How to become a better photographer



Minolta Maxxum 9, 300mm f-2.8 APO lens, Fuji Velvia 50, Bogen tripod & ball head.
Spot meter (rock, not shown) 1/250 sec at f-5.6, aperture priority and AE-lock, manual focus.

How do you become a better photographer? Simple answer is love and dedication. This is true if you want to become successful in anything, not just photography. Do you remember your math or science teachers? Remember them telling you to pay attention if you want to learn. I always wonder how a person can pay attention to something they are not really interested in. I'm not very good at math or science, because I never loved the subjects. I just memorized the problems, passed the course, and forgot about it later. I can't pay attention and learn about anything I don't like, but I can learn about anything that interests me and will dedicate my time to it. I love photography as you might have guessed. I learned photography on my own. Everything I know about photography I learned by reading photography books, magazines, and taking pictures whenever I could. I didn't know any photographers and couldn't take photography courses. In less than a year after I started taking pictures, I learned a lot about photography. I just needed time to practice in the field. I'm not a master of photography and continue to learn more every time I go out with my camera. I know I will become a better photographer because I love photography and I'm dedicated to it. That is also how I learned about darkroom, medium format, and large format photography. May be if I knew someone to teach me about photography, I could have saved a lot of time. I think however, that being on my own helped more. It forced me to find my own answers and in the process I learned about other aspects of photography.
Do you love photography? Are you willing to dedicate your time to your photography? If you answered yes to both questions, you will be successful. By successful I don't mean you will become rich and famous, but simply a great photographer. Van Gogh was not a rich man, but a great artist. Mozart was the single most genius human being to ever walk the face of this earth and produced master pieces with his music, yet died penniless. Mozart, Van Gogh, Shakespeare, and all other great artists were successful because they loved what they did. Perhaps we will never be a Mozart or a Van Gogh, but we can certainly become much better at what we do which is photography.
Love and dedication is the first step. Next you need to learn the basics.

1. Don't rush. You can't learn everything in a short period of time.
2. Don't be too concerned about equipment. Start with minimum of gear and add slowly. You don't need top line cameras and lenses. If Ansel Adams were alive today, he could beat me in any photo competition with his old camera and lenses.
3. Buy what you think works for the type of photography you do. You will definitely change gear in the future and you'll know exactly what you'll need. That is another important factor in becoming a better photographer. Be less concerned about equipment and more about learning exposure, composition, and light. A $2000 camera outfit does not make good photographers. It only proves that you could afford it.
4. Spend time getting to know your equipment. Read the manual and become familiar with the controls. Out in the field is no place to figure out which dial changes the shutter speed.
5. Read as much as you can about photography. Start with the basics. Shutter speeds, apertures, exposure, etc.
6. Learn from your mistakes. Find out what went wrong and what you need to do to correct it.
7. Give yourself an assignment. Pretend you've been hired by the National Geographic and sent out on an assignment. This makes you to think more before releasing the shutter release. You become more aware of your surrounding and begin to look for details.
8. Don't push yourself to become a pro to start making money. Give it time. You can learn more about photography as a hobby than as a business. Hobbies are fun and there is no stress.
9. Take lots of pictures. By taking more pictures, you gain the experience and knowledge needed to become a better photographer.
10. Take your time and examine the scene you are about to photograph. Walk around to find the best possible angle and view the scene through different lenses to see which gives the best possible result.
11. Get to know your subjects. This is especially true if you like to photograph wildlife. Knowledge about animal behavior is more important than knowledge about photography.
12. Respect your subject. No photograph is worth risking the safety of your subject. Except for still life and portrait photography, you shouldn't rearrange a scene. Don't pick flowers and place them anywhere you like. Keep a safe distance between yourself and wildlife and allow animals to move around without putting stress on them. Don't photograph people who do not want to be photographed. Don't walkup to a person and point the camera and shoot. Ask first. Respect and get to know the rules. Many national parks for instance, have regulations that you may not like. These rules are made to protect wildlife and natural resources. Some countries have laws against photographing certain places such as private homes, military bases, even wildlife.