Top Ten List: How do you learn to make good photos?

I was asked this a few weeks ago and had no answer at first. It was beyond my way of thinking, as I have about 1,000 ideas and desires at any one time in my photographic brain. I am always thinking about it, but not easy to think about how you start the thought processes. So I did something about it.

I wrote them out, chose ten of them, and made it my topic for a roundtable podcast discussion here:
Martin Bailey Photography Podcast Episode 225

Also here is the text from my discussion:

1. Collect inspiring work

• What eye candy gets your creative juices flowing?
• Approach or emulate a style until you develop yours
• Get ideas – execution cannot happen without the idea

2. Look at 1000 photos

• Take a 1000 photos
• Look at 10000 photos
• Take 10000 photos
• Etc.

3. What fuels your drive to create? Refill it!

• Is it mastering a setting?
• Is it controlling an idea?
• Is it exploring the unfamiliar?

4. Instead of random, have a plan

• Make a task for yourself – anything really
• Shoot for a theme or assignment – narrow your focus
• Tell a story
• Put a part of you into your work
• Take one thing at a time

5. Find a sense of purpose

• You are one point of a triangle – The World, The Craft, The Artist
• Photograph what you love, what moves you
• Find the inward vision or passion that gets you creating

6. Make it a priority

• Make time for photography
• Get out shooting often, daily if you can
• Don’t just say to yourself “I got 30 minutes, now what”
• Grow into it as you stick with it
• A journey, not a destination
• You might have to sacrifice something to make it a priority

7. Never be satisfied with yesterday

• You made lousy art yesterday – go make it better today
• You made great art yesterday – go make it better today
• Self-criticism keeps you from just giving up
• Get critique – even harsh will make you grow
• Get feedback from someone other than your mom
• You are not an island

8. Embrace failure

• Learn from your mistakes as well as the mistakes of others
• Experiment – how do you know until you have tried
• 100 failures could mean enlightenment is just that much closer

9. How you learn

• Learn by doing? Go do it!
• Learn by reading? Go read it!
• Learn by seeing? Go see it!
• Then go shoot it and learn from it

10. Push the envelope

• Plan to be successful on your next shoot
• Plan to have good lighting
• Plan to put the best elements together for success
• If it is comfortable, you are likely not pushing and growing

-Landon