Qualities of a Good Photographer
What separates average photographers from good ones? And good ones from great ones?
Now, I’d say that I currently sit at around the middle of the skill spectrum. I’m more than a hobby photographer, but I’m a far way from the world-class level I aspire for. Here are some of the traits that I’ve found to be possessed by higher-level photographers.
Passion
This is the primary reason that not everybody can be a photographer. If you chose to study it “because it’s an easy qualification” you won’t be a good photographer. If you study it because you’re genuinely curious as to how you can improve your photography, then you’ll be up, up and away.
If you don’t possess a true interest in the subject that has you constantly asking “how can I make this bit or that bit better?” then you’ll never get any better, and very few people are naturally gifted photographers.
Personally, I started taking photos out of boredom, with a cheap camera my parents owned. But I got instantly hooked, I quickly learnt basic concepts like the exposure triangle and the rule of thirds from YouTube videos then practising and eventually implementing them in my photos. I’m driven just as much, if not more, now by my passion to take better and better photos.
Patience
Good things take time.
As you study and learn new concepts, it takes a while before you begin using them effectively, and longer again before you’re using them without thinking. This is the process of “developing your eye”, a sub-trait of a good photographer, which helps you to determine what is an appealing photo, and what could be improved about a given shot.
I’ve taken well over 100,000 photographs in the five or so years that I’ve been snapping so far. I’m now spending more time than ever looking through my viewfinder, and the quality of my work has improved massively in just the last few months, but I understand that I also have a very long way to go.
Willingness To Fail
You have to be willing to take photos which aren’t very good, it’s the number one way to take photos that are better. Don’t imagine that you’ll take world-class photos on your second-hand point and shoot within months of starting.
(No doubt, some people capture a perfect moment or a low-resolution and poorly lit photo of a certain event, in which case the subject matter outweighs the poor photo quality. But cases like this are beyond rare.)
Get out there and take your crap photos! And own them! Share them with the world and garner feedback from more experienced photographers (There’s a Reddit page I love called r/photocritique for just this).
There’s no such thing as the perfect photograph, and there will always be points to critique and areas to improve.
It’s a constant, beautiful, chase.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this read. Perhaps you know of some other traits that a good photographer should have, so feel free to comment!
