[shuttertalk]

I think as photographers, we all have areas that we are working on, techniques, skills, etc.

It'll be interesting to see what areas or particular techniques you are trying to learn or improve upon at the moment.

For me, I'm currently trying to experiment and improve upon my flash technique. I've been to a couple of weddings over the recent weeks, and I find it quite frustrating to see inconsistent results when photographing indoors.


How about you?

[Petographer]

Where I believe I need a lot of improve also requires for me to spend more money. Studio lighting and exposure.

[Toad]

What I need to improve is to take a lot more pictures, I spent too much time on the road and not enough time behind the viewfinder.

[Kombisaurus]

People... and Street/Culture... and Architecture... and Sport... They are the subjects I'm working on at the moment.

Like you ST, I've been doing quite a lot of experimenting with lighting since getting my external flash. Those no-name brand 500w halogen floodlights from places like Bunnings are amazingly cheap at the moment too (like AU$30 for a pair of adjustable 500w lights on a 6ft tripod). I got some of them when I was painting my house, but they are really useful for photography too. Being halogen (basically the same colour temp as tungsten) you can have white-balance issues though, especially if you mix them with flash or other light sources. But that's another good reason to work in b/w I reckon! And speaking of b/w, I've been progressively doing more and more of my work in it over the last few months. At the moment, probably over 1/2 my photos end up in b/w. I really like it, and find it a great learning tool as well.

As far as improvement goes, I need to sharpen my eye, practice my technique and my quick thinking in a general sense that just comes from experience I think. I've come home from a few outings recently and had really good ideas... AFTER it was too late. Similarly I've been a bit disappointed in some of my lame ideas during such outings.
When those decisive moments come up, I want *everything* to be second nature, freeing my mind to think about nothing but the situation happening around me. I want each shot to be as natural as blinking. All the lighting, exposure and composition decisions should become intuitive rather than calculated.
I want all my shots to give out that "wow, you were lucky to get that shot" feeling, but I want to secretly know there was little luck involved. "Luck favours the prepared" as they say.

Unfortunately I also expect to die of old age long before I reach my goal... but I'm not letting that stop me from giving it a shot!

[sg]

Hi guys and gals....... being only new to this sort of thing, and having a basic knowledge of photography (eg Aperture /shutter priority settings are interesting to say the least as to how they change the look of a particular shot) i guess for a start it's just trying to get the shot "right" as in depth and lighting for the certain shot. And the only way is to go out and try the same shot with certain settings............ experience is everything i would think.......

Oh, and Kombisaurus, your website is amazing

[Russt]

Landscape and people.......... I am trying to improve on as subjects at the moment. In that the use of natural light and composition. Some people have the "eye" others like me have to work on it. On the tech side I have read more than I have put into practice, so this year I hope just to get out and shoot more!

[adam]

Two things I can think of right now that I want to improve:
1) Exposure
2) Composition

[matthew]

Two things I can think of right now that I want to improve:
1) Exposure
2) Composition

That's exactly what I wanted to say...

My more immediate goal is to learn to check the settings on the camera before I use it.

[Schellamo]

Great thread! I've really enjoyed reading everyones replies here. I'm focussing on getting great portraits at the moment. (starting to run out of willing models though). The things i need to improve are exposure and clarity. I'm also feeling my way with flash photography too. Eventually I'd like to get a small studio set up, and I'm sure getting that 'right' will take up most of my time.

[smarti77]

Being more of a beginner than most my focus at the moment is to experiment with manual camera settings and not rely on automatic modes. I want to take better pictures and get the most out of my camera and not rely so much on post processing...

I am trying to learn from as many people as I can to developement my own skills and style.



Next I will focus on convincing my wife that more camera equipment is a wise investment...

[EnglishBob]

The two areas I intend to improve this year is exposure, and detail photography.

I don't mean macro's.. I mean seeign the door handle and texture on an old hut, rather than shooting the entire hut.

[shuttertalk]

Next I will focus on convincing my wife that more camera equipment is a wise investment...

ROFL...

[jbman]

Portrait, I want to try some studio style work this year.

Gels, flashes and modeling techniques.

Might do a short course this year.

[wulinka]

I find it quite frustrating to see inconsistent results when photographing indoors

same here. I have been wondering these days if I should define myself as a "natural light only" photographer, because it is so much easier, or whether I should start investing into some equipment for indoors.

which takes me to my next question, but read that here
http://www.shuttertalk.com/forums/viewto...4781#34781



uli