Three essential tips to keep improving your photography
Three essential tips to keep improving your photography
With Phil Nguyen
Phil Nguyen is one of the most prominent landscape photographers in social media.
Along the past years he has inspired hundreds of thousands of photographers and travelers with his adventures. So when we got the chance to interview him we really wanted to know what three tricks allowed him to reach his current artistic level. One can’t deny the powerful charisma of his photography!
“I’m still learning every day and I think that’s one very important message I’d like to get out. That there is no “making it”. There isn’t a point where you are completely satisfied with where you are. It’s just human nature. The important thing is to turn that into something positive and keep on improving your craft and learning new skills. Nevertheless, I’d say to focus on 3 things:
1. "Master the tone of curve."
“Master the tone curve and you can make the image look any way you want.”
In case you are wondering, the tone of curve is one of the easiest and most powerful tools found in Lightroom.
Essentially the tone curve represents all the tones present in an image. There are many techniques that you can apply, however, adding a slight “S” curve is one of the most relevant practices.
Basically you want to drag the lower third of the curve down slightly, and the upper third of the curve slightly upwards. By doing so what result do you achieve?
Well, this basically allow you to darken the shadows, which is the lower third of the curve. In addition, this technique lightens the bight portions of the image as well, which are represented by the upper third of the curve.
In this regard, it is also relevant to use the sliders under the tone curve to change what you want in a more specific manner.
2. "Invest in yourself and never stop learning new things."
“Watch YouTube videos (the productive kind). Take courses or workshops. Read books.”
There are a wide variety of Youtube channels offering didactic and useful content regarding photography. One of our favorite is Adorama. Besides their basic tutorials you can also find really inspiring content in their channel. Their series “Through the Lens” is highly addictive!
3. "Shoot different genres of photography that you also enjoy."
“Each genre requires a different way of looking at things and has its own set of rules and nuances that you can learn from.”
Portraits, streets, lifestyle…Each gender requires its own techniques and methods. By mastering each of these styles you can wider your spectrum and gain practical knowledge. In addition, knowing how to shoot portraits for instance will open you many doors, specially when it comes to find clients. If you are at the beginning of your professional career you may have realized that finding clients can be quite challenging. So try to open as many doors as you can by having a powerful base of knowledge!
After all, information equals power. Right?
