The best way to learn photography, once you have the basic knowledge, is to practice. If you read me often, you know that, to me, of “practice makes perfect” is like a mantra. And I will never tire of repeating as often as necessary if it means I get to help you. That’s why today I plan to meet in a single article exercises photography that I consider a great help to become a better photographer. Are you ready for training? Ah! That you still need to learn before you practice, good point, luckily we have a mega guide prepared for you, an essential guide for you to learn photography on your own.
Table of Contents
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO DO EXERCISES OF PHOTOGRAPHY?
Any discipline requires training and practice to master it. A pianist spends hours at the piano, even though it is a virtuous of matter, as well as the best athlete. The hours of training to correct errors, refine skills, improve physical fitness or mental, they are essential! We agree on this, right?
The same thing happens in photography, the practice is not only useful but necessary. If you really like photography you want to achieve stunning images and move a little more every day, you do not have more choice exercise to practice. The camera alone kept in your bag is not going to make your photos the best.
The type of exercises you do will depend on the time of your needs or the photograph that you want to do. That is why in this mega guide, today you are going to be exercises of a very diverse nature. So that you can organize it as you wish without you lacking ideas. Although listens (or reads) my next recommendation. ¡VERY IMPORTANT!!
SET A SCHEDULE
My advice is IMPORTANT is that you mark a calendar. Practice requires effort and sometimes… well … lazy, yes, I’ve lived in the first person. But when you have goals marked everything is easier, I assure you, either because you made a commitment with you or because you don’t have to think every time “And what about today what exercise do I do?” (ahem… double-laziness, right?). The reality is that our mind tends to adhere to the dates, without them we are more than procrastinate, that is to say, to leave things for tomorrow. A deadline is a challenge and a predisposition to finish the task in that time period.
Just have to make a little effort the first time to plan a workout calendar and from there… let’s train! The commitment is with you, don’t miss it!
Attention, ¡¡set realistic goals for yourself!! Don’t you come up marking a calendar-adjusted, which then do not go to meet and will only serve to get frustrated more? If you spare time and you can always repeat an exercise or overtake another calendar.
In fact, repeating the exercises is something that I highly recommend. Yes, yes, repeat them until you feel like shooting it or as you say in your soil, but do almost with your eyes closed. It will be then when you really have mastered.
WHERE CAN YOU FIND INSPIRATION?
In addition to all of the exercises that I’m going to share with you today, there are other ways to find inspiration on how to practice photography:
- Contests. Winning a contest is the cane!, but it is not the only goal. Introduce yourself to competitions is one way to keep active creativity and practice. So, when you are lacking ideas, look for contests and practice the theme or the idea which they propose as the subject of the same. Seriously, these are a great source of inspiration.
- Photo-walks. These rides photographic are an excellent opportunity to get to practice your favorite hobby in good company. Learn from others, share experiences, discover new looks, and new points of view, or to give and receive constructive opinions, are some of the possibilities. It’s an exercise that has no price. Search by your area and, if you do not find it, try to arrange one.
- Associations of photography. Sure that your area there is some association. You do not have to be a big one, and with that will serve to meet people, activities, meetings, brainstorm challenges, etc, you’d better to maintain the activity photo.
GET OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE
Secure that this phrase you’ve heard a lot of times. There are some who think that if you’re good for what are you going to change anything. The question is… how are you okay?! What do you get already the photographs of your life? Are you where you want to be photographically speaking?
If the answer is NO, my friend, getting out of your comfort zone is the only thing that will make you move forward and make progress, the only way to cause the changes in your photos that you need to see. If what you are doing now doesn’t work, you will have to do something different to get different results, don’t you think?
To do this, dare to try new things, to get challenges that ever you had raised, to immerse yourself in disciplines that you seemed unattainable (and that with practice you’ll end up dominating), because that is the only secret, the (in)training and practice. The first you have in the blog, the second, depends on you.
EXERCISES OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Now yes, we’re going to get filled in all the exercises that you can do. Do you have paper and a pen? Remember that you can also put this article in your favorites 😉
EXERCISES TO PHOTO COMPOSITION
The composition of a photograph depends on how you place the elements of the scene within the frame. A good composition can save a photo that is technically imperfect. However, the reverse does not occur, if the composition is poor, no matter how perfect that is at a technical level the image will not have anything to do. Be boring to the full. His destination: the trash.
That’s why I recommend that you practice with exercises to improve your photographic compositions and with you, I detail below:
- Includes a vanishing point. take photographs from different height, observe what happens as you approach the ground.
- Uses one or more lines to lead the eyes to the center of interest.
- Photography is a pattern, i.e., an element in repeat in a rhythmic fashion.
- Photography is a pattern with an item that you break or interrupt.
- Take a picture of a symmetry, and then try to include some element that break this symmetry.
- Look for a composition through a reflection that includes several layers or stories.
- Skip one or more rules photographic intentionally, with a criterion.
- Photograph the same scene with different focal distances.
- Photograph the same object with different focal lengths but away and/or you to try this have the same size in the different images.
For mastering color in your photographic compositions, also I advise that you practice with these suggested exercises:
- Take a picture in which there is chromatic harmony.
- Look for a scene with the contrast of two complimentary colors.
- Take a picture with warm colors and the other with cool colors.
- Take a picture which includes one element in red.
EXERCISES LIGHTING PHOTO
The objects change appearance depending on how it hit the light or from where it comes. Is not the same as a hard light that diffuses light. Nor is it the same thing that is a light, front-side.
Listen, it is important that you understand this before moving forward, because you will know when and how you need to shoot your reasons, depending on what you want to convey, or what you want to highlight them.
Some exercises that you can perform to understand the behavior of the light:
- Photograph the same object first with diffuse light and then with hard light.
- To illuminate the same object from different directions and can take a picture of each one of these situations.
- Photograph an object or reason, with or without reflector. This can be any white surface or reflective, or a sheet of paper, aluminum foil, etc
- Do a portrait with the built-in flash, return it again, but this time wrap the flash with a scarf of white paper or cover it with a white bag.
- Photograph the same object or subject with the same parameters in an interior but near the window; then, after a little further away; a third photo is a little further away. When you see what happens you will have to discover what is the inverse square law. It was not so difficult truth, I know this will save you a lot of pictures.
- Photographing the same place at different times of the day.
Don’t stand in the fire and ready, each one of these exercises is to analyze the result and check how it behaves light. Once mastered, everything will be much easier and more spectacular. You will see!
EXERCISES TO DEVELOP THE PHOTOGRAPHIC EYE
Some people are born with a gift and a photographic view of natural compositions. The rest of us mortals don’t have that luck. The good news is that the photographic eye can develop and train,
EXERCISES TO DO AT HOME
I know, I am aware that, sometimes, we can’t leave the house, for whatever reason: a pandemic, a cold, a superstorm, baby napping or just do not feel like it, that also has one a right to enjoy the home.
Should it be a reason for not being able to practice your photography? Not at all! You can perform these exercises without leaving the house, or use these other ideas to practice photography at home.
What is more, did you know you had the possibility to learn some photographic concepts without leaving your chair with simulators? or…. doing a search of all these accessories photographic that you already have in your house and you don’t know how to shoot some of them (or all 😉 ).
EXERCISES FOR PHOTOGRAPHY URBAN STREET
If it is yours it can kick you in the city in search of photographs urban or street, I propose this series of exercises to overcome fear when photographing on the street.
And fear is what paralyzes us at the time of photographing strangers and in public places. That’s why there are those who prefer the stolen, if you dare, here are some tips and tricks to practice with portraits.
But there are more, these are other exercises that I invite you to make to practice street photography:
- Search for a scene to photograph in white and black.
- Find an image that stands out for the colours.
- Photographing someone to smoke (a dark background and the good light will help you to highlight the smoke).
- Make a high contrast photography.
- Playing with the reflection of a shop window, and the passers-by, try to include different scenes or layers in the frame.
- Search reflexes interesting that include different scenes or stories.
- Perform a composition attractive including lights and shadows.
- Photograph from or in the inside of a public transport.
- Photograph a silhouette.
EXERCISES TO CREATE YOUR OWN STYLE
Find a style of its own within the photography is not easy, but not impossible. It is a journey, sometimes longer, others shorter, but carries a journey to the end of the day.
Here you have some ideas of exercises to find your own style:
- To answer some questions. Can seem too theoretical, however, come clean with you is an important challenge, you need, as well. Find your style requires get to know you more and better. What is it that you like to photograph? What is it that you moved to the that have become the favorite photos? What are the authors you love and what they have in common? The answers will be the starting point in order to move forward in the way. This is an advice of a friend, look for a book, or a paper, and responds to these questions in hand, I assure you it is very different to write it down to think about it.
- Flipping through your photo archive. Observe what it is that most abounds, what is the type of photography that more repeats, what kind of photos they have more strength and with which you identify yourself more.
- Do not copy. stop imitate or emulate the photographs of others. Much as they inspire you, doing what the others will take you away to your own style and your unique look.
How you are going to help with these exercises? You will serve to define what kind of photographs correspond more to your way of seeing life and photograph it, or what is the same, to your own style. Define is the first step, focus your efforts on this type of photography is the following.
EXERCISES PICTURE FOR AWAKENING CREATIVITY
Are you one of those who believe that creativity depends solely on the arrival of the muses? So I regret to tell you that you can expect to be granted that they are not going to come if not the flames and screams. And in case you have the privilege of hosting your visit, if you do not get caught practicing or are you going to sniff it. They are so whimsical 😉 .
Creativity, friend reader, ¡¡¡wakes up working!!!, that is to say, practicing in our case. Like any other muscle, you have to train it (if I like to think that it is like a muscle because the more you exercise, the better yields). Do you want to exercise to train the creativity? Here’s a good handful of them:
- Different photos that you can practice from now.
- Wake up the creativity with an object as mundane as a cup.
- Play with the aperture to achieve creative photos.
- Play with the shutter speed to work with the creativity.
EXERCISES FOR EACH SEASON OF THE YEAR
Some times inspire us more than others, such as Christmas, for example, for which we propose this series of exercises.
EXERCISES WITH TRIPOD
If you have a tripod, I’m going to propose a series of exercises to get familiar with it, with its possibilities and to practice some skills of photographic something more technical:
- Bracketing
- Self-portrait
- Time-Lapse
- Photograph of fireworks
- Photograph a lightning storm
- Capture the light trails of car lights in long exposure
Notice! In the next section you’ll also find some ideas for practicing the tripod.
EXERCISE OF LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY
Landscapes are of many types: natural, urban, different, black and white, etc, in this mega guide you can delve fully into the landscape photography if you are drawn to this discipline, here’s what I’m going to indicate you are some exercises that you can go practicing for when you have in front of you that landscape that never will you forgive not be portrayed:
- To capture the effect silky water.
- To make a panoramic.
- Photographing a landscape, minimalist.
- Practice manual focusing with the focusing of the stars.
- Perform a bracketing of exposure.
- Simulate the fog with mist, petroleum jelly, or a white object in the cutting plane.
EXERCISES WITH THE MOBILE
Not all photography is with a digital SLR, mirrorless, or similar. There are those who greatly enjoy shooting with your smartphone and it is equally laudable. Remember that it is not the camera that makes the picture, but the one who presses the button with Toowoomba the intention behind that small gesture.
You can thrill like using a mobile phone more professional. But you can not move with the camera most expensive in the world if the only thing you do is to press the button and left all the responsibility to the machine. Because You don’t have that super-human power that you have and you get excited and excited!
That said, with the camera of your mobile phone, in addition to many of the exercises that you will find throughout this mega guide, you can also make these other that we detail step-by-step in their respective links:
- clone without editing program.
- Achieve a perfect panorama with your phone.
- To make a successful time-lapse.
- Achieve amazing and funny pictures with forced perspective.
In addition to these, you should try all of the features that it offers, shoot in HDR mode, and without him, to try portrait mode or night if you have one, to observe the differences with him, and without him, etc, I Bet that you haven’t spent enough time to squeeze the possibilities of your smartphone, am I wrong? Well, the time has come!
EXERCISES PICTURE PORTRAIT
Portrait photography is one of the disciplines most practiced, perhaps one of the main reasons is due to its accessibility, so it is also a good resource to practice photography, for example, with these exercises:
- Portraits, different.
- Create a portrait with harsh light.
- Photographing different levels of the same person.
- Practice the poses, good poses for women or poses of the men. In this way, when you’re in a session with someone you don’t know what to do, you’ll have resources to save the situation and not left blank.
EXERCISES TO NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY
EXERCISES TO IMPROVE THE APPROACH
Hit with the approach at times, causing some real headaches, right? I know. Also what I suffered. lucky to have the auto-focus cameras, the bad thing is that it doesn’t always work as it should or would like.
That’s why there’s nothing better than practicing with the manual approach to those situations where the autofocus leaves you lying there. My advice for practice is that, at times, when you have time, get to focus on any subject or object in the manual. Don’t worry about achieving a good photo, at the beginning only worry about what you want it to be focused it is. Make sure it is as well to expand the screen image, in small deceives them if you do not believe me try it 😉 .
Practice this exercise until you make it easy to focus on the first. It is a simple exercise, but responds with sincerity, how many times you’ve done it before?
And now, a round of exercises that help you practice the approach:
- Make a macro photography, if you don’t have a macro lens, flip it to have.
- Autorretratarte.
- Shoot through a glass.
- Photograph with a very large aperture (for example, f/1.4).
To master the approach in any situation it is important to know your camera and the functions related to this, so please do not hesitate to dust off the manual of instructions if needed. I know, it’s a bit bloody movie, but who has something they want something it costs, right?
EXERCISES TO IMPROVE PHOTOGRAPHIC TECHNIQUE
Now that you have practiced with the approach, I’m going to propose three exercises that train, so this aspect as the other is also more technical, don’t panic, you already know that in the blog, we make things easy:
- Practice the law of reciprocity, only if it’s still cost you expose correctly (the name sounds like something terrible, but trust me, it is much easier to understand and carry out).
- Same picture with a different ISO until you reach the highest values. In this way you will see from what is the value of the noise is visible so that you can decide each time whether to upload more or not.
- Photographing the smoke, it is not necessary that you smoke, you already know that it is not the best thing, the incense or a candle also worth ;P .
- Photograph a drop of water (and without dying from despair, hear).
- To make a sweep (and it is not with broom).
- Practice with the hyperfocal distance (another awful name that does not do justice to his simple explanation, and what is capable of).
PHOTOGRAPHIC PURSUITS
You can call them purposes, exercises, or as to give you the real wins.
If you feel the start of a new stage in your life, a new year, the start of the course, a change of city or any other point of inflection, it may be a good time to ask yourself these purposes photographic or exercises.
This last batch of proposals is also a good point to close out this entire series of exercises that I hope you practicing.
I would like you to share in the comments what it is you’re getting, what you’re practicing if a man has you stuck, or even if you feel like sharing the results, I/we will love to read.
And above all, I want to see how your camera checks SMOKE!
¡Pssss! Wait! Before saying goodbye, what if you share with more people this mega guide of exercises? Do you know someone who would like to train with you? You sure you can help each other, send it as an invitation 😉
Happy training. Happy photography.
