Whether you’re an amateur or a professional photographer, there’s no denying that you’re probably spending most of your time trying to improve your skills. The art of photography is not only a lucrative one, but one that inspires and drives us to bring works of art to life with our DSLR cameras and our keen eye.

Of course, in order to become a better photographer, you need to have the right equipment, but you also need to practice regularly, attend professional workshops, network with peers, and take other crucial steps to achieve success. You can have the best DSLR or the best camera on your mobile phone that money can buy, but if you don’t take the following steps, you’re going to fall short of your goals. With that in mind, here are the five best tips you can use to sharpen your photography skills and thrive as a photographer.

Find inspiration online

Firstly, no matter what we do in our professional and personal lives, it’s important to feel motivated and inspired to achieve it. You might have been born with a keen eye and a talent for taking amazing photographs, but you also need to find a source of motivation to keep you inspired and give you fresh ideas. You need an idol, or several.

Luckily, the online world is filled to the brim with amazing photographers from all niches in the industry that specialize in different types and styles of photography. You can start following them on Instagram and other online platforms where they publish their work regularly so that you can stay inspired to achieve better results yourself, refine your approach, and ultimately build your unique style and brand.

Show off your work

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

Becoming better at something means putting your ego aside and being willing and able to take criticism and feedback. You’re never going to become the photographer you aspire to be if you’re not able to accept other people’s opinions as constructive and instructive criticism. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but your work needs to be scrutinized mercilessly for you to become a better photographer.

By showing off your work to friends, family, and unbiased individuals, you can get the feedback that will make your rethink your work and consider how you can improve it. This is a great way to slowly but surely turn your amateur hobby into a career opportunity, but you can only do it if you ask people to give you honest feedback on a regular basis.

Attend professional workshops

No matter how much you practice and no matter how many photographers you follow online, there’s nothing that can help you advance your talents like a professional class or workshop. Your goal should be to get hands-on experience and work under some of the best professional photographers in your field in order to gain invaluable experience. This is especially important if you’re trying to succeed as a photographer in a highly competitive market.

In Australia, for example, aspiring photographers will make sure to attend Sydney photographic workshops and classes in other competitive markets like Melbourne and Brisbane in order to get proper education and training from the finest photographers in the region. This allows amateurs and professionals to refine their skills and elevate their chances of success in the competitive market, but it doesn’t matter where you’re currently located – make sure to attend the right workshops in order to become a more sought-after photographer in your local market.

Network and talk to industry professionals

Photo by Matheus Bertelli from Pexels

It’s not only important to attend workshops to improve your skills, it’s also important to network with the successful photographers in your field and beyond in order to pick their brains, meet important people, and promote yourself as a photographer.

You need to get yourself out there and talk to the people who inspire you and whom you look up to. They will prove you with invaluable practical and theoretical information you can use to improve your work.

Practice with a keen eye

At the end of the day, it’s important to remember that practice makes perfect. However, simply taking hundreds of pictures on a daily basis won’t cut it – you have to practice with an observant mind and actively scrutinize your work after taking every shot.

Don’t just look at the photos you’ve taken, instead, delve deep into picture to analyze its every part. Scrutinize the composition and the lighting, follow the lines and consider the symmetry, assess the dead space and if you’re using manual shutter control, always strive to make the next image more focused than the last.

Wrapping up

Photography can be a healthy hobby and a passion, but it can also become a lucrative career. Be sure to use these tips to sharpen your photography skills and set yourself up for success in this thriving field.