The journey of a photographer’s development is rarely linear. As photographers we tend to get steadily better over time as we increase our skill set, although we may start to get worse if we stop growing in creative ways. Sometimes we think we’re improving when really we’re not. But then, with perseverance, we actually may start to produce some greater images again if we start making more of an effort to continue to expand our skill set.

As a photographer of over 15 years, and one who has shot images within various different genres, both for personal and commercial projects, I still struggle with being creative at times. One thing I have learned though is that, from every photo I take which I am not quite satisfied with, it is bringing me one step closer to being better than my last shot. So here are 5 things that might be stopping you and your photography work from growing and which you can improve upon:

You Compare Yourself to Others Too Much…

In today’s world of visual media we are surrounded by pictures everywhere. And, as a result, we tend to compare our work to that of other photographers a bit all too much. So while looking at other images is a good source of inspiration, we should not use other people’s work as a measure of our own progress. If we constantly ask ourselves why our photos don’t look like another person’s work then it is not good. We shouldn’t strive to be the same as other shooters. Instead we should dissect the work of other photographers whom we admire and discover the elements within their photos which draw us to them. First decide whether it is the light, post processing, angles, subjects, mood or a combination of these traits which are the winning elements. Then take that inspiration and strive to improve upon your own work with it, while still injecting your own style (instead of theirs) into your pictures. If you take this approach, instead of worrying so much why your images look so different than your mentors, then you will notice eventual improvements in the quality of your work, and avoid the unnecessary disappointment of not being able to achieve the same results as others.

You’re Not Committed Enough…

The reality is that most great photos aren’t achieved by someone sitting at home in their favorite easy chair and pressing the shutter as if it was a remote control button. To attain great results it takes lots of effort, planning, logistics and dedication. One also needs to include unique lighting, locations, props, models, atmosphere, and creativity into their pictures. So unless you are committed to your craft, and willing to step into it with both feet, then you are probably never going to achieve the great results that you are hoping for. One has to stop making excuses and instead make the effort to achieve greater results or you must simply be willing to live with mediocrity.

You’re Too Afraid to Fail…

Nobody likes failure and many people avoid taking risks as a result. But we learn from our mistakes and our bad pictures and our failures can become the main contributor to our eventual improvement as I noted earlier. So instead of sticking with just the techniques, styles, and shooting locations that you know and are comfortable with, one needs to take chances. Try new things, step out of the box, and risk taking some really awful photos so that you can learn from the bad photos you take to now take better ones.

You Avoid Accepting Feedback On Your Work…

Many photographers like to put their photos out there for criticism, but, when it really comes down to it, they don’t like hearing negative things about their work. We especially don’t want to hear that a photo may not be good when we may have already put forth so much work and effort to create it.

This is a mistake though. And I can understand how people become defensive when they put their photos on a web site and get destructive feedback from someone they don’t even know. So public forums are often not the best place to seek input. However, honest feedback, from someone with experience, and given in private, can often be very useful. The problem otherwise is that, although we as photographers may be familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of our own pictures, we are still only giving ourselves a single perspective on our own work, and one which is also too emotionally attached to often be critical enough. So a second opinion from a fresh set of eyes can be very useful.

We also have to accept that not everything we create will end up being something worth putting in our portfolios. But at the very least, we can still learn something from creating those images and hearing another person’s helpful opinion on how to improve upon them. So make it a part of your path in photography to ask for feedback along the way from people you trust and respect. As a result, you will see yourself improve greatly as a photographer, even if your portfolio happens to become a bit smaller in the process.

You Focus Too Much On The Technical Aspects…

This is perhaps one of the most important and yet difficult aspects to overcome as a photographer. After having gone to great lengths to reach technical perfection in our work we may have overlooked the need to still be creative which can lead to capturing technically perfect, but sometimes boring images. The other problem is that when we shoot technically perfect images which lack creativity is that the people viewing them will tend to focus more on the technical aspects of our images when they lack having a major point of interest. On the other hand, if you capture a great moment, or add some atmosphere to your photo that draws people in, then often the technical limitations of a strong image can even be forgiven completely.

This does not mean that having the technical skills aren’t important. If you are very creative, but, from a technical aspect, are not able to transfer your creativity into your photos, then you have a problem too. So first do go ahead and master your technical skills. But once you have that under your belt then you can start reaching out in more creative ways without having to worry about experiencing technical limitations later. Look for things you can then introduce into your technically and well executed photos that bring out an emotional response from within. It is then that you will find that your photos start having a greater impact on others again too.

Inertia…

I have now given you 5 good ideas you can institute to help yourself improve your picture taking even more. But one more thing we are probably all guilty of to a point is inertia. As we read through ideas like this we think to ourselves yes, I should be doing more of this or that. In fact, you might feel really inspired now to take these ideas and start implementing them into your work. But as time goes on, what are you really going to do about it? And are you going to just continue carrying on with what you have always been doing already while wondering why you are still not improving? Don’t let that happen to you.

Note: The reason I added the above 3 photos to this article is because these are all recent examples of things I shot by taking a slightly different approach to how I would normally shoot them. The purpose with these shots, despite them not being the most interesting subjects to begin with, was to try and expand my range of styles a bit, even with subjects such as these. For the first picture of the Buddha statues, I have shot at this Bangkok temple many times, but I always shoot it with a wide angle lens and with lots of sharp detail throughout the frame. But this time I shot using a 70-200mm zoom lens to be able to shoot from further away from the subject and create a shallow depth of field to better isolate just one statue in the photo as I did. In the second shot of the street signs in NYC, I normally shoot what’s on the street, rather than what’s above it, so this was a new approach for me to try and look for something a bit different and less obvious. I also used some fill flash hitting the signs, which is something I would not ordinarily do on the street. And in the 3rd shot, I normally shoot isolated objects in the studio on a white background very straight-on and with level cropping. But in this shot I decided to create a partial crop and on a bit of an angle to offer a less common perspective and draw the viewer into the more interesting details of the object.