If I only knew the things I do now, my first few years as a photographer would have been a lot less frustrating. However, when it comes down to it, many photographers feel that way; let me just say, as a beginner photographer, you are going to have a lot of frustrating moments.

This blog post is for the beginners. Maybe you got that camera for graduation or your birthday, and, you are ready to get started. Even though I am still not perfect, I have learned a lot through the years; so, here are some tips I wish someone would have shared to me.

1) Do Not Compare Yourself

In the future, I might actually do a whole blog post on this topic. It is one of the toughest aspects of photography; and, frankly, I struggle with comparison every workday. Why is it tough you might ask? Instagram, Instagram, Instagram. Should I say it again? Well, I encourage you to realize that most people, including myself, mostly show their best days on social media, not their worst.

2) Shoot In RAW, Not JPEG

When I got my first DSLR for high school graduation, I had no idea what RAW was. RAW format is lossless, which means it retains all of the details of the photograph you took. On the other hand, JPEG throws out some important information about the photograph, in order to make the size smaller.

When editing a photograph on Lightroom and Photoshop, it is important to have as much information as possible. RAW images are like magic, so set your camera to it!

3) You Don’t Need Talent, You Need Work Ethic

I think this is a little bit true of everything in life, work ethic goes a long way. In fact, I was not born a great photographer, and, many photographers were not either-we worked for it. We grew into our potential.

4) Post-Processing Should Not Be Your Saving Grace

Yes, I totally agree, post-processing makes your images look beautiful. However, you need to learn not to depend too heavily on Photoshop; in fact, it is possible to make your pictures look beautiful in-camera, with just a little editing. This will help you a ton later on!

xoxo, rebecca