Developing your skills is an essential exercise for any creative.
In photography, at the time of (almost) all digital and tens of touches on the computer, relearning to take pictures requires knowing how to take risks. No physical risks, no, but to dare, again, to try what has been unlearned.
These few exercises will do better than make you go back to school: they will redeploy your photographer's eyes.
1. Shoot us in the time of the argentic photography
I'm talking about a time under-twenties ... 🎵 And if you were holding, the time for a photo trip, to shoot as if you had only a film of 24 or 36 poses?
I admit it, it's frustrating not to be able to strafe and multiply the shots of your subjects, telling you that you will sort then.
But it's an interesting exercise. Because it will force you to think much longer before taking a picture. You will take into account its framing, your angle, its composition ... and some sessions of this kind will make you even more effective for your next photo missions.
2. Forget the color
We already spoke on Graphiste.com good techniques to take pictures in black and white. Well, you will implement them by taking for a day that photos without colors.
Not just for the pleasure of doing as before, no. Because this exercise will force you to focus on contrasts, brightness, shapes ...
All these elements will be just as useful for color photography, but you will only learn to master black and white.
3. Forget what you've learned
Have you patiently learned how to take landscape photos during the golden hour, how to avoid counter plunging for portraits and respect the rule of thirds? That's good, you can forget everything now!
For a day, do anything that is not recommended at the shooting. This will allow you to exercise your eyes to create original compositions.
But this practice will also help you improve your shooting skills when the conditions are not ideal (a bit like a driving course in snowy weather, to be ready when the time comes).
4. Respect the timer
Your mission: to go to a specific place and succeed in taking the best pictures ... in 5 minutes. No time to wait for the ideal moment, the right person, the right light. You just have to get good pictures on a limited time.
This little game may be putting pressure on you. He will especially teach you to concentrate in a limited time and to sharpen your eyes. Skills that will then be useful in all situations.
5. Draw lots
Fill a jar or cloth bag with words that are easy to find (a tree, a street, a house, a hat ...). Every day, you take a paper at random: this is the subject of the photo you must take.
This exercise is usually done on a month and you will find even on social networks lists of topics to follow on certain months.
The idea is really to take you to the game, to free your creativity. Everything in your daily life can become the subject of a beautiful image, and you will relearn how to see it. This also allows you to prepare for the moment when you will have briefs to follow, while regaining lightness in your photographic practices.