10 Photography Quotes that You Should Know

In this post Hákon Ágústsson from PhotoQuotes.com and www.Imageree.com. shares some great quotes on the topic of photography and explains why they’re worth knowing.

Take note of and remember the following photo quotes. It’s always worthwhile to learn from masters.

“The wisdom of the wise and the experience of the ages are perpetuated in quotations”. – Benjamin Disraeli

1. “ You don’t take a photograph, you make it. - Ansel Adams

Full awareness of what makes a good photo is essential in taking great photographs.

Why would anyone be interested in this photo and what elements can be included or excluded to make it truly great?

2. “ Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst. – Henri Cartier-Bresson

Do you know how many photos you have taken up until now? You will have to take thousands of pictures to reach a point where you can begin to evaluate them objectively. Looking upon your photos as if you were looking at them through someone else’s eyes is a good way to give yourself constructive criticism. Comparing your first photos with your most recent, do you see improvement? Do you remember how you loved some of your first photos – do you still love them or are they now not so good anymore?

3. “ Beauty can be seen in all things, seeing and composing the beauty is what separates the snapshot from the photograph. – Matt Hardy

You often don’t or can’t see beauty in the world until someone shows it to you. Take a look around you just now – even without moving from the computer. Can you see something in a new way, a different way of presenting something common? Just take a look again…

4. “ Nothing happens when you sit at home. I always make it a point to carry a camera with me at all times…I just shoot at what interests me at that moment. –Elliott Erwitt

When the world is your canvas, so to speak, you need your tools with you to capture everything around you. Make a habit of always carrying a camera with you—you will never suffer the regret of wishing you had.

5. “ Which of my photographs is my favorite? The one I’m going to take tomorrow. – Imogen Cunningham

Never be fully satisfied with what you’ve done.

Never stop photographing. It is very likely that your best photograph has not yet been captured.

6. “ You’ve got to push yourself harder. You’ve got to start looking for pictures nobody else could take. You’ve got to take the tools you have and probe deeper. –William Albert Allard

We are always looking for reasons for not taking good pictures. Cartier-Bresson used film camera, same lens, no flash, same shutter speed – he didn’t need the newest digital equipment to take great photos.

We all have access to some subjects that no one else has access to – look at your friends’ hobbies, the workplaces of friends and family, and any place you have access to to find a vision that comes uniquely from your access. Many people would dream of having the same access you have, and you might not have considered how valuable your access is.

7. “ If I saw something in my viewfinder that looked familiar to me, I would do something to shake it up. – Garry Winogrand

How often have you seen a photo that is missing something, thinking, “This is a good photo but I’d make it different somehow.”? Sometimes small things make a big difference. Don’t be afraid to shake things up.

8. “ I always thought good photos were like good jokes. If you have to explain it, it just isn’t that good. – Anonymous

Sometimes it is interesting to hear the story behind the photo and you see the photo in a new light. But in most cases a photo shouldn’t need a story to back it up. It has to speak for itself.

9. “ Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop. – Ansel Adams

Even one of the masters in photography, Ansel Adams, didn’t expect to get more than 12 great photographs each year.

How can anyone expect more?

Take a look at your last year in photos – do you really see 12 photos that stand out from the rest?

10. “It can be a trap of the photographer to think that his or her best pictures were the ones that were hardest to get. – Timothy Allen – On editing photos

Editing photos can often be the most difficult but also the most satisfying part. Sometimes taking a quick look at all the photos and then going away for a while before taking a closer look lends a fresh eye to your viewing. You may see things you did not notice previously. Stepping away from the mass of photos can make certain images stand out in your mind’s eye, leaving a memorable impression that can characterize a good photo.

What photography quotes do you think everyone should know?

Check out more of Hákon’s work at PhotoQuotes.com and www.Imageree.com.

PHOTOGRAPHY TIP—HOW TO PROTECT YOUR ASSETS

This is not an article about your financial assets, but your photographic assets, which are the digital photos you shoot for a fee. During the film photography era, a photographer would shoot an assignment, provide the client with proofs from which to select the pictures and then make prints of just those images—and charge a price for each one. Typically, the negatives would remain the property of the photographer; and he or she could sell additional prints to the client in the future.

The digital photography era has changed all that. Now, you can shoot many more images during an assignment than a film photographer would ever think of shooting. Plus, you can put all of them on a single disc (in most cases). That’s the issue, however. If you give the client, or he or she asks, for that disc of all the images, then you may beleaving your assets unprotected. For, once the client has all the images, he or she isn’t necessarily obligated to order any prints from you, thus eliminating a time-honored revenue stream for photographers. It’s what known as “shoot and burn.”

Canon Rebel T4i | Nikon D7100 | Nikon D800 | Canon 5D Mark III | Nikon D5200 | Sony A99

The downside is not just a loss of income, but also relinquishing quality control of any prints. Plus, as soon as you release all those images on a disc to your clients, they will expect a disc of all future jobs.

Retaining your photographic assets, however, means you have control of how any prints are made and displayed. Clients must buy prints from you, which keeps your business relationships active; and, thus, your value as a photographer is elevated in the minds of your clients. More importantly, you can be sure that your reputation and skills are not mistakenly (or purposely) misrepresented.

Controlling print quality is particularly important because there is such a variation in paper and printers. You can’t necessarily rely on your clients to use a high-end, professional print service. In fact, they are more likely to be concerned with convenience and speed before print quality. As soon as mediocre prints of your digital photos start circulating, potential clients may undervalue your work and avoid your sales and marketing efforts.

This situation is obviously ripe with possible client conflicts because they’ll insist that you provide a disc with all the digital photos you took or don’t expect any future assignments.

There are solutions, however, that many professional photographers have been able to use both to satisfy their clients and protect the photographers’ digital assets.

• Rely on the tried-and-true method of the film era: State in your contract that the client will receive printed proofs from which he or she can choose the specific images they want.
• Clients receive a disc when they spend a minimum amount for your services. For example, a wedding photographer would give the bride and groom all the digital photos on a disc as part of a specific album package.
• Distribute low-resolution images on a “proof” disc. Clients are able to see all the images (as they would with printed proofs), but won’t be able to have high-quality prints made to complete their projects. They could only order prints from you.
• Create a password-protected gallery for each client on your Web site, where he or she can view the images you shot. You eliminate the cost of printed proofs, and even a disc. Plus, you can add an ordering system to the gallery, so a client can order any prints whenever they need them—but again, only from you.
• Another traditional solution is to add a watermark to each digital photo and/or proof print. This is common practice on most online stock photo sites. Photos can be viewed before purchase, but they can’t be used with the watermark.

Whatever solution(s) works best for you, make sure it is clearly stated in your contract and that you explain your system to your clients in advance of accepting an assignment. Only then can your photographic assets maximize your financial assets

Also check out: 11 PHOTOGRAPHS THAT SHOOK THE WORLD

How To Photography: Taking Control of Brightness

At its most fundamental level, photography is light: the capturing of light, either ambient or reflected off a subject, object or scene. Too many beginner (and even experienced) photographers conclude, therefore, that bright light is a photographer’s friend. That would be wrong, however. The brightest light creates the deepest shadows, which is why those vacation photos on the beach or the ski slopes don’t show people’s eyes or create dark shadows on the background that are distractions.

Bright light is neither your camera’s friend, especially when you rely on its automatic exposure capability. In fact, as wondrous as digital photography technology is, it is usually confused when confronted with a scene or subject bathed in bright light.

A little technical background is required here. The manufacturer of your camera had to chose average settings for the auto exposure mode in your camera. That average is known as 18% gray, or a reading by a light meter that the scene or subject is reflecting 18% of the light. The problem is that the actual image you are shooting may not have average brightness; it may have a reading more than 18% (or less): a beach with strong light reflecting off the sand or a bright, snowy day during winter when the light is reflecting off the snow or ice. What generally happens is that your camera applies the average setting and your image is underexposed, or looks too dark.

Canon Rebel T4i | Nikon D7100 | Nikon D800 | Canon 5D Mark III | Nikon D5200 | Sony A99

The limitation of your camera’s auto mode is a great opportunity to learn about a control on your camera you may not know is there, or you may have seen it, but simply disregarded it. It’s called exposure value (EV) compensation; and as the name suggests, it allows you to compensate for the auto mode’s confusion when shooting images in bright light (or low light). Since it’s unlikely you’ve ever read your camera’s manual thoroughly, you may be surprised to learn that it will show you where the EV control is on your camera and how to use it. What a concept!

Once you do find it, you’ll notice that it provides you with a number of choices that are designated as +1, +2, -1 and -2. Many cameras will allow you to select these values in 1/3-increments. DSLR cameras tend to have a wider range of EV settings. As part of learning how to use EV compensation, you’ll want to do some experimentation. A bright morning on the beach may require only a +1 compensation to provide the correct amount of light for a balanced photo. High noon at the beach with highly reflective sand may require +2. You may even want to find a very bright scene and shoot a series of images at each of the EV settings, so you can compare them side-by-side on your computer. It’s a great learning tool. As you understand what lighting conditions require the right amount of EV compensation, it will become second nature to use it to your benefit.

Another learning opportunity that will help you with brightness control is reading your camera’s histogram. Again, start with your camera manual, which will teach you most of what you need to know. A histogram is simply a graphical representation of how your camera is reading the light. The preset, average exposure setting mentioned above, or gray, is in the center of the graph, with darker to the left and lighter to the right. When your camera’s auto mode reads the bright light on a beach and produces an underexposed photo, most of the histogram data will be in the center of the scale. When you increase the EV compensation to +1 or +2, the histogram’s data spike will now be to the right, or in the lighter area. Taking some control of the exposure with EV compensation has allowed you to override the camera’s automatic reading and provide the right amount of light for the photo.

Photography is a learning experience that even the greatest photographers in the world are doing everyday. Neither they nor you can understand everything about your camera during a short period of time, so learn one new feature or function per week. Make exposure value compensation this week’s self-taught tutorial and you’re sure to bring home much better vacation pictures from those bright beach, ski slope, watersports or amusement park environments.