Want to Improve Your Photography? Here Is the #1 Thing That You MUST Be Doing...

I get lots of emails, tweets, and comments from aspiring photographers asking me how they can improve their photography. They will typically reference some tutorials that they have watched on YouTube or some articles that they have read. These resources are awesome and must be taken advantage of, but so often people will sit, staring at their screens, watching tutorials or going on "help forums" trying to figure what they must do differently to improve as photographers. Once again, the online educational resources for photographers must be taken advantage of, but in moderation.

Answer this question: what is the ratio of time that you spend taking photos to the amount of time that you spend on the internet watching and reading on how to improve your photography? If you are like so many people starting out in photography - and if you answered honestly - you likely spend more time online than you do actually shooting.

While I am not bashing utilizing these wonderful online resources as a whole, I am always slightly confused when people ask me how to improve their photography when they barely take photos in the first place. You will never improve if you don't shoot. So here is my challenge to you: the next time you catch yourself binge-watching photography tutorial videos or reading articles, go out and shoot instead. Afterwards, go through the photos that you take. Pick the ones that you like and analyze the ones that you don't. Why don't you like them? Why are you drawn to the ones that you like?

Spend more tie doing this than watching videos and reading articles. This method of learning will not only speed up your development as a photographer, but it will also allow you to create an artistic style that is uniquely your own, rather than learning from dozens of photographers on the web. This will also allow you to being researching more specific things about photography when you notice things that you want to change in your own photos.

That is my challenge to you! Give it a try for a couple of weeks and let me know how it goes. I promise that you will see difference. Good luck!

Also, I want to apologize for the mess that the layout of this blog currently is. I have a new layout in the works and will be taking over soon. I cannot wait to unveil it for you. It'll be sweet, I promise!

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Shooting in Black and White Is Helping Me to Improve My Photography!

Hello all, I hope you are are having a fantastic March!

I have been experimenting with black and white photography more than I ever have, and if you follow me on any of the social media platforms you will have probably noticed that trend! I love this kind of photography because it feels so much more emotional to me, so much more in touch with the human side of the image. That probably sounds cheesy, but hey, that's kind of who I am I suppose.

But why? Because it makes me uncomfortable. What I mean by that is this: I have almost always shot color. I felt like I was in a rut with my work recently and I knew that I had to do something to shake things up a bit. Enter black and white! I have always liked black and white photography, but never shot it personally because I assumed that color was adding things to my photography. So it makes me uncomfortable because I am not used to shooting this way at all, and is presenting itself with a bit of a learning curve for me.

I also want to say that I have been posting quite a bit on my Instagram (check it out by clicking here) recently and is my primary social media site at this point. So head on over and click that "Follow" button!

With all of that said, I am now exclusively shooting black and white and I can already tell that it is helping me improve my photography. It is helping me focus on composition, and drawing out raw emotion in my images, rather than simply capturing what was there. It's so much fun too!

-WP

"Winter in Loring Park" Photo of the Day: August 25, 2015

"Winter in Loring Park." Loring Park in March, Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

"My First Exhibition!" Photo of the Day: August 24, 2015

Well this is one of the coolest things to happen on my birthday! I am excited to announce that the first ever exhibition of my photography opened today at a lovely cafe in Minneapolis. I am extremely excited for this opportunity and to have 21 (the number not intentional, a complete coincidence!) of my favorite photos on public display! If interested in seeing it, it is located at Bordertown Coffee at 315 16th Ave SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55414. 

Sydney - Part 1

Hi everyone! In case you did not read the title of this post, I am excited to announce that  I am currently in Sydney, Australia! The end of the semester was chaotic with finals back at the U of MN, then I was packing and preparing for my summer of interning here in Sydney. I am quite blessed to be interning at an architecture firm here and am meeting all sorts of wonderful people and am learning so much along the way. I return to the States in July and have been here since May.

In the grand scheme of things my visit here is not very long so I am doing everything in my power to cherish every second that I have. With that said, I am going to starting blogging about my time here, particularly all things photography related (duh!). I will do a couple of post in rapid succession to catch you all up on my time here so far, then I will begin blogging in stride with the present time.

I apologize for the absence of posts over the past two months. To be honest, I was not certain of what I wanted to do with this blog upon the completion and unveiling of my website. I no longer want this to be strictly a place where I display my work - I have my website for that. Rather, I will use this blog to track my photography adventures along with a place to share some thoughts and tips along the way. Thank you for looking!

Cheers,

-Wyatt