Happy Monday! Today I’m sharing my first post in my new education series! In this series I’ll be sharing small changes that I made in my shooting that led to better results! For any photographer, I think it’s important to remember where you came from. We all started somewhere and took steps to get to where we are in our business. Let’s not forget that there was one time in our careers that we didn’t know anything! I still don’t know a lot, but I have definitely come a long way, and I love sharing what I’ve learned with others! If sharing my journey can be helpful to just one photographer trying to make a place in this crazy industry then I’ll have done my job!
One of the best things I did when I was first getting into photography was sharing my images like crazy and putting them up for critique. I bought my first DSLR in November 2008 and have been shooting portraits ever since! At that time, Flickr was a really popular site for sharing images and getting constructive criticism from other photographers. I worked like crazy getting images on flickr and adding them to different groups for constructive criticism. I gotta tell you, this was scary! Nobody likes to be told what they are doing wrong, but this step was so important in my business! I was showing my work to professionals and asking, “how can I make this image better?” I have three pieces of advice for photographers just starting out, and then I’ll share my simple secret to sharp shots at the end of the post!
1. Don’t be afraid to put your images out there and ask for advice!
You know that image you just took recently that you’re SO proud of? Share it! Ask others what they think and how you can improve! Let me give you an example.
This image was taken on March 22, 2009. This is an image of my friend Melissa (who, btw is married now! I shot her wedding and you can view those images here!) and I called this my first “real” photoshoot. Isn’t she so cute?! This is an unedited image because showing your images straight out of the camera (sooc) was super hip back then. When I took this shot I was SO PROUD of it. Seriously. I couldn’t believe that I actually took this image. I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, “Christi. It’s a good image, but it’s not all that special!” I know! But at the time as a brand new photographer I was so impressed with the light and the depth of field and even the focus. I thought it was amazing. So what did I do? I shared it in a few flickr groups, one of them called “Score My Portrait.” Basically it’s a group where other photographers go and rate your portraits out of 20 and tell you what you did well and also what could be improved. Which leads me to my next point:
2. Don’t be afraid to accept constructive criticism!
When I posted this image, I consistently received scores that were 12/20 or “Above Average. Some but not all good qualities.” At first I was upset. How could other people not like this image? I thought it was so good! When I finally calmed down I started reading the comments that these photographers left. A lot of them talked about things that I didn’t understand at the time. They said things like, “use aperture priority mode,” “use spot metering in this situation,” “move the focus up with your focus control rectangle” “I would have increased the ISO to 400.” I understand these things now, but back then it was like gibberish! So what did I do? I focused on the things I did understand and tried to improve those! For the things that I didn’t understand, I put them on a list to learn about later.
3. Focus on changes that you can make right away!
I didn’t know what half of the comments meant. I could have gotten discouraged and given up, but that’s not what I did. I looked for comments that made sense to me and focused on making on those changes. One commenter made one really great point that I understood! He said this, “for portraits, the eyes should be in absolute focus. I think that’s missing here.” When I read that comment I thought, “Oh! That makes sense!” I was always using manual focus because I thought that’s what all professional photographers did (which, btw, most of them actually don’t!). So I just thought, okay! Next time I do a portrait I’ll be sure that the eyes are in perfect focus! So, for all of you wanting better portraits, my simple secret is….
FOCUS ON THE EYES!
Have you ever taken a portrait and thought the focus wasn’t quite there? There could be a lot of reasons for this, but chances are because your focus is on a point other than the eyes!! The eyes are almost always the most important part of a portrait, so try to nail the focus on the eyes every time! Now, just like anyone else, I like to do a cute detail shot here and there where I focus on the bride’s earrings or her flowers, but if it’s a regular portrait, I’m always focusing on the eyes! If I have a really great portrait of the bride but her eyes aren’t in focus, do you know what I do? I delete it! Seriously. For me, I feel like I have no excuse for not having the eyes tack sharp! The great thing about delivering albums to my clients is that they don’t see the images I don’t give them! So if the eyes aren’t in focus, to me it’s not worthy for the gallery. Sometimes there are images that I capture during the ceremony or reception that aren’t tack sharp and I still deliver them to the clients because it was a special moment that they would want to see. But if it’s a portrait I have taken during our formal portrait session, I don’t deliver it if I don’t have the focus where I want it.
Look at how powerful these images are when the eyes are in focus!
Even when I’m doing getting ready shots, shots where the subject isn’t looking directly at me, or candids, I try to focus on the eyes! For side shots, focus on the eye closest to you!
This post isn’t about how to focus, as that could get super technical, but I do want to point out one more thing! I mentioned before that when I first started out I thought that all professional photographers used manual focus. That’s not actually true! The only time I use manual focus these days is when I’m doing a really tight right shot or if it’s really dark and my focus points aren’t working! Otherwise I’m using spot focus. If you’re struggling with focus, look into how to use spot focus mode on your camera! My best advice to you is to get out there and practice! For real, nothing beats good old fashioned practice!
Happy Practicing! – Christi