A distillation of everything I’ve learned about photography:
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100 PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS BY ERIC KIM
- Don’t compare your photos to anybody else (but yourself)
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When in doubt, take a step closer.
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Shoot from the gut in the streets; edit with your brain at home.
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Only make photos from .7 meters for a week
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Don’t upload your photos the same day you make them
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Influence the scenes you photograph
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Don’t crop your photos for a year to improve framing
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Focus on your edges while you’re shooting (composition)
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Make photos to please yourself; not others
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Start off with a black background
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When making a portrait, tell your subject not to smile.
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To capture emotion, photograph hand-gestures
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Make photos in “P” (program) mode
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Only shoot with your smartphone for a week.
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Don’t shoot what it looks like; photograph how it feels like.
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Stick with 1 camera, 1 lens for a year.
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Photograph your morning routine for a day.
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Don’t delete photos when you’re making photos on the street.
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A photograph without emotion is dead.
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I take 1,000 bad photos to make 1 good photo.
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When in doubt, click the shutter.
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To add depth to your photos, focus to 5 meters and add a foreground element.
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To be stealth in the streets, don’t make eye contact.
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The best photographers are the best liars.
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Find inspiration from the masters, but eventually kill them.
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Create your own rules in photography.
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Only photograph what you’re curious about.
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Don’t explain your photos.
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Open-ended photos are more interesting to look at (they tell better stories).
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Don’t call them “my” photos; call them “the” photos.
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Don’t hesitate before hitting the shutter.
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Copy the style of a master photographer for a week.
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Make better photos today than you did a year ago.
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Ask for permission for a street portrait (get 5 yes, 5 no). See more assignments.
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Photograph your subject in harsh light and -1 exposure compensation
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Pursue 1 personal photography project this year.
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Allow yourself to take shitty photos
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Follow the light
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Photograph life and death.
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No photographs are objective; all subjective.
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Make photos that disturb your viewer.
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Photograph someone laughing
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Photograph the ocean.
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Make a nice photo of a tree.
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Upload 1 photo everyday for a year.
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To make better photos; strip away the superfluous
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Make a photo in a hotel lobby.
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Only call yourself an ‘amateur’ photographer
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Make a photograph lying on your back.
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Ask your subject to look different directions with their eyes.
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Only shoot what is personal to you.
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Shoot street photographs that scare you.
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Print your favorite 20 photos as 4×6 prints.
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Take a photograph in an elevator.
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Make an artistic photo of your breakfast.
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Only upload your personal favorite photos.
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Only photograph hands for a week.
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Look up.
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Photograph emotions in buildings.
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Leading lines tip: Wait for your subject to enter your frame.
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Make at least 1 photograph everyday.
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Shoot all your photos with a flash for a week.
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Shoot more silhouettes.
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Only shoot the color red for a day.
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Print a photo- book with blurb.com
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Buy 1 new photo book once a month.
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Only shoot monochrome for a year.
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Ask yourself: “Why do I photograph?”
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Shoot only 35mm film for 1 month.
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Photograph someone in front of an interesting advertisement.
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Only aim to make 1 good photo once a month.
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Only shoot square-format photos for a month.
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Editing tip: When in doubt, ditch.
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Post-process your photos like seasoning your food.
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Don’t take photos; make photos.
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Editing tip: Would you ‘like’ your photo if someone else shot it?
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Photograph a shadow on your subject’s face.
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Photograph diagonals for a day.
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Put two photographs together (diptych)
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Make at least 10 photos of each scene you find interesting.
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Find inspiration for photography in Renaissance painting (Leonardo da Vinci).
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Don’t count your likes or follower numbers.
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Think decades; not years in your photography.
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Have your subject make your portrait.
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Don’t share boring photos.
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Take photos for 5 minutes everyday during your lunch break.
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Don’t call yourself a photographer; call yourself a curious person.
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Start your own blog via bluehost.com + wordpress.org
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Shoot with all your heart and soul.
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Make a photo-album for your familly.
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Make your own list of 100 photography tips.