Asking the right Questions to improve your photography

So my DM's on Instagram (@truthslinger) are almost all about photography questions. You'd think my DM was more lit :). Most of the time, the questions I get are pointless to helping the person asking them so I have decided to compile a few questions that I believe would help you to get the right information to make better photos.

When starting out in photography, especially now, I can imagine you'd feel like nothing makes sense. You have your camera and you shoot and the photo looks like crap. You look at the photographers you admire and their photos are not only awesome but also rake couple of thousand likes on Instagram and you wanna fall face first in a pile of sand (maybe that's just me). So you ask maybe the most obvious but useless question "What camera do you use?" "What software do you use to edit?" You get the drift. So let's get into it.

Nairobi, Kenya.

Most Obvious one "What camera do you use?"

I know that for some, this may be a valid question. If you ask it to try and use it as an explanation to the awesome photo, that's not the right reason. I understand professional curiosity but cameras seldom made the photo if ever. I know amazing photographers who shoot the most basic of cameras and know many horrible photos shot on amazing gear.

"Photography is the power of observation, not the mastery of technology" - Ken Rockwell

Usually following this is "What lens did you shoot this image on?". If I say it's a 50mm f/1.8 and you think, maybe if I buy that lens i'll be able to make that photo. You'd be wrong because you may buy it and your photo still sucks. More importantly, you like something about the photo, like the way it was lit, or the way the depth of field is shallow. In that case ask something like, "I try to shoot to make my depth of field (that blurriness you see in photos) this crisp but it doesn't happen. Is it the lens you use or is it the settings?" This way you can get a direct question to a direct answer and it will be a lot more helpful to you.

I shot this image on a 20mm lens because I needed to fit the whole arch in the shot. I needed a wide angle. (Abu Dhabi)

Same location. Shot this on a 45mm lens. I needed to focus this shot on the elements I felt made the place stand out. Archs, columns, water. The shot determines the equipment and not vice versa.

"What settings did you shoot this photo on?" Again, if you ask me and I tell you 1/200, f/4, ISO 320. This is useless information if you needed to ask it in the first place. If you want to understand how the shot was taken, being given settings won't help you because different situations call for different settings. Much more important is to understand why something was done than what was done. So ask something specific to the photo "How do you shoot to achieve the streaks of light in the photo?" "How did you set up the shot to get that waft of light and make everything else dark?" The person you ask now has a clear direction to answer your question from. Most important  is to learn to see light and shots in your head even before you lift your camera to your eye. Formulate the scene and then you will know if you're achieving what you want.

For example;

Having the sun behind the subject in this photo gives it a totally different feel. One of mystery from the darkness on her face. 1/640sec, f/5.6, ISO 100, 85mm. (Hells Gate, Kenya)

On this one, I had her turn so that the sun provided the rim light to her face. Doing this changes the mood of the photo from the one above even though they were shot a few minutes apart. Same exact settings. 1/640sec, f/5.6, ISO 100, 85mm. (Hells Gate, Kenya)

The light and shadows made the composition interesting. Light exposes and shadows hide elements in a photo. You show what you want and hide what you don't want seen by playing the elements to the light. And setting up your camera for that. In this case, 1/800sec, f/6.3, ISO 100. 45mm. (Dubai)

This is a long exposure shot to capture the light streaks of cars and buses passing by. Settings 4.0sec, f/8, ISO 250. 11mm. (Nairobi, Kenya)

Another long exposure aka slow shutter I did to get the water from the waterfall smooth and silky while not being too long that she moves and blurs herself too. Settings 1.0sec, f/8, ISO 100, 50mm. (Iceland)

"I'm in the market for a new camera. What camera should I buy?" Absolutely no shade to all my friends who know nothing about cameras and ask me this a lot (hehehehe) I ain't mad atcha. Tho' do you know why this is the most loaded question? There's hundreds of cameras in the world and so many options that are brilliant. I understand when looking to buy a camera it feels like the highest commitment, like maybe buying a house (I wouldn't know. Never bought one!) But trust me, unless the photographer reviews cameras for a living, they can't advice you properly. We will just pull from our limited knowledge. The photographer knows his camera, not so much the rest of the hundreds of cameras out there. The internet is a much better source of help, Google it. Also, for any future reference, this is where I go for Camera and Lens reviews to decide what I want to get or to read up on a camera i'd like, Kenrockwell.com

1/250sec, f/11, ISO 100, 85mm. Lake Magadi, Kenya.

"How do I make money from photography?" Strangely enough, most people who ask me this, ask me right after asking me which camera to buy. I'm always like, You don't have a camera, but you're asking about the business. That's not vision, it's lack of knowledge. You don't even know if you'll like photography or even be any good at it. Most of the time I give the answer which I believe is proper when starting out. If you haven't been shooting for 2 years, you shouldn't go anywhere near asking people to pay you to photograph them. Of course there are outliers, but there's a high chance you're not one of them. So many people getting burnt by their "photographer" who they picked because he/she was cheap but photographs so bad and they got the worst photos they've ever seen. Look, people are ok with going to school for 4 years to get a degree, mostly for the sole purpose of getting a job. Somehow though, not ok with teaching themselves the skill of photography for even a year (mostly 2) to get good enough to get photography jobs. That ain't right! (Insert appropriate gif).

If you can shoot for 2 years (or so) to grow your skill without getting off on the reward, I think you'd do very well in the business too. It's rough.

20sec, f/11, ISO 100, 11mm. Paris, France.

"Please look at my photos. Tell me what you think" This is the hardest thing to help with. I mean, I think it makes sense to ask this when you're starting out but this is why it won't help you one bit to ask this. And it won't help me help you. Photography, like life isn't about the final position, it's about progress. I can't judge where you're at without knowing where you're from. I can't talk about your photos without you telling me what you want to achieve with them or what your vision is or what the picture in your head is. And if you're shooting for no reason at all, no point even asking anyone their opinions. For me to give an opinion on your photography, you're asking me to look at everything you've done and form an opinion. This takes time that most of who you wanna ask may not have. So how to make it helpful? Ask about a specific photo. Be like "I wanted to achieve this with this image and this is what I shot. What do you think?" I have to say though, before you ask anyone about any opinion on your images please make sure you have read up on what it takes to make great photos and composition and light. Someone asked me for my opinion and I told them how they can improve on their composition, they asked "Composition of shooting or editing?" so I was like "Do you know what composition is?" "Nope". So I asked them to go read first about what makes a great photo then we could discuss photos again. The photographers you ask opinions from may not have time or grace to teach you from start so do some work yourself then come for the cream on the cake.

How To Take Better Photos. This website has helped me a lot. And it's a no-nonsense approach that many may not like, which makes it even more awesome.

1/15sec, f/16, ISO 50, 85mm. (Dubai, UAE)

1/200sec, f/1.8, ISO 200, 50mm (Kinale, Kenya)

Iceland

Final word. I know that it seems (maybe because of social media or just because most of us are lazy) that it's easier to ask someone questions to stuff you don't know, but believe me, Google it first. No need to ask someone something that's online. It's 2017, lack of information isn't an excuse. Do your research then ask extra specific questions to fill in the gaps that you already have.

Don't be in no rush. Please. It's easy to look at some of the guys you admire and want to be them asap, but remember, they haven't just started. They have been shooting for years. What you are admiring right now is the product of years of work. You want it in days, come on. Put in the work. Work in silence. Just shoot and share. Soon it will be your time to shine. Believe me.

Do you agree with my list or nah? Let me know in the comments. Also, what more questions do you think should be here?