7 Ways to Improve Your Photo Skills

With so many high quality cameras and smartphones on the market today, it’s easy to assume good photography is simple. But most professional photographers would agree it’s a much more complex process than that. Photography requires patience, good techniques, storytelling ability, as well as technical skills and creativity.

For those who are wanting to get into photography or improve their skills, here are 7 tips that can help you, whether you are a beginner or seasoned professional.

1. Know Your Tools

Whether you’re using a smartphone, film camera or DSLR you will need to know your equipment, and know it well. Many high quality #ShotOniPhone images weren’t just snapshots  — the photographer most likely found the perfect photo-taking app, attached a specialized lens or performed some post-production. Many higher end photo apps can even mimic the manual controls provided by DSLRs.

If you plan on making a career out of photography or are seriously considering it as a hobby, you will soon want to get a DSLR, along with high end gear. A DSLR will not only encourage you to practice manual settings, but it will also produce much higher quality pictures due to the many detachable lens options on the market.

Other tools to familiarize yourself with include tripods for image stabilization, lighting and flash options.