This article is not a technical guide. It opens doors to solutions that will help you understand what you need to learn to improve your photos.

A camera is required to take photo but…

That’s it, you have paid for or received for Christmas your digital camera worth several hundred or even thousands of euros.

However, if the tool is not a negligible parameter when it comes to taking beautiful photographs, it does not do everything.

The importance of composition

I remember my disappointment at seeing the first images taken with my new camera.

Yes, my images were more defined and had better colors than on an entry-level smartphone, but they still weren’t worthy of displaying on a wall.

Knowing how to express yourself photographically

This was due to the fact that I was unable to transcribe in my images the beauty or the interest of what I saw.

And that was perfectly normal!

You don’t become a writer by buying a notebook and a pen, any more than you become a musician by buying a guitar.

Likewise, to improve your photos you need to acquire skills in composition, but also in what concerns the creative process.

The fundamentals

You have to know how to read and write to hope to be a writer, and to know a few tunes and chords to produce music.

Free content lacks depth

When it comes to photography, there are a lot of tutorials on the internet that deal with the rule of thirds and the exposure triangle.

You’re not going to become a good photographer just with these notions.

Indeed, unfortunately the free content about photography is often limited in depth.

Learning a few composition “hacks” to achieve a quick result will not really help you progress.

The subjects of composition, but also of the creative process, must not be treated in a superficial way, but learned deeply.

They are the ones who will ultimately give character to your images, photos that resemble you.

Where to start?

Learn the basics of composition

Tip: read books on painting

When it comes to composition, photography is absolutely no different from painting!

In both cases, it is a question of placing the elements in a coherent and harmonious manner on a flat surface.

For my part, this is how I learned the key concepts about composition – unity in variety, volume, contrast, etc.

I think that painters explain these concepts better than photographers.

Learn actively

Analyze the photos (or painting) that you like through the prism of the knowledge you have acquired. Of course, analyze also your photos.

A long term work

As with any art, you don’t become good overnight. The results are not immediate and you have to remain constant in your efforts before you succeed in putting everything together.

If this topic interests you, you can read my free articles on the creative process or read the contact sheets (paid content -coming soon) to get a very concrete view of what photographic creation is in an artistic context.