I discovered photography over 5 years ago, and since I picked up a camera i’ve never stopped. These 99 things i’ve learned about photography have helped me improve a lot. I know a lot more about editing, composition, settings, but I know theres still so much more to learn!

  1. Never do photography to become famous
  2. Enjoy shooting in any situation
  3. Prepare yourself for every photoshoot, pick lenses you want and remember to charge up your camera battery!
  4. Always take an extra layer of clothing to keep warm or dry
  5. Find a goal you want to achieve
  6. Write tips about photography, so you can refer back to them
  7. Never go shooting without a tripod
  8. Be pleased with little photo success
  9. Build relationships with other photographers. Get connecting!
  10. Watch the place you want to shoot first, enjoy the scenery and the shoot with your camera
  11. Always stay relaxed
  12. Be still when photographing wildlife
  13. Perspective shots are amazing to view
  14. Dedicate more time into photography if its your true passion
  15. Join a photography community
  16. Keep your camera and lenses clean
  17. Never compare yourself to other photographers
  18. Find your own unique niche or style
  19. Compose your shoots, don’t keep hitting the shutter button
  20. Accept criticism, learn how to improve
  21. Do something new and creative
  22. Get inspiration from other photographers
  23. Critique your own photos honestly but respectively
  24. Get feedback from partner or family
  25. Don’t copy other photographers styles
  26. Be ambitious
  27. Use the golden ratio
  28. Use the rule of thirds as basic guidelines
  29. Take portraits of yourself
  30. Read online about photography
  31. Add an object into landscapes to give it a point of interest
  32. Pay attention to s-curves and lines
  33. Every shooting situation is different than expected
  34. Always shoot in RAW!
  35. Keep your sensor clean
  36. Discover objects you think are beautiful
  37. Practice makes perfect to become a good photographer
  38. The best equipment is what you use
  39. You can’t photograph everything
  40. Break the rules, but not your camera!
  41. Pay attention to how light reflects or falls
  42. Eyes move to contrast
  43. Clouds create atmosphere of landscapes
  44. Start a photography blog
  45. Accept praise and say ‘thank you’
  46. “Nice photo” is not a useful feedback
  47. “Brilliant” isn’t helpful either, write strong feedback
  48. Ask a question at the end of your social posts to encourage conversation
  49. Always find a solid focal point in your photo!
  50. Do a review of your previous photos and compare them to your latest
  51. Use quality over quantity
  52. Everyone starts with a small amount of equipment
  53. Your opinions on photography are important
  54. Leave a funny but thoughtful comment on photographers posts
  55. Try out some photo contests
  56. Optimise your image for great results
  57. Shoot some behind the scenes footage
  58. Shoot different exposures as much as possible
  59. HDR always gives a range of great colours
  60. Always remember why you love photography from the start
  61. Mistakes are allowed, don’t for get that!
  62. Think outside the box, try the ideas you think could work
  63. Understand histograms and why they are important
  64. Know your camera and all your settings
  65. Have a go a certain style such as Macro Photography
  66. Don’t be afraid to get dirty outside, take awesome photos!
  67. Look at the fine detail of your photos
  68. Believe in your potential as a photographer
  69. Be thankful for all the comments and feedback you get
  70. Never trust what the LCD sees, normally it is a lot brighter
  71. Provide enough computer space for your photos
  72. Find beautiful moments in photography that no one else would see
  73. Always arrive at least 1 hour before sunrise or sunset to give yourself enough time
  74. Share your posts on multiple social media platforms
  75. Ask your friends to help share your photos to new people
  76. Visit places as often as possible, scenery changes all the time
  77. Print your images to a big size and see how amazing they are
  78. Take some extra shots, even when you think you have enough
  79. Pay attention to how the sky changes the structure of the foreground
  80. Connect to your monitor and view live mode of your photos
  81. Don’t worry about how people judge your images, no one is perfect
  82. If you love your photo its worth publishing
  83. Learn from your mistakes, you’re only human
  84. Don’t become lazy, learn how to be disciplined with yourself
  85. Do your images expression emotion, colour, focus?
  86. Search for your mentor, or guru! Who is your go to for advice?
  87. Photography is about capture memories as well as good photos
  88. Don’t ever think you wasted time, bad days are ones to learn from.
  89. Don’t join a community where its not true feedback
  90. People will always find a negative, use it as motivation to succeed
  91. A famous quote to live by: “Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst”.
  92. A more expensive camera doesn’t guarantee better image quality
  93. Always keep in mind how your images would look on print
  94. You will only grow with the quality of your images, there is not other way.
  95. Find objects that you can use on your lens
  96. Photograph images that you can use in a portfolio for future clients
  97. Always check your settings, it can ruin the whole photoshoot
  98. Find friends that you can do photography with on a regular basis
  99. Start from number 1 of the list and remember them all 😉

I hope these 99 things i’ve learned about photography, will also help you in the future! Follow my instagram to gain inspiration and find more tips and tricks.

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