Hi, guys. In life, there is always room to improve and photography is no different. Whether you are just starting or you are an expert. So, here are 5 tips that will help you become a better photographer if you are just using your phone or you are somebody who has been shooting for years. 

1.    Don’t Rely On Editing And Cropping

While editing software’s like photoshop and websites like Instagram exist and can be very useful, it is important to keep your use of these limited. This is because if you are fixing every mistake and blemish after the photo is taken your photography skills are not improving. Photoshop can only do so much. It is vital to do your best to get your photo correct from the camera itself. First of all, it is less work for you in post production. Secondly, it will force you to look at the different indicators on your camera and you will soon develop a better understanding of lighting, exposure, how to fill the frame and so on. Cropping can also have an extra danger as any crop will reduce the quality of a photo which may cause it to become pixelated and unattractive. 

2.    Look At Other People’s Work/ Join The Local Camera Club 

While often photography can be enjoyed best, alone, you can’t do everything on your own. Whether, you are looking for new ideas or hoping to learn something new, the work of others can inspire you and push you to push your limits. For example, create a new Instagram account and simply follow photographers that post work better than your own. You will first of all quickly see what works and what doesn’t work. Next, the photos will inspire you to go out and take more and more photos. Secondly, join the photography club in your local city or school. There is bound to be plenty of people you can learn from and even if you feel you are one of the stronger members of the group, giving other people advice will make you think about your own work and help you understand what you shoot the way you do. 

3.    Think About Photos Even When You Don’t Have Your Camera

It is not always possible to have your camera with you. Saying this you can always look around you and imagine that you do. If you get a free moment, take in your surroundings and ask yourself what would you be doing if you had your camera right now? Where would you stand? Would you use a filter? How would you go about filling the frame and so on. In many ways, you are capturing what could be rather than what it is right now. Exciting right?

4.    Choose Different Themes 

A great weakness in many photographers, from Snapchat users to professionals is that they become a master of one type of photography but very weak everywhere else. Variety is the spice of life and photography. It is important not to get stuck into one set of thinking. Photography is an art form and therefore all about creativity. If you become too narrow-minded you will either get left behind with the times or your work will eventually become stale to your audience. So every week or month give yourself a different challenge. This week try the colour "red". Next week try the theme of "infrastructure" You get the idea. In a nutshell, simply mix it up. 

5.    Shoot at Golden Hour 

First of all, what is the golden (magic) hour? Simply put the golden hour is the 30-45 minute period before sunrise and after sunset. During this time, the colours in the sky tend to be redder and softer. This is important because it gives your photos a natural reddish effect that is not possible at many other points of the day. Secondly using this time you as the photographer have a lot more flexibility. 

Is it a perfectly fair assumption to assume only landscape photographers need to worry about the sun but this is simply not the case.  For example, if you want to capture a small object, you may place it next to the window. During the golden hour, natural light is far more likely to be passing through your window leading to most more interesting effects and an easier job getting enough light into your photo. 

6.    Limit yourself on Purpose 

It is unbelievable how often you see somebody who has an iPhone 6 take a better photo of the same scene than somebody with a DLSR camera. No, we are not saying an iPhone is better than your Canon 60D or Nikon 3300. All we are saying is that better equipment does not automatically equal better photos. Sometimes it can do the opposite. Like editing software, a better camera can be a “get out of jail” card so to speak. People are confident that the camera will do all the work, they become lazy when taking photos. So, one way to improve is not to get the credit card out too fast. 

You will learn more from having less because you will learn to get the most out of what you have. A better camera will not give you a better composition unless you stand in the right place. A higher quality of camera will not automatically make everything sharp or keep everything straight. Like we said when it came to editing. Get your photo right from the start. This is a lot easier to do if you understand the equipment you already have.