December 2009

The greatest skill of a talented photographer is not how accurate he or she can be with exposure; it’s not being spot on with all of the tech details, or putting out thousands of images a week.

The greatest skill any photographer can hope to possess is that of observation.

Observation will define your work. It will give life and breath to the stories you capture and the beauty you create. Observation will be the difference between an average photo and a captivating photo; between an image that is a visual picture, and one that speaks to it’s audience in the most audible ways.

Developing observation – specifically in your photography – takes deliberate and practical efforts. It takes time and effort, and an unwillingness to take what is at face value.

Practice with some of the following techniques, adapted specifically for photographers:

This year has been a wonderful one here at Digital Photography School.  We’ve literally been reaching photographers around the globe.  We’re so grateful to all of you faithful readers and members of the Digital Photography School Forum! 

As a way to tell you just how much we love you, we’ve coupled with photographer extraordinaire Mike Colón to give a MEGA gift to one lucky DPS reader. 

Just comment for your chance to win (see our simple rules below) an educational DVD set including the following popular resources from Colón (retail value of $1,000 usd)!

1.  The Colón Experience: 4-day Intensive
(7 hour educational DVD set including information on lighting techniques, digital workflow and more!)

Image by garlaandcannon

I suspect that over the past 24 hours that many of us have taken more photos than we normally would in a whole month.

It seems like a shame not to see some of them – so I invite you to share your very best 2-3 in comments below.

Once you’ve taken your photos – choose your best ones, upload them to your favourite photo sharing site either share a link to them even better – embed them in the comments using the our new tool to do so.

Looking forward to seeing how people around the world are celebrating (and recording) the holiday period this week!

If you’re anything like me you’ve probably left your Christmas shopping to the last minute (as I write this post there are exactly 3 hours left til the shops close here in Australia and I still need to get one more gift)!

If you’re still searching for a great photography gift for that special photographer in your life (or perhaps a treat for yourself) we’re happy to provide you with a solution here at DPS – our Essential Guide to Portrait Photogrpahy.

While an e-book is a little hard to wrap I’ve had a lot of readers email me today to tell me that they’ve just bought copies as gifts for family and friends. It’s particularly good because you don’t have to leave your house to get it and there’s no delivery fee – just pay for it and download.