What if photography encounters a bottleneck?

Recently, many friends who like photography asked me privately, teacher, the recent films are very general, and there are many problems that cannot be improved. Today I will write an article on how to improve the bottleneck period of photography. Why gossip? Because I haven't been playing photography for a long time, less than five years, but the number of cameras in recent years is almost 65438+ 10,000, and I basically insist on going out to shoot every week. No matter what I shoot, I have a theme. If I stick to it, I think my film is a basic introduction. But it's definitely not a good movie.

The so-called bottleneck period of photography, I think there are three * * *, the first is that photography has just started, and I think this bottleneck period is easy to pass. Look at the camera manual, composition skills, post-skills, etc. Basically, everyone can get through it quickly as long as they persist a little.

The second is that photography technology is available, but the films are just not good-looking, or there are not many attractive films. They shoot aimlessly and want to shoot everything they see, but it's not very good. There is also a state that they shoot whatever they want, not whatever they want.

The third is to get through the last bottleneck, shoot whatever you want, and basically get the work you want, but this work is just good-looking, and there is no more thinking about your own aesthetic philosophy. Without its own style, it is no different from the beautiful pictures on the Internet. It looks good at first glance, but it's not enough to make others sing.

I think the above three bottlenecks are the only way for every photographer. I don't think there is any shortcut. Some people are still in the second bottleneck period all their lives, mostly the second one. Some people have to work for at least 10 years to have their own aesthetic feeling. Why does photography ruin my life? I think it's not only the expensive equipment, but also the reflection on life and the fetters of reality. I can't get rid of photography. If I get rid of the fetters of the "master" reality, my photography is an expression of my inner thoughts. If I go my own way, I think a lot of things will come naturally without deliberate pursuit.

The topic is a bit far-fetched Now let's talk about how to get rid of these three bottlenecks:

Enter the bottleneck period

I think this stage is the starting point of everyone's photography. Think about it a few years ago, when I first got the camera, the excitement still welled up in my eyes. However, facing this big black camera, how to shoot it really bothered me for several days. I can't expose it manually. I can't understand the relationship between aperture, wide door and iso, let alone focus mode, white balance, metering and raw format. If you are still at this stage, I suggest you do the following:

Look at the camera instructions. Every camera should have its own manual, which not only introduces the function of each button of the camera, but also introduces the basic operation skills of the camera and the significance of each gear. It is recommended that friends at this stage read more manuals.

Understand the basic composition. Learn more about some basic film composition methods. The commonly used composition is three-point composition, which is often used to shoot the sky. Generally, the sky accounts for two thirds. TIC-tac-toe composition is usually used when shooting still life, and the subject of shooting is placed at the intersection of TIC-tac-toe grids. Symmetrical composition, many people say that the middle symmetrical composition is too rigid and lifeless. I think this is sheer nonsense. A photo is so big. Many of my photos just put the subject in the middle. This composition technique is suitable for all subjects, so use it boldly.

Understand the basic color matching skills of ps. As the saying goes, clothes make the horse depend on the saddle, so I think the photo definitely needs retouching. If you don't need retouching, I think the existence of digital cameras is meaningless. Most of the films are made in three parts and repaired in seven parts. It's like reading a book. A book is read from thin to thick and then from thick to thin. The same is true in the later period. Master all the late skills first, and then use them a little after you know so many skills. This is the correct way to open it.

Intermediate bottleneck period

This bottleneck period is a period when many people wander, and many people stay at this stage for a relatively long time. I believe that 80% of people stop at this stage, many people give up here, and many people hesitate here. Of course, I am still at this stage. If this stage is subdivided, it will be divided into several stages, so I won't go into details here. If I elaborate, I think I can write a book. The photos taken at this stage are very good, commonly known as sugar water tablets. Just like sugar water, it tastes sweet, but it is not just hungry. That is, eye-catching but not profound. It takes time, energy and money to get rid of this stage. Let me talk about how to overcome this bottleneck.

Choose the right equipment. Why did I say this first? If you want to do a good job, you must sharpen your tools first. This is a very good reason. If the equipment limits your creation, change to a better one. For example, you stopped for a long time at this stage because you were still using your own camera lens, or when you captured a good picture, the picture was lost because the camera didn't focus automatically, or you didn't have a tripod. I think the camera is a creative tool, and people take photos, no matter how good or bad, but if you switch to a high-end camera because of quality or equipment problems, don't squeeze toothpaste, buy the entry first, then the mid-range and then the high-end. I think if you want to take pictures, don't buy entry-level, direct high-end or mid-range ones. If you have already bought an entry-level camera and want to change it, change it to a high-end one, not a mid-range one.

Determine the shooting theme. The reason why many people can't take a complete picture of the system is aimless shooting. You need to choose a theme for the shoot. I suggest setting a theme every month. For example, if my theme this month is smile, just smile and be good at observation. It's really hard to find different people's smiles, such as those of the elderly, children, working people and so on. It is impolite to communicate with them before shooting.

Learn to choose. Why this is also important, because many people think this is not bad after taking pictures, and which one is not bad. My suggestion is to choose 1-5 photos that you and others think are the best for each theme, and then leave the others out, so that you can save about 20 photos a year. I suggest making a calendar for friends and relatives.

See more, shoot more and think more. Watching more movies means watching more movies. This film can also be a film and television work. For example, when watching movies, see how Hollywood blockbusters are composed and expressed. You don't have to limit yourself to good movies. You can also watch more bad movies, then find out the problem and think about how to shoot it yourself. I think more about how to add my own emotional color to express my inner thoughts.

The late stage of systematic study of photography. If you are at the beginning stage, you have learned some late photography. At this stage, you shouldn't learn it piecemeal. You should systematically study the later stage of photography. You can sign up for a systematic class if you have the conditions. In this way, you will be familiar with the operation process of ps, and you can also find your own color matching style, and then create your own genre.

Advanced bottleneck period

I won't go into details at this stage, because in the advanced stage, photography is aesthetics, just like painting. Everyone has his own style. Besides, I'm still in the intermediate stage, so I don't have much advice. But I can talk about my own point of view. Aesthetics, science and philosophy all lead to the same goal. If photography reaches this stage, it basically belongs to aesthetics. Maybe a photo represents a philosophical point of view.

The following is a photo of Japanese photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto, a knife worth millions of dollars.

Okay, my gossip is here. I hope everyone can understand their own photography skills in my article and improve their photography skills in combination with their own reality. To learn more about photography skills, please pay attention to digital partners. Thanks for reading.