No success can be achieved in a day and a half, and the same is true of photography. If you want to be an outstanding photographer, you must have proficient basic photography skills. You must also have a solid aesthetic foundation and more important understanding, and have unique insights into photography itself. Through everyone's summary, from Xiaobai to Master, you usually go through these seven steps. There are too many simple people in the front, but the last few steps are too difficult and lonely.
Step 1: Casual shooting
In this step, you can generally not pay attention to skills, just like photography, take a random shot with your camera or even your mobile phone, regardless of some basic photography skills such as aperture shutter composition, and just record every bit of your life casually. Don't think too much about it, just simply record it.
Step 2: Start caring about photography skills
At this stage, you start to be dissatisfied with simple and casual shooting. The fool mode of mobile phone or card machine always can't meet your requirements. You start to take some slightly professional photos, so you start to pay attention to some photography skills, you also want to learn some basic knowledge, and you will also start to pay attention to some entry-level SLR and other equipment. It is likely that you understand that your basic knowledge is not enough at this time, but maybe you are more concerned that the equipment is not good enough, and the desire for good equipment is stronger than the desire for photography knowledge
Step 3: Really understand the importance of technology
At this time, you should already have semi-professional or professional cameras, lenses and other equipment. At this time, you will find that technology is far more important than equipment. What limits yourself is the immaturity of technology, and the performance of equipment is not fully exerted in your hands at all. So you start to work hard on exposure, composition and use light. You should also start learning the knowledge of post-processing, because you have already understood that post-processing is also a part of the whole photography process, just like the natural beauty of a beautiful woman, but some light makeup will make it more perfect. You have taken photography as a part of your life during this period, and no matter how you photograph in the future, it may accompany you all your life.
Step 4: Think that technology is omnipotent
During this period, you can already take photos that look very good, and you are relatively mature in technology. At this time, you often get into a misunderstanding, that is, you are likely to rely too much on skills, the perfect setting of some superstitious parameters, and pursue the quality of picture quality, but forget the soul of photography. In fact, this is a bottleneck period. You will slowly begin to be more and more dissatisfied with your photos, feeling that you can't break through all the time. When you come to the end, you think that photography is like this, but you can't understand your own difference when you see really good works.
Step 5: Start reflecting
After the stagnation of the last stage, you will gradually understand that those techniques are just petty tricks, and deep works are the foundation. Those techniques only serve the soul of the photograph. So what you think most about before each shooting is not what parameters or equipment you use. What you think most about is the thoughts you want to express and how to express them. At this time, the number of photos you take is often getting smaller and smaller, and people around you often look at your photos. It doesn't look so good, but the most important thing is that your photos have your thoughts!
Step 6: Maturity
At this stage, you have gradually formed your own mature style, and you can skillfully use photography to express different emotions. If you are a creative photographer, you can completely use your series of works to do some film festivals, which can improve your position in the circle and better communicate and create. If you are a commercial photographer, you can also complete ultra-high orders for big brand customers.
Step 7: The True Master
At this stage, every work or series of works you take is not just a simple photo. They all tell a story and even leave your special contribution in the history of photography. At this time, no one will talk to you about any technical or equipment problems. These are all randomly. I believe everyone who can reach this level has heard of it. Maybe you and I may not be able to see this threshold for the rest of our lives. Photography and music painting are the same art. Technology and equipment are just the tools you use. The thoughts of works are the expression of your soul. Works with souls are the most rare. Even if you try harder, you may not reach the last step, but whether you keep moving forward depends on how much you love photography. You might as well look back and see which step you have reached.
