Tagged: , .
Copyright Scott Bourne 1996 - All Rights Reserved

Copyright Scott Bourne 1996 - All Rights Reserved

If you want to be good at something, it just makes sense that emulating, studying, learning from photographers who do work you admire will give you a shot at improving.

I spent my early years as a photographer on the wings of several pros who were kind enough to patiently answer the 100,000 questions I had nearly EACH WEEK about photography.

By studying these established pros, watching how they work, when they work, what sort of gear they used, looking at their pictures, searching their images for ideas and strategies, I improved.

If you want to do the same thing, here are three tips to get you started.

1. Find a photographer(s) to study. You want to be a wedding photographer? Look at Clay Blackmore or Bambi Cantrell. How about a nature photographer? Art Wolfe. A photojournalist? Try Joe McNally. I could go on, but you get the point. Pick someone who’s work you admire, and set their standards as your goals.

2. Actually STUDY the work of the person you admire. What do they do that sells? Which of their pictures has won the most awards or generated the most controversy? What sort of subjects do they photograph?

3. Read books, attend workshops, go to photo meetups and discuss the methods, ideas and approaches you’ve used as a result of your study. Getting other photographer’s feedback will help you learn whether or not you’re achieving your goals.

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