Learn to use metaphor

Learn to use metaphor

A “metaphor” in the writers world is a way of describing something by using something similar in order to have a more emotional impact. For example if you say “she was pretty,” it doesn’t have the ring as “there she…

Tell a story

It probably goes without saying that we all aspire to tell a story on some level every time we take a picture. This is one thing that leads to a successful image – one that a viewer can find understanding,…

Never think photography is easy

This is a quote from Magnum photographer Chris Steele-Perkins. I couldn’t agree more with this. Photography fundamentals are pretty easy really. A thorough understanding of how auto focus and metering work in a modern camera isn’t that difficult. There are…

Keep a Sketchbook

You don’t need to know how to draw. A sketchbook is only that if you’re an artist or an illustrator. A sketchbook is what keeps your sanity. It records your ideas. Its what makes it possible to remember things you…

Sticky: Do something difficult

In the last 15 years we have seen some amazing advances in photography – almost entirely in the digital and mobile spaces. Making images has become faster, easier and comes at a much higher quality than George Eastman ever dreamed…

Your camera isn’t important

Getting good photos really doesn’t have much to do with what kind of camera you have. Nikon and Canon spend billions of dollars every year trying to convince us that we need to buy expensive stuff to be better at…

Learn to see before you shoot

How many times do you go out looking for something to photograph? When you find something interesting you fire away from random angles, move the zoom in and out and maybe step back a few feet and do it all…

Develop your own visual signature

In the words of the great photographer Ralph Gibson from this wonderful interview done in 2007… Gibson is a renowned photographer best known for his narrative, photographic books. Most recently he’s stretched his own medium to include music that he…