I recently decided to return to street photography after an enforced absence during lockdowns and travel restrictions and I have re-kindled my love for this type of photography. For the last 2-3 years I have mainly concentrated on landscape photography. One of the reasons for this is because landscapes are the most accessible to me. I live close to a few woodlands, I am within 30 minutes’ drive of the coast and I can be in the countryside, with its mountains and lakes, in less than an hour. I have grown to love all types of landscapes for photography and I particularly love photographing trees and coastal scenes. My preference is to capture intimate details of each landscape rather than sweeping vistas and I think this is the reason I also enjoy street photography as it is mainly about capturing candid moments that may disappear in a few seconds, unusual features in an urban landscape or small details that might go unnoticed by most people as they hurry past. Here are some of the reasons I still love to do street photography: #1 Means of Self-Expression I spoke in my last post about expressive photography and why it appeals to me. I find that I can express myself through street photography in a way that has meaning for me. This is particularly true when I am in a new location, when I can observe people in their own surroundings or pick out scenes and features that interest me and draw my eye. By spending time observing what is around me I get a good feel for what I like to shoot. Sometimes it will be capturing people in their natural surroundings, other times it will be certain objects (bicycles seem to be a favourite!), and sometimes I will be drawn to architecture, shapes or interesting colours in street scenes. Street photography images are often not glamorous, but they do depict real life and real people, and that appeals to me. And if there is good light on an interesting building or scene, that is always a bonus and something I like to include in my images. #2 Keeps Photography Simple The simplicity of street photography appeals to me. I carry a camera and one lens and am not concerned about changing lenses mid-shoot. I move closer if I need to get a clearer shot and let people know if I am including them just by being transparent about what I'm doing. This man was having a rest on a hot market day. He spotted me taking his picture and waved. I made no secret of what I was doing. If he had been unhappy about it I would have apologised and deleted the image if he wished. Recently I have chosen just to take my phone camera for street photography as it offers all the advantages of a small street camera and by using features such as burst mode, or easily switching between the three lenses, I give myself the best opportunity to capture a scene from a good perspective and not to miss a precious moment that may be happening when I am there. #3 Exciting and Unpredictable What I like most about street photography is that it is a new canvas every day. While landscapes tend to be static and after a while don’t offer anything new to shoot, streets, towns and villages are ever-changing. Different people are out and about, their interactions are different, different objects are placed around, different scenes are unfolding all the time. Go there in the early morning and you will catch people setting up their business for the day. Go later and you will catch the buzz of a typical day in the location. There might be a market, there might be a street café, there might be a chat among locals on a street corner, there might be splash of colourful umbrellas on a rainy day or a busy park in the sunshine. ‘I only know how to approach a place by walking. For what does a street photographer do but walk and watch and wait and talk, and then watch and wait some more, trying to remain confident that the unexpected, the unknown, or the secret heat of the known awaits just around the corner.‘ Alex Webb All of daily life can be found on the streets of towns and cities and it is being part of this experience that I love. It requires patience at times, and often you'll take a lot of photographs and only find that one or two of them are any good. But you'll still have an enjoyable experience - a sense of being part of life's bigger picture - and to me that is the secret ingredient that makes street photography so wonderful.

Do you find the prospect of shooting candid photos on the street daunting? Or do you love the spontaneous nature of this genre of photography? Street photography is an area of photography that doesn't immediately appeal to me. I set about finding out what is the attraction to street photography. Street photography can be the telling of ordinary stories, the finding of ordinary images in extraordinary places or extraordinary images in ordinary places. It can show life as it is being lived in the here and now. Street photography is about going out, looking around, seeing what others miss and capturing the image. Street photography often requires the photographer to watch and wait. You almost have to read the future, interpret how the elements are going to line up to make an interesting picture and catch that fleeting moment. Street photography involves the juxtaposition of a number of different elements to make a complete scene - often a random mix, a complete accident that those elements should merge in this place at this time - and yet for the picture to work the mix has to have a certain purpose or meaning. Sometimes that meaning is purely visual - the combination of colours and patterns are visually appealing to the photographer and warrant the taking of a shot. Other times the meaning of the image comes from something that speaks to the photographer which he/she hopes will speak to the viewer also. In the image below the various subjects and elements make up the early morning routine of opening a market stall. Are there words between the stallholders? Is everything running according to plan? Are there apprehensions about the day ahead? The story is hidden in the image and yet is there for interpretation. Street photography captures everyday human activity in a way that no other type of photography does. The Three S's of Storytelling Street photography lends itself in a special way to storytelling. When considering what images to shoot I think of the three S's - subject, scene and story. The main question to be asked is, what is the subject of the photograph? Is it a person, animal, object? Is it a building or particular landscape? Is it one element or a combination of different elements? It is important to know who or what is the main subject of the shot and focus on that subject. In some cases only the subject may be in sharp focus, in other cases the whole image makes up the subject. This brings us to scene - where is the subject placed in the photograph? What is happening around the subject? What other elements (if any!) combine to create the scene? Where are they placed in relation to the subject? In this way story is built up. I always ask myself whether I can 'read' the story from the photograph and hope that if I can do that, others will too. However, storytelling on its own won't always yield worthwhile images; decisions have to be made about technique and composition. The subject needs to be in sharp focus, but what about the other elements? Is it more effective if they are also in focus or does a blurred background work best? Technical know-how is required to satisfy these decisions - should I open my aperture to its widest or shoot using a smaller aperture? Do I need to shoot with a long lens or is my subject close enough to capture effectively with a short zoom or fixed lens? What elements need to be included in the photograph, and maybe more importantly, what elements are not required in telling this particular story? I believe that it is important to learn proper camera techniques to help me make effective decisions and achieve the best possible results. Despite the fact that I believe in the supremacy of storytelling in photography, I would do a dis-service to the art by just shooting randomly and hoping for a pleasing image. But learning camera techniques is not so I can take photos like other people, it is so I will take my own best pictures, develop my own style, find my own means of expression. I have to dare to be different, develop my own style, tell my own stories: "The reward for conformity is that everyone likes you but yourself." – Rita Mae Brown Street photography may initially appear daunting but it has much to offer in terms of challenge, finding meaning through our photography and sheer enjoyment. It really is worth overcoming our apprehensions and getting out onto the streets with our camera. Do you enjoy shooting candid images on the streets of your local town or city? Do you like to tell a story with your images? Let me know in the comments.

When I tell people that I love to go out in the early morning to spend an hour taking photographs the usual follow up question is, What do you do with all your photos? It’s a relevant question. If I say that I don’t really do anything with them, just keep them on my hard drive, it’s not an entirely accurate answer. Yet if I say that I put them in folders according to the month in which they were taken or by topic and use them for blog posts, if I say that I often look back through my photo collection to relive the memory of when they were taken, where I was and who was with me, or if I say that I could spend hours working on a set of photos in Lightroom to get the effect I want, I would lose my listener’s interest very quickly. But it is still a relevant question, and one which photographer Kim Grant says she is often asked. In a recent video (link below) Kim gives her answer in a thought- provoking and interesting discussion. In her video, Kim tells us that she doesn’t sell her prints, she doesn’t often print her images and she doesn’t enter photography competitions. Her YouTube channel and social media are outlets for sharing her images but no doubt, as a very talented photographer, she has hundreds or even thousands of images which her viewers haven’t seen. Many people would wonder about the point of taking so many images that you do nothing with, but for Kim Grant photography has a different purpose. To her, photography is about having a tool to connect with nature, it is about experiencing each moment that you capture, it is about using photography to enhance wellbeing. For Kim, photography is not about what she will do with the final image; it is about the experience of capturing that image, capturing the beauty of nature and being present in the moment of capture. Kim suggests in her video that her answer to this question might be taking a more philosophical approach to photography, which it does seem to be. It touches on the deeper reasons that many people have for doing photography, and it will appeal to those who view photography as an experience, a journey even, rather than as a means to an end. This video resonates with me as I have hundreds of photos on my hard drive that seem to be just sitting there. Yet, when I open one of my folders and look at the images I am transported back to another time and place. I re-experience how I felt when I took the original photo. This may not be the greatest image in the world but it will always remind me of spending time in Portugal, summer 2022 in 37 degree heat. With no rain for months the earth has become parched and the water pump symbolises for me the thirst for water that the local people are feeling. Often when I look back at photos I see the image in a new way and appreciate aspects of it that I may not have noticed when I first took the photo. I get great personal satisfaction when I find a unique angle from which to shoot. It doesn't really matter if no-one sees the image; it means a lot to me in terms of my photographic development. In this image I like the way I included different shapes, a leading line and a person at the end of the leading line. I converted it to black and white to give the shapes more emphasis. Kim Grant's video is inspirational to amateur photographers like myself as it encourages me to keep getting out and taking photos, to enjoy the process and not to focus too much on judging the results. When I am out with my camera, taking photographs, it is the experience that I enjoy. I feel the joy of being out in nature or in an interesting location doing what I love doing. Even though most of my images will not be shared or seen by others, their value is in the joy they give at the moment of capture. The patterns in the sand drew my eye so I had to take the photograph. The video is thought provoking in that it challenges us to see our photography in a personal way, to question the purpose of why we take photographs and to value the experience of photography and what it adds to our lives. You might like to check out Kim Grant’s video: What Does Kim Do With All The Photographs She Takes? And for another perspective, watch this short video from Henry Turner.

“Victory belongs to the most tenacious" ~ Roland Garros. How do you know if you are successful at photography? Are you successful because other photographers like your images? Are you successful because critics or so called ‘experts’ like your images? Does success mean you win a prize in a photography contest or have your photographs published online or in a magazine? Or are you successful at photography when you overcome a hurdle, make a breakthrough in your learning or manage to capture an image that really pleases you? As a novice photographer it’s hard to define success, and it means different things to different people. When I first took the plunge and put up some of my images online, I was expecting criticism. I thought I might be told that they weren’t good enough to be displayed in public. But that criticism didn’t come, and neither did praise, so how was I to define success in my photography? I began to realise that success is actually a very subjective thing and that what is more important than defining success by others’ standards is having the tenacity to keep going even when you’re not getting praise, to keep doing what you need to do to improve even though you don’t see much improvement happening, and to judge your work by your own standards, by how well you have overcome the latest hurdle in your learning journey. To me, tenacity is when we persevere with something, even in the face of adversity. It is about not giving up, about determination to continue doing what we are doing even if we encounter setbacks or disappointments. I believe that this is a greater asset to our photography than achieving success defined by others. Success might bolster our self-confidence briefly but what about the next occasion when we don’t receive the same accolades? Do we become deflated and disillusioned? This is the danger and the reason why I think tenacity is more important to the long-term development of our photography than instant ‘success’. Rather than depend on the approval of others regarding my images I began to be my own critic. I compared my latest images to earlier ones to see where I had improved. I studied my images to see if I could improve on composition or whether a crop or some editing might improve the look of the image. I took inspiration from photographers working as professionals. I studied the work of well-known and much revered photographers, past and present. Today my barometer of success is whether I am improving, whether I am making less of the beginner mistakes than I used to make and whether I am making images that I like – at least occasionally! There are still occasions when I am disappointed at my lack of success, even in my own terms. I fear that I will never get any better, that I just don’t have what it takes to be a good photographer. These are the very times when I need to re-group, change direction, take some pictures just for fun, and then start with a new outlook. This is when tenacity wins out, when I don’t throw in the towel and give up but rather keep believing that as long as I am enjoying what I do, as long as I still love taking a camera in my hand, as long as I see things that interest me and want to take a photograph, I am achieving a lot from my photography. Ultimately, it is this tenacity that keeps me moving on, keeps me enjoying the journey. And enjoyment is what it’s all about.

Street photography is becoming one of my favourite photography genres. I love to have my camera at the ready to snap those unexpected moments when I’m out and about with a few moments to spare, when I’m waiting for someone or when I’m just strolling around the streets. Somewhere among all those photos I may find a gem some day! Photographer Taha Muharuma (with over 33k followers @TahaPhoto) says that street photography is “just capturing candid scenes, wherever that may be”. He believes that in street photography “You’re always looking for one thing that will make a scene unique”. I am still a novice in this genre of photography, but I do approach it with a passion that motivates me to want to succeed. In an earlier post I gave some Dos and Don’ts for getting started in street photography, based on my own learning. Here are a few more of my tips for succeeding at street photography that I hope will be of use to anyone considering this type of photography. This scene may have no people but it does have the hum of life. We can wonder, who left the bikes? Where are they? Are they together or separate? What are they doing? When will they be back? It is this questioning, this wondering about life which is prompted by an image, that attracts me to street photography #1 Keep on the lookout for photo opportunities Wherever people gather there are street photography opportunities. Shopping centres, markets, main streets, side streets, parks, railway stations, festivals, all provide us with the potential for finding that unique image. Whatever we are doing – commuting, meeting a friend, shopping, on holidays – we can take the opportunity to look and see if a unique image beckons. And a street photograph doesn’t always have to have people. Objects can tell their story too. There are interesting moments all around us, we just need to be alert to them. “All the technique in the world doesn’t compensate for the inability to notice.” -Elliott Erwitt #2 Look for something unique Taha Muharuma’s observation that in street photography you’re always looking for the one thing that will make a scene unique has to be the number one aim for would-be street photographers. It’s easy to get out into the street with our camera and just snap away but unless we find something unique, something unusual, our photos will be nothing special. And finding that something unique is not as easy as it seems. #3 Try to blend in I was initially anxious about doing street photography and I am still reluctant to be too conspicuous while photographing people without their consent. I try to use a small lens on my camera for street photography. That way I can blend in and concentrate on taking photographs without drawing attention to myself. A phone camera works well for street photography as people are used to seeing them on the streets, and using the volume switch on your headphones as a shutter release allows you to take candid photos in an unobtrusive way, as well as having the added advantage of reducing camera shake (often a problem when we need to quickly capture an image) as it eliminates the need to touch the phone. #4 Take lots of photos The pioneers in street photography were not as fortunate as we are today in terms of camera memory and ease of shooting multiple images. Henri Cartier-Bresson talked of ‘the decisive moment’ and capturing that decisive moment involved watching and waiting for all the elements to line up before taking the shot. With our large memory cards, burst mode and online storage options, it is easier than ever to take lots of photos so that we can bring home a large batch from which to choose our best shots. Cartier-Bresson’s advice is still relevant, though; there is still a moment when the great image will be revealed. Hopefully, if we take lots of shots as close as possible to that moment when all the elements align, we will find that moment in our collection. #5 Try to tell a story with your image Street photography naturally lends itself to storytelling. Catching that decisive moment between people, that dramatic action or emotion, or finding a subject placed in an interesting setting will ignite our imagination and help us imagine the story that is unfolding. #6 Capture positive moments I never take pictures of anyone in a compromised position, for example I wouldn’t feel comfortable taking a photograph of a homeless person as I am not a documentary photographer, nor would I like to photograph a row between people (I might put myself in danger if nothing else). I think that when we are starting out in this genre it is best to try and ensure that our candid shots are as positive as possible. Unique, yes, but not at any cost! #7 Learn from your ‘failures’ Evaluating our shots after a photo shoot is a chance to discover what we like or don’t like about a particular capture and gives us a chance to see how we can improve next time we go out. I often discard most of my street photography images as they don’t provide a unique perspective but at least I have learned some valuable lessons for my future outings. Henri Cartier-Bresson famously said, “Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst.” I can take heart from this and know that I am learning and improving all the time. #8 Learn from others Street photography might seem to be easy, but it is not easy to do well. I have found that looking at the work of well known street photographers, taking a workshop or class, reading advice from experienced street photographers, going out with like-minded learner photographers and comparing shots, all help to give me some skills that encourage me to go out into the streets with increased confidence. #9 Keep shooting Practice will bring improvement in this as in any other photography genre. We will improve, not just in the composition of our shots, but also in knowing what to look for and where to find what we are looking for. As mentioned above, learning from others and taking this knowledge out into the streets will help us capture those unique images that make street photography so special. ***** If you have any other tips for street photographers that you would like to share, please do so in the comments. If you know someone who would find these tips useful, please feel free to share this post.

Street photography is a very popular genre of photography yet I have been reluctant to do street photography for a few reasons, not least of which is the fear of invading people’s privacy. Unlike other forms of photography, street photography, or candid photography, involves taking photographs of people, usually without their knowledge or consent. I have been slow to do that, possibly because of fear of doing something wrong. To try and overcome this fear, I enrolled in a street photography workshop in my local city and this certainly allayed most of my fears and it also gave me a love of this type of photography. There is something special about taking photographs of candid moments and natural interactions that motivates me to want to do more candid photography. I have always admired street photography images. In the past they were often black and white images that seemed to capture a subject in a particular moment in time, depict a particular emotion or give a glimpse of a special relationship or human interaction. I admired the work of Henri Cartier-Bresson before I realised that he was a master in this particular genre of photography, and have recently become familiar with the work of Fan Ho, who has been dubbed “the Cartier-Bresson of the East”. https://erickimphotography.com/blog/fan-ho/ I also love to experience different cultures, different values, different ways of life. It is the diversity of human existence that makes the world go round, and this is the very content of street photography. There is so much to see in the world, so many ways to explore human existence, so much to learn about the world and its people that we should never be short of subject matter and inspiring content for street photography. Some of the best street photographers have left us with iconic images of past times which give us a glimpse of a world we haven’t experienced first-hand. Now that I have had my appetite for street photography well and truly whetted, have got out into the streets a number of times and have taken on board the suggestions made on my workshop, I have come up with some ‘Dos and Don’ts’ for anyone considering doing street photography for the first time. Do: Wear comfortable footwear This might seem obvious, but for me it's top of the list. I was surprised at how far I walked on my first few outings and realised the importance of not having to worry about getting sore or tired feet because of the wrong footwear. Talk to people. While street photography is usually done candidly, that is, without permission and without the knowledge of the subject, I think it does make a difference, if people notice me taking photographs, to smile, say hello and tell them what I am doing. While I try not to take people’s photographs too close up without their permission, it is often hard not to be noticed and I don’t want to appear sneaky, as if I am doing something wrong. In these photographs I asked the people involved if I could take their picture and they were only too happy to oblige. Some people would call these street portraits rather than street photography; however, I think talking to people does help you to feel connected to the environment you are in and makes taking candid pictures that much easier. Look for something out of the ordinary – an unusual angle, an interesting encounter, a candid moment, a gesture - something which will capture the attention of the viewer. Have a purpose for your shot. While street photography has to be fast in order to capture a fleeting moment, there are still some ‘rules’ that should be adhered to. Just pointing a camera at something in the street and taking a picture can’t be termed street photography. There has to be a purpose for taking the picture – a subject, a moment, an emotion, a ‘story’, so that the viewer will stop and wonder. We also need to make some decisions about composition ‘on the fly’, for example, giving consideration to how much of a scene to include, waiting for the right person or people to enter a scene, looking for the right angle from which to compose the shot, or just being drawn to what we see, as I was below. Take lots of pictures. The ‘father’ of street photography, Henri Cartier-Bresson, talked of taking at least 20 photos of a single scene then choosing afterwards the ones he considered to be the best. By doing this he tried to catch what he called ‘the decisive moment’. The decisive moment may be different for different people and each person has to know what the decisive moment is for them. With our digital photography it is easy to take lots of pictures on a shoot. Just be sure to bring a spare battery! 'Street' photography doesn't have to happen on the streets, it describes any type of candid photography. On a recent holiday I took lots of photos of these teenagers jumping into the water, but this was the only one which caught the moment where the girl could be clearly seen in action. To me it spoke of energy, courage, commitment and achievement. Unfortunately, I wasn’t close enough to capture the facial expression and emotion of the moment. Look for emotion. Streets are full of people and people are full of emotion. Emotion can be seen in the street through body language, gestures and expressions. in my opinion, trying to capture emotion is one of the most interesting aspects of street photography. I took a number of photographs of these two people chatting, and picked out the ones that I thought best expressed some emotion I think these two images do capture the candid nature of street photography At times, go for ‘less is more’. In street photography you don’t have to capture a full scene. At times I like to focus on feet, hands, hats, umbrellas, colours and shapes rather than on full body images. In the streets the only limit is your imagination! Don’t: Don’t be afraid of rejection – it happens to everyone! The best lesson I learned on that score was when I was participating in a workshop with an accomplished street photographer. He was sharing some tips with me when he spotted an interestingly dressed young man sitting on a bench. He approached the man, told him he was a street photographer and asked if he would mind if he took his photograph. The man immediately refused and the photographer politely thanked him and walked on. I realised that refusals happen to everyone and that if they happen to me, it’s nothing personal! Don’t be afraid to experiment, be creative and to find ways to make the ordinary look extraordinary! That’s what street photography is all about! "You don’t take pictures, the good ones happen to you." ~Ernst Haas

Let yourself be Inspired! I have always been interested in photography. Ever since I got my first camera at the age of ten I have loved going out and taking photographs. Yet at every stage of my photography journey I have found myself losing interest and lacking motivation to continue. I have recently discovered why this kept happening - I felt that I wasn’t good enough as a photographer, so why bother? This time it’s been different. I have been doing photography consistently now for almost four years and my love for it has grown. I love to go out at all times of day, in all weathers, to try and capture some images. When I am feeling stressed or low I go out with my camera and I immediately feel better. When I am excited about something or some place I want to take a picture of it. When I have missed a day or two of photography I feel an urge to get back out there and see what I can find to shoot. When I have my camera in my hand and I’m out in nature I feel more alive, more connected to all that is around me, more content with the world. I feel better able to forget my worries and cares, if only for a short while. So what has changed since all the other times when I thought photography would be a lifelong pursuit only to discover it wasn’t? This time I am taking photographs for me. That critical voice in my head that told me I wasn’t good enough has been largely silenced. I am no longer concerned about whether someone else likes my images or whether I am ‘good enough’ as a photographer. I am now the judge of my own images. I decide what I like and what needs improvement. I now allow myself to go out and be drawn to an image that I want to take. I allow myself to be inspired by where I am and what is around me, and my photography experience has changed completely. So if I could give just one piece of advice to a new photographer it would be this… let yourself be inspired! Be inspired to get up early and photograph in the early morning stillness. Be inspired to walk on a deserted beach at dusk to capture a beautiful sunset. Be inspired to look for interesting trees in a woodland, unusual rocks on a lakeshore or intriguing patterns in the sand. Be inspired to watch and listen and wait until your subject presents itself to you. Be inspired to immerse yourself in your surroundings so that you are part of the scene that you want to capture. Be inspired to capture images that you love, in places that you love and in ways that are right for you. Be inspired to grow with your photography, to keep moving on, to enjoy the process as well as, or more than, the results. Be inspired to experiment, to discover, to be creative, to learn from your mistakes and to have fun making them. Be inspired to capture images that you love, in places that you love and in ways that are right for you. Be inspired to appreciate where you are and where photography has brought you. Let yourself be inspired and you will be rewarded by experiencing joy and fulfilment and a sense of well-being every time you go out with your camera. Why not go out, with your camera or your phone, and be inspired!

On June 29th, 2007 the first iPhone was released. Apple’s slogan at the time was, "Apple reinvents the phone." And so it did. It’s now fifteen years since the iPhone first appeared on the market and it is certainly true that it’s release changed the way we would use our phones, and it is probably also true to say that this event marked the true beginning of mobile photography. Certainly, there were cameras in phones before the advent of the iPhone, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/1550622.stm from companies such as Sony, Samsung and the popular Nokia, but once the Apple smartphone hit the market, despite not having the best camera, everything changed in terms of phone use, and although the first iPhones didn’t focus on the camera so much as the smartphone aspect, they had the effect of overshadowing the basic camera phones. It wasn’t long before other companies followed Apple’s lead and smartphones became the norm. However, phone companies soon realised that you could actually have smartphones that were also good camera phones and the seemingly never-ending quest to come up with a more and more advanced camera housed within a smartphone began. As each latest phone from the major phone companies comes on stream, the cameras on these phones are becoming more and more sophisticated, to the extent that sales of dedicated cameras have dropped. Despite all this advanced mobile phone camera technology it is still the case that many people don’t take phone photography seriously. They consider it to be an inferior type of photography, only useful for posting shots on social media or sharing among family and friends. Mobile photography is often considered to be simply snapshot photography rather than serious photography. This opinion prevails even though there are dedicated phone photography courses, magazines and websites solely aimed at mobile photography, prestigious prizes given for images taken with a mobile device and sections on many photography websites focusing on mobile photography. (Links) Sometimes I can be guilty of not taking phone photography as seriously as I might take photography with my camera. Camera photography by its very nature tends to be slow and intentional, while mobile photography tends to be more immediate. Since there are no real settings, lenses and filters to deal with, and we usually work without a tripod, taking a photograph can happen much more quickly with a phone camera. Yet this can be a problem with mobile photography. One of the things I tend to do wrong when doing mobile photography is not spending enough time taking each photo, not using all the lenses my phone camera can offer, not utilising all the features that could enhance my images. Instead, I get to my chosen location, decide on my subject and where I’ll place it, take the photo and move on to the next one. If most people do this, it is understandable that mobile photography is not highly rated. Thankfully, this is not always the case and I have learned a lot from those who take mobile photography seriously. That best lesson I have learned is a simple one - if I spend some more time with each photo, and at each location, I will get better results. My images will be: · Better composed · More interesting · More unique. If you want to take your phone photography beyond the level of snapshot my one piece of advice would be - spend time in each location and take your time with each photo. Treat your phone camera like your big camera and it will reward you with images that may be indistinguishable from those taken with a DSLR or mirrorless camera. So, what does taking time with each photo mean in practice? I recently did a photo shoot with just my phone camera to help me understand the potential of mobile photography. While travelling, I stopped at the site of an old church situated in an historic graveyard, with views of the ruins of an ancient abbey. Normally I might have taken a couple of photos of the church from a regular standing position and moved on, but on this occasion I spent time with my phone camera trying to capture different perspectives, placing my subject in various positions in the frame, getting the right amount of foreground, choosing between prioritizing sky or land, and looking for composition techniques to use by asking myself questions such as, Is there a leading line? Is there symmetry in the scene? Is there a way to use natural framing? Can I fill the frame? Can I use different perspectives? Below are some examples. Conclusion I love the feel of a camera in my hand, a feeling that is not matched by holding a phone. Yet, despite this, I do not want to ignore the benefits of having an ever-present decent phone in my pocket. For me, the photography experience is about more than the camera. It is about arriving at a location, observing the surroundings, choosing a subject, deciding on a composition, focusing, framing the picture, capturing the image, bringing it home to examine on a larger screen, and possibly doing some editing. Photography is a multi-faceted process and one which can work just as well with a phone camera as with a DSLR or mirrorless camera if we have the right intention. After all, it is the process, not the outcome, which provides the real joy of photography.

I follow a lot of professional photographers on YouTube and most of them report feeling pressurised to go out, even when they don’t want to, to make videos for their channel. The pressure comes from the fact that the YouTube algorithm works in such a way that the success of a channel depends on consistency of output as well as on ‘likes’ and number of subscribers. In some ways it’s a vicious circle, as these success markers tend to be inter-dependant. For a professional photographer who has chosen this method of getting his or her work known it can be a disheartening prospect having to make a video each week, even when motivation is low, to ‘feed the machine’ that is YouTube. However, the alternative can be equally daunting as YouTube is one of the most successful ways for photographers to promote their work. A photography website will not sell prints if no-one knows of its existence! But to be successful on YouTube requires a lot of hard work and not everyone is able to stick the pace. For photographers, as well as being under pressure to produce videos there is also pressure to produce good images, to make the video interesting and entertaining, to encourage viewers with a captivating title and thumbnail and then to promote the video on various social media networks. Some have tried other options such as sponsorship, selling prints or books, or having a separate members channel offering additional material for a membership fee. Professional photographers often have to work hard to enjoy the experience of photography amid all this pressure. The photographers who appeal most to me are those who are upfront about this dilemma and who recognise it as a ‘necessary evil’ while trying to strike a balance between satisfying the demands of YouTube and being true to their own vision for photography. All of these photographers encourage others to enjoy the photography process instead of focusing on the results. As an amateur photographer I am in the fortunate position of being able to enjoy the freedom to take photographs for myself. I go out when I want to and follow my own desires. I am privileged to live near a great parkland which offers countless photography opportunities in all seasons. Marlay Park is approximately 300 acres of parkland, consisting of mature woodland, lawns and walkways. It includes Marlay house, built in 1794, which replaced an earlier 17th century house. The house overlooks Marlay demesne, with its Victorian cottage (Laurelmere), waterfalls, lakes and boathouse with viewing platform. There are numerous buildings dating back to 18th and early 19th century. Laurelmere Cottage framed by trees. I regularly walk in Marlay park with my camera and I always find something to shoot. On a recent dull June morning I went out early to the park and since there was poor light for photography I used the opportunity to concentrate on two things – natural framing and leading lines – two aspects of composition that I find very helpful to my images. Marlay Park provided me with lots of subjects for my exploration of these composition techniques. Below are some of the results. My images may not be great but I enjoyed making them, they helped me improve my composition techniques and, best of all, I spent this time with my camera because I wanted to, not because I felt I had to. As a photography enthusiast my time is my own and I get a chance to explore and discover new things without feeling under any pressure to produce a certain image, and that's what I love about photography. ******* You might like: Two well respected photographers recently produced videos on the difficulty of making a living on YouTube while still managing to enjoy the experience of photography. Thomas Heaton and Alex Armitage, working in two different countries, face similar issues. The End of the Channel? Alex Armitage Taking my Van to the Forest, Camping and Landscape Photography Thomas Heaton

Mastering photography is difficult. There is a lot to learn and always a new challenge to overcome. I have made many mistakes while learning photography. Many of these are mistakes that are made by most novice photographers and, for me, these are the mistakes that have led to the greatest learning opportunities. I’d like to share 4 of the most common mistakes I have made and what they taught me. Mistake # 1. Not keeping it simple. In other words, I often ended up with a cluttered image, one in which there was no clear subject and which had too much going on in the frame, as in the image below. When the image has too many elements they compete for the viewer’s attention resulting in no definite place for the eye to look. The obvious answer to this mistake is to try and simplify the image, although this is not always easy to do. There are many questions to answer, such as, where do we position ourselves to eliminate unnecessary elements in the scene and what do we include and exclude? At the location where the above image was taken, I also took some images which were not as cluttered and which had more definite subjects. These images are more pleasing to the eye. In this image I wanted to frame the tree in the background with the two trees in the foreground so I moved closer to exclude some of the surrounding trees from the frame. Paying attention to depth of field can also have a bearing on reducing clutter in an image. In this example I chose one flower to concentrate on and used a narrow depth of field to blur the background, resulting in a simplified image. With a simplified image it is easy to apply a radial filter in Lightroom and invert to darken the background. Making this mistake has helped me to start to think differently. It has encouraged me to try to ignore the larger vista and concentrate on individual elements within a scene. It has introduced me to photographing more intimate landscapes and to paying attention to how I compose my image rather than just quickly taking a shot. It has helped me to simplify. Mistake #2. Poor composition This is one of the more serious mistakes we make as learner photographers. As I said above, I had a tendency to take my shots quickly, without taking time to compose the elements correctly in the frame. They were usually snapshots rather than photographs. The result was images that I didn't like and that I didn't want to show to anyone else. The reality is that a badly composed image will not be pleasing to the eye so it is not likely to attract viewers. For this reason it is vital that we pay attention to how we compose our images. I have put a lot of effort into improving composition, and even though there is a lot more to learn I have grasped some of the essential concepts. I try to incorporate the use of leading lines, natural framing, rule of thirds and include foreground, middle ground and background in big vista images where appropriate. I also take more time with each photograph and I am more mindful about how I arrange elements in the frame. Using a leading line adds a sense of depth to the image. In this image, rather than simply take a snapshot of Marlay house, which is close to my home, I tried to incorporate some of the elements of composition. I used the trees to frame the house and moved to the left to ensure that the trees would not obscure part of the house. I also included the stream and flowers in the foreground to give context to where the house is situated. Another simple composition technique is to ensure that a person (or animal) is moving into the frame rather than moving out of the frame as the latter draws the viewer's eye out of the frame too. Something moving into the frame (right) is considered to be better than having something moving out of the frame (left). Here the swan is gliding right into the frame, which gives a pleasing composition. The heron is looking into the frame rather than out of the frame. I previously wrote a post outlining some of the essential aspects of composition which I have worked on. https://www.wildwillowways.com/post/simple-composition-techniques-that-could-vastly-improve-your-photography-plus-a-bonus-video I am aware that there are many other layers of composition which I have not yet mastered. Some of these are quite complicated and will need time and practice if I am to master them and improve at composition. However, despite the fact that I still make some basic composition mistakes, I do find that I am gradually training my eye to intuitively know what makes a more pleasing image. Mistake # 3. Not paying attention to light It goes without saying that light is of vital importance in photography. Often I have no choice but to photograph in flat light and I must accept this. The mistake is made when there is light and I don't know how to make the best use of that light. It's a part of photography that I struggle with and many of my photographs have been spoiled by not positioning the light source correctly in relation to my subject. For a photograph to succeed it must resonate with the viewer. It needs to evoke some emotion in the viewer and nothing does this so effectively as the way in which light is used. What I have learned from making mistakes with light is simple - I need to master light if I want to master photography. I need to use the qualities of brightness, contrast and direction of light to complement my subject and to convey emotion and mood in my images. I need to fully understand light and the effect it has on my images. I have experimented to some extent with light. I enjoy making images where the absence of light in part of the image conceals information and conveys a sense of mystery in the image. If I want to reveal the beauty of early morning, light shining through the trees can do this well. (Unfortunately, my struggle with using light is obvious here and requires more learning. A smaller aperture could have produced a sun star!) Contrast between light and dark can be more effective in an image than the same image taken in flat, uniform light. Sometimes I am attracted to soft, diffused light, which is common on an overcast day. It can suit a quiet, gentle landscape. On this particular evening I was attracted to the shaft of light beaming down. On this day in the bluebell woods I got a lot of flat images because there was no light. And then the sun came out! There are a lot of ways in which light makes a difference to our photographs. The direction of light is an important consideration. Experimenting with the direction of light will produce different results and convey different moods in our images. We can have side-lighting, overhead lighting, front lighting and backlighting. Since there is so much to master in relation to light, and since it is such a vital element in successful photography, my learning about using light is ongoing. Sadly, so also are my mistakes. Mistake # 4. Including distractions in the frame This is a common mistake, and one which I made frequently, but with a bit of care it is easy to correct. In this image I failed to notice the van and small tree at the right of the image. While it was possible to eliminate them somewhat by cropping the image, it wasn't ideal as it left the tree on the right too close to the edge of the frame. It is preferable to get this right in camera. What I have learned from making this mistake is the importance of checking the edges of the frame before I take the photograph. It is always better to remove distractions by moving slightly at the time of making the image rather than trying to remove them in post processing. Leaving unwanted elements in the frame speaks amateur more loudly than anything else. Sometimes it's hard to know if something is a distraction or if it actually adds to the image. When I was taking the image below I was concentrating on the man with the red jacket and his reflection in the water, particularly since he was starting to move out of the scene. I didn't notice the boat coming into the frame. I could remove the boat in Photoshop but my gut feeling is to leave it there as it was part of the scene when I took the image. Making the mistake of having distractions in the frame has a simple solution - pay more attention when capturing the image! A simple solution that can be difficult to remember! I hope that, by pointing out some of the common mistakes I make in my photography and how to avoid them, it will help you to make better pictures. Is there one simple mistake that you commonly make? Tell us about it below.

You have spent ages working on your blog, agonising over content and images, getting the length exactly right, checking your spelling and grammar, changing a word or a sentence here or there. You have reached the stage where you just want to hit that publish button, send your latest blog live and move on. Sound familiar? I am sure it does to most of us, but is there something we can do before we hit that button that will improve our blog and pay dividends in the long run? What if there was a checklist we could run through before we post so we would know we have covered every angle and could avoid hitting the button then thinking, “Oh, no! I should have done xyz before I posted!” That has happened to me more than once. As part of my blogging journey, I spent some time investigating the art of blogging. I realised that I had much to learn to improve my blogging technique, to generate ideas for meaningful content and to get the most out of the blogging experience. While there are a number of sites giving advice on blogging, one of the best that I have come across is www.problogger.com, a site created in 2004 by Darren Rowse, where bloggers worldwide go to get advice and information on enhancing their blog. Problogger is home to a very prolific blog, a resource section, a jobs board, published eBooks and available courses (some free) as well as a podcast section where Darren has hosted hundreds of podcasts on blogging-related topics, with such useful titles as, What can you write about when all the good ideas are already taken? There is also a library available to subscribers with access to a range of resources. Darren’s advice is solid and covers all aspects of blogging, if slightly slanted towards making money from blogging which is not what I require. For those who do want to monetise their blog, however, there is some good advice. That said, if you are blogging for pleasure or because you are passionate about your topic, there is still much to learn about blogging well and this site has a lot to offer. For those who would love that checklist of things to do before you post here it is! This free Facebook live session entitled, 23 Questions to Ask Before Publishing Your Next Blog which gives a comprehensive outline of the types of questions we should consider before pressing the publish button and letting our blog go live. Some pieces of advice are common sense, such as proofreading our blogs, checking spelling and grammar, and ensuring that we have made the point we intended to make. Darren covers such topics as the importance of our blog title, of writing compelling opening lines and of ensuring that our post is easy to read. Ways to promote our blog are also given consideration and I must admit that, although I don’t want to make money from my blog, I would like to have more readers, as I’m sure every blogger does, so knowing how to promote my blog is useful. However, in my opinion, the real strength of this contribution to the art of blogging is that Darren’s ethos clearly comes across and that is what makes his advice so compelling. He views blogging first and foremost as providing a service to our readers and asks bloggers to keep the reader in mind by asking ourselves questions such as, What do my readers want to know? Is my blog useful to my readers? How can I be of service to my readers? He urges us to always try to connect with our readers and to provide genuine, honest content which is uniquely ours. I am happy to share Darren’s training session because I have gained so much from his insights and would like to pass that knowledge on to others who might similarly benefit (also, 1.5k viewers in the first 2 days can’t be wrong!). If it is something you require, a simple subscription to the Problogger email list will bring a wealth of invaluable information to your inbox on a regular basis. 5 questions to ask yourself before hitting publish on a blog post If I were to condense Darren’s list of 23 questions into the 5 questions that are most valuable to me at the present time, those questions would be: Do I have an interesting title? Since our blog title is what will initially draw readers to our blog from among the many hundreds of other blogs they could read, our title becomes important. It is said that the blog title may be the only part of a blog that many people will read, so our job is to entice them to read further, to read our first line, to become curious as to what the blog is about and want to read on. I underestimated the importance of the blog title in my early blogs, but I am now beginning to take note and trying to spend some time working on my blog title. It could be time well spent! Is my content well written? If I manage to encourage people to read my blog, I owe it to those readers to ensure that the content relates to the title, that I make my point well without repeating myself, that it is properly laid out and that it is easy to read. If many people just take a cursory glance through the blog it is important that their eye stops at certain main parts for a few seconds longer so that their interest is piqued. By adding headings, images, embedded content or quotes I break up the main body of the text and hopefully make it easier for the reader to find what they want to read while also encouraging them to read further. Have I proofread my content? Before I began writing my blog, in my previous career I often had to produce content that had to go out to the public domain. I always believed in proofreading what I wrote, especially since the word processor doesn’t catch every mistake. I don’t like to read writing that has spelling or grammar mistakes so I assume no-one else does either, therefore I need to respect those who might read my writing by checking everything before I hit publish. Is my content useful to my potential readers? There can be several reasons why people read a blog post. They might want to learn something or get ideas for a project they are undertaking; they might want to be entertained or they might want to identify with someone else who may be going through the same thing as they are experiencing. I have read lots of blogposts on learning different photography techniques, but I also like reading book review blogs, ideas for living more sustainably and blogs that provide thoughts on wellbeing, travel blogs and interesting personal stories, among others. If I question myself as to whether the content that I am writing will be useful to others I can answer by asking myself whether I would find it useful, and if I don’t think I would find it useful I can go back and adjust my content so that I can hopefully answer yes to the question. How will I promote my blog? To be truthful, this is an area in which I need to do more work. While I do promote my blogs to some degree on social media, it is not something I have put enough effort into, therefore I don’t reap the benefits of having lots of readers. My first step towards action in this area has been reading advice such as that given on problogger but I must confess, I am still mystified as to how some blogs get so many readers! The main advice I have read is, keep writing good content, pay attention to title and keywords, and give it time! Read the original 23 Questions to Ask Before Publishing Your Next Blog below http://problogger.com/checklist Further reading https://problogger.com/blog-post-titles/ If you find the ideas in this post useful, please share them.

I wrote this post almost two years ago and since there are constant advancements in the world of blogging I am updating it to include some additional information which you might like to read before making a decision regarding your choice of blogging platform. ***** When I started my journey into developing my photography skills I didn't consider becoming a blogger. What I wanted was a place to share my photos and my learning, a kind of online diary, although I knew that would essentially be a blog of sorts. Given that I had a specific idea in mind for what I wanted, the first thing I had to do was some research into blogging platforms on which to host my site. I had some limited experience with writing a work related blog and had worked on the dashboard of a Wordpress site, but I had limited knowledge of the workings of the site and felt that to become proficient in using Wordpress might be a steep learning curve. So I had to ask myself a few questions and face a few realities, such as my lack of technical expertise, before I chose the site that would best suit my blogging needs. 1. What is my priority? This had to be my first question. If building a website had been a priority, and a challenge which I would relish, then Wordpress would be the most obvious choice. But I realised that my priority would be creating content on my blog and having a space to showcase my photographs as I progressed on my journey. For this reason, I required a website or blogging site that would be easy to set up and intuitive to use in terms of adding new content, and I wanted a simple theme that would suit my purpose – to upload my photos and share my learning, my challenges and my discoveries in the study of photography. 2. What were the options? A Google search brought up a number of options, chiefly a range of website builders such as Wix, Weebly, Squarespace and Blogger, which offered a user friendly experience to get a blog up and running and required no maintenance or worries about securities or technical updates. They each, albeit with different main features, provided an easy platform on which to start my blogging journey. The alternative to one of these website builders was what is arguably the most popular blogging platform, Wordpress. My previous experience in using Wordpress was through writing a blog as a channel of communication with a school community on a school website, but I was not involved in setting up or maintaining the website. I was interested in checking out Wordpress as I believed it offered the most in terms of flexibility, ownership of data and overall control over my website. However, this came at the price of having to do a lot of research into setting up and running the blog since it was not as user friendly as the drag and drop system which the website builders had to offer, particularly for someone with no experience in website design. In the end, after much research and deliberation, I opted for Wix. Some of the extra features that helped me make my decision were the large choice of templates, which have specific layouts for different ‘niches’ (for example, there was a good selection of photography related templates) as well as the option to create a photo gallery on the blog. Having a good range of templates meant that I could pick the one I liked and simply add my own text and images. Using the Free Trial revealed how easy it was to create and upload content and images, and a comment from one reviewer in the website ToolTester https://www.websitetooltester.com/en/best-website-builder/ recommended Wix, ‘if you are a photographer and want to showcase your images in stunning galleries’. Wix has recently been revealed as Tooltester Top Pick Website Builder of 2022 (June 24). Notwithstanding its disadvantages, Wix seemed to be the platform that might best cater for what I wanted, namely, a blog and a place to showcase my photography. However, as well as advantages there are also some disadvantages to choosing a website builder like Wix. If you would like some help in choosing which is right for you, check out the following link: https://digital.com/how-to-create-a-website/ I have a lot of images as I progress on my photography journey, so I need somewhere to showcase these images as well as sharing my learning. My Wix blog is a perfect platform from which to do this. 3. Am I happy with my choice? Ultimately, this platform does what it says it does. It is a drag and drop site builder which is easy to update with new content, is mobile friendly and is largely intuitive to use. There is a good bank of information and advice on which to draw if I run into difficulties, and so far I have had no technical issues to speak of. My needs have changed slightly since I started my blog. I still need a space in which to display my photography and an outlet to consider what I am learning as I progress. However, I have developed a strong interest in blogging itself and have found myself branching out into related topics that spark my interest. I want to continue to do this and see where it leads me. Time will tell whether this blogging platform will provide all that I want and need. The fact that it doesn’t offer the flexibility that Wordpress offers and that I don’t have full ownership of my site may prove to be drawbacks in the future but for now I am happy to continue as I am. One of the advantages of my Wix site is the gallery option. I can vary the contents and keep the gallery updated. See some of my current gallery photos here Update, June 2022 If you are interested in starting your own blog or website, there are various other options available which you might wish to consider. Checkout https://digital.com/best-website-builders/ where you can view website builder reviews which, according to the site, 'are the result of over 40 hours of research on 135+ website builder companies from across the web.' Digital.com also gives lots of information on building your own website, it has reviews of the best web hosting providers of 2022 and it provides in-depth guides on topics such as How To Start a Blog, How To Create a Website and How to Start an Online Business. These guides take you through a step-by-step process and give you all the information you need to know on each topic. I would have welcomed the How To Start a Blog guide when starting my own blog as I might have avoided some of the mistakes I made and the time I spent figuring out details for myself. If you are interested in starting a blog, creating a website, or if you are looking for the right hosting provider that will make your site easier to manage, digital.com might be just what you need.