The only way to improve your photography…

Yes, the only way!

… is to always work the shot.

“Working the shot” means that instead of lifting your camera, snapping, and walking away… every time you shoot, you take a whole bunch of photos in an intentional way. Emphasis on the word intentional.

The more you change it up, the more practice you get… and the more you discover about your own style and what works.

Here are just a few ways you can “work the shot” next time you shoot…

• Change your angle. Do whatever it takes to try shooting from different perspectives. Climb stairs to photograph from above or get some knee pads so you’ll be comfortable crawling around on the ground. Whatever you do, go beyond shooting at eye level.

• Go back again and again. If you can, return to the same spot at different times of day – or even different times of year! – to capture changes in lighting mood.
• Play with distance. Try getting in close, then back up and show more of your subject or the setting.

• Switch lenses. Lenses are like your camera’s eye. A wide angle lens will give you very different images than a telephoto lens. Bring two along and try shooting the same thing with different lenses. This will also help you learn your equipment.
• Change your aperture. Experiment with how much of your scene is in focus by adjusting your aperture. Wide aperture openings such as f/2.8 will give you less in focus while small aperture openings such as f/11 will give you more in focus.
• Rotate your camera! This one is so simple, yet it’s also so easy to forget. Be sure to take both horizontal and vertical images of your subject. This is especially important for stock photography, since a lot of photo buyers are looking for vertical shots to be used in printed media.

You don’t need fancy gear or tons of photography knowledge to work the shot.

All it takes is a few extra seconds to try something different. It’s so important to slow down and really take the time to see your subject or scene in different ways.

The next time you take out your camera – or even your phone – challenge yourself to take TEN different images of the same subject. If you get in the habit of doing this, not only will you become a better photographer, you’ll also have ten times the amount of photos to add to your stock photo portfolios.

Let’s do it together – this week, take 10 very different photos of the same thing and share on the Breakfast Stock Club Facebook Page. I’ll do the same and share in this note next week.

I’ll highlight your photos in this note, too!

[Editor’s Note: Learn more about getting started selling your photos online in stock agencies – no matter how much or little photography experience you have – in the Breakfast Stock Club e-newsletter. It’s once a week, and it’s free to join, here.]