That’s right, put down that camera

Anyone starting out in photography needs to do one thing: stop photographing! I learned this the hard way after my early career in realising that I had no idea what I was photographing. I’d push the shutter for the sake of taking a photograph without any thought process behind it.

What do you mean by thought process?

By thought process, I could mean what does the viewer get from this image and what does the image make me feel? But it was essential for me to get simpler than that and ask myself:

• Do you understand light? This comes from looking at the shadows! The first contact with the light will be the brightest point.

• Do you understand great exposure? Most people don’t understand this and they usually underexpose missing critical shadow details, resulting in noise. I expose for the highlight and either move the subject or move the light.

• Do you understand great composition? I’m not talking about the rule of thirds here, which is a bit of a joke (I call it ‘rot’)!

It meant understanding the rules of photography and following/applying them.

Before you touch the camera…

Don’t get caught up looking through the viewfinder or back of the camera. Look at the world through your eyes first before you touch the camera.