Practice paying attention and slowing down

Practice. It’s a vital part of anything that we are learning. In photography, the learning never stops.

There are so many aspects to learning photography that it can be overwhelming at times. So, pick one and concentrate on that for a while. Work on it, practice it until you feel comfortable with it. 

You can choose post-processing, so many aspects of this we can focus on and learn about. So. Many. 

Practice seeing more

One of my favorite practicing exercises is photographing one subject. Only one. It could be anything. A pencil, chair, flower, scissors, or anything else you can just grab to practice with. 

In this case, I’m using this glass on my kitchen table as an example. Why? Because the light in the early evening coming through our kitchen window, and this glass with its stripes, created some really cool shadows. 

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Now, once you have that object, get started. Grab your camera or even your phone and study that object. Before you even take one photo, walk around, look at that object from different angles and perspectives. 

The shadow here on this glass caught my eye. But, I took it further than just that. Because when I stood above it, or to the other side of it, things changed. The light and shadows appear differently as I moved around the glass. 

Give yourself 5–10 minutes to do this exercise. You don’t really need much more than that. These 13 images were created in about 10 minutes using my phone. I studied the light, shadow and reflections of this glass on the table. 

You could even make it a game. Set a timer for 5 minutes. See how many different images you can create in that time frame. 

Slow down

Slowing down can also have the same effect as giving yourself a time limit. With a time limit, you can’t veer off into any type of distraction. Not without affecting your images in some way. With slowing down, you can focus and be much more deliberate about what you are creating. 

So, take your object and take your time. Don’t even have your camera/phone at the ready yet. Study. Sit and study the object. Walk around, pick it up and get a feel for it. By doing this you’ll get ideas in your mind about how you might create images of it. Then, pick up the camera/phone and create those images.

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Don’t forget, this is just practice. You are not creating for your portfolio. In fact, go into this knowing that once you’re done, you are going to just delete the shots. Actually, I would take some time to go over the images, see the differences between each image and how you created it. Then delete. This thought process allows you to let go of any stress that may come with wanting or feeling like you have to make the perfect photo.  

These are both great exercises to make us more aware of what we are creating when we are out in the field or in the studio. You’ll start noticing more within the frame as you look through it. The little things that can make a difference in an image will start becoming second nature.