Sometimes I forget that some people are new to this whole photography thing. I forget that for some, this is their first photo challenge. Annoying, right? Actually, one of the things I love most about my 30 Day Challenge is that it opens up a whole world of photography to people who think you need a fancy camera to capture an amazing image. It geeks me out to see an image that someone took with their phone that is simply stunning. And it makes me simply giddy to see THEIR excitement at capturing such a photo. So when Stephanie emailed me the other day and said “I came up with some tips for new, amateur, challengers. See if you think they would be helpful…” it felt like an epiphany. YES! Of course! Now, full disclosure, Stephanie is my awesome sister. She embraced the Summer Photo challenge in a passionate and exuberant way. She uses ONLY her iPhone6 and has become quite a master of it. I love that she took the time to write out these tips for our challenge newbies. I have to say, it inspires me to have created a group where we can all share our experiences and cheer each other on. The “challenge” is not with each other, it’s with ourselves. From newbie to seasoned pro, we can all learn something throughout this process. That, my friends, is super cool. Here is what Stephanie wanted to share with you all. Make sure to leave her some love in the comments and add your own tips if you have any to share! Thank you Steph!
What I learned from my first photo challenge.
A guest post by Stephanie Mielke
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Images by Stephanie Mielke
Shooting the Prompt
Choosing your subject can stress… or delight! Some prompts are pretty straight forward, others, more of a challenge. (It is a photo challenge, after all!) When all else fails, use your imagination. A clever caption can make a photo work with a tricky prompt!
If you have time, hop in the car, take a walk, and do a little exploring. Be a tourist in your home town! Take photos of places you’ve never seen, or look at familiar objects in a new way, from a new angle.
If you don’t have time, explore your house, yard or wherever you happen to be. During SummerTwilight30 (my first photo challenge ever!) I used a tiny flashlight a couple of times to give objects on my kitchen counter unique lighting or shadowing. Another time, I used a piece of black paper behind my subject to set it off and eliminate background clutter.
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Images by Stephanie Mielke
Follow the Pros
Pros are pros for a reason, follow their advice! Michaela, our charming challenge leader, gives so many wonderful tips to help make our photos stunning! You can also find lots of great tips and examples on the Googles if you need inspiration.
Shoot, Shoot, Shoot!
I always take more than one shot…more like 10 or 20! I’ll take multiple views and angles of my subject, but also shoot other objects or views, too. I may go to a location thinking I want a certain picture, but look up, down, all around, for different shots. Often, it’s the alternative pics that turn out better than my original plan.
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Images by Stephanie Mielke
Edit, Edit, Edit!
When I get home, I run to my iPad to view my results! Most photos need a little tweaking (or a lot!) First, I delete duds! Then, I pick my favs and head on over to my fav photo editor, Aviary. It’s super easy and super fun to play with. Sometimes I edit a bunch; sometimes just a simple crop does the trick.
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Don’t Edit Perfection!
If you take a photo that is perfectly what you want, then don’t edit! (Even amateurs hit the jackpot on occasion.) You can use your editing app to add captions if you want, but otherwise, leave it alone.
Show Off!
Post your photo for the world to enjoy! Instagram was easy to learn to use, and don’t forget to click Facebook (or Twitter, etc.) when you SHARE, so more of the world can see the results of all your hard work. Thoughtful captions can enhance your photo and should include the challenge prompt. Of course, use the challenge hashtag, but you can add other #’s if you want, so more non-challengers can see your masterpiece, too. (Hashtag caution!!!…when using a # you’ve never used before, do an IG search first. Some have very undesirable photos associated with them, and you may not want to be associated with undesirable photos! )
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Images by Stephanie Mielke
Keep On Clicking!
As an amateur, there’s nothing nicer than being complimented on your work! (Well, I imagine it’s nice for the pros, too!) So many friends have told me how much they like seeing my photos, and that has kept my clicking between challenges. My eyes are always looking for photo ops, seeing the beauty in the world around me!
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Images by Stephanie Mielke
Thank you so much Stephanie for sharing your thoughtful tips with us today! Follow Steph on Instagram! Whether this is your first photo challenge, or you are a seasoned pro, these are some great ideas! What do you think? Give Stephanie some love and share your own tips in the comments!
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Thanks for the tips, Stephanie! Just downloaded Aviary on my ipad…..so far looks user friendly!
Very well written, great advice and motivation! Thank you Stephanie and Michaela!
You’re welcome, Rachel! I love Aviary! I figured it out, so it must be easy to use!
I was very surprised to learn that you only use an iPhone! Your work is stunning, and I especially like the flashlight tip. Curious about editing on iPad. I edit with Aviary on an Android phone and think the only way to edit on iPad is to email photo to myself. Thoughts?
Hey Deb!
Fortunately (or unfortunately) the beauty of the Apple koolaid is that if you have an iPhone, your images automatically sync between devices. So, they automatically pop up on the iPad if you have an iPhone.
For Android, you could download Dropbox (or another cloud server) and have all your photos sync to dropbox and can then pull them down to your iPad fairly easily.
Hope that helps!