Too often photographers are ultra-secretive of their not-so-secret techniques. There are indeed trade secrets a photographer may have learned and/or crafted over the course of their career to give them a unique, competitive edge. There is no harm in a photographer holding onto those. Yet too often fundamentals everyone should know, or more advanced/specialized skills that anyone who wants to learn should be given the opportunity know, are revered as “trade secrets.”
There are many aspects to shooting an image which do not require layers of complexity and iron-vault secrecy to protect. Some are as old as photography itself; others are newer with the advent and widespread use of digital photography.
Always remember, just because another photographer knows how you set your camera does not mean he or she will produce the same image as you. For the most part they won’t be shooting the same subject as you, at the same location, at the same time of day. Sometimes another photographer might, but they won’t have your individual eye for composition, your particular angle, equipment, or any other multitudes of factors.
There are of course fundamentals everyone should know once they reach a certain level. An incomplete list includes things like shutter speed, aperture, ISO, the rule of thirds, freezing motion from handholding your camera vs. freezing action, motion blurs, controlling light through filters and modifiers, basic flash use (external flash units, not the ones that pop-up on your camera body automatically), using a tripod, shutter release cables, etc.
For the bare-bones basics and a bit beyond, most things can be found with a Google search and YouTube video. But what if you really want to learn more? What if you aspire to turn pro? What if you’ve been earning some money as a photographer but want to take it to the next level? Unfortunately not every type of photography lends it self to assisting an established pro in their studio and learning by working beside them, nor does every person seeking to turn pro have the ability to work for little or no money as an intern or assistant (rent, utilities, car payments, school and/or unsecured debt, the current state of the economy, if you live in a high cost-of-life area such as NYC or Los Angeles, and more make working for free or part time at minimum wage an impossible scenario).
The worst is the scattering of articles throughout the internet purporting pro-level secrets, while in reality just spewing out these more standard techniques and skills. If they help you as a novice or an amateur, then time well spent reading. Unfortunately once you get beyond a certain level they’re utterly worthless.
In response to this, every so often on the Driftwood Photography Studios revamped blog, I’ll be discussing techniques that most definitely are not trade secrets, but are incredibly useful, and often inexplicably coveted as if they’re the One Ring from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings.
Your feedback will help in creating future posts, so please comment or message me directly through the Driftwood Photography Studios webpage with feedback, suggestions, etc. Please keep visiting/reading for new photography techniques and tips, as well as amazing images and write-ups from Benjamin Ginsberg and Driftwood Photography Studios, and be sure to follow on Instagram/Twitter at @DriftwoodFoto.