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when i was only starting to take photos, i never called myself a photographer. even after five years and thousands of photos, after learning about color theory and compositional rules, researching different styles and diving deep into the history of photography, i didn't feel competent enough.
i never had a professional camera, and i never wanted to use one. i took photos with my phone, edited them in the apps and posted them in my profile after. i've tried using my friend's camera, but it was too much for me so i gave up and kept using only phone. i've thought that it made me unable to be a true photographer.
i changed my mind when i've found on Youtube video called "Pro Photographer, Cheap Camera", where professional photographers were challenged to took photos using old camera with bad quality. I saw how inspired they were by these limitations, how they tried to use different techniques to make better shots.
this video taught me many lessons, but the main one was that skill is the only thing that matters. you can take photos with your phone, web-camera, film camera, old toy camera with only 0.3px, and still be a photographer. and a good one too.
so, if you are struggling now just like i did, watch this playlist. maybe it will help you too)
Related Recs
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feel like phone photos feel so much less permanent than film or digicam, it almost orients photography to be a functional medium instead of an artistic one... my camera roll is mostly just photos of stuff i want to remember to buy, or text message attachments. if that's how your brain is conditioned to think about photography, muscle memory for photographing stuff that feels more... photo-worthy will atrophy
i used to carry both a polaroid + 35mm camera with me every time i left the house but found myself struggling to actually use them for this reason; occasionally inspiration strikes when you see cool shit in your city or a beautiful sunset or whatever, but serendipity is notoriously unreliable
i think that having a list of things you can condition yourself to photograph / be on the lookout for as you're out and about, like friends, landscapes, skylines, interiors, etc. has been a lot more helpful for me. go out with the express intention to photograph <thing> a couple of times. then, start bringing a small portable camera with you when you leave, and the cue-craving-action-reward cycle will eventually take over and you'll have more photos that feel special and worth showing to others
Feb 1, 2025
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I’d try an intro photography course on Linked In Learning, Coursera, Skillshare, etc. You probably can try a weekor a month free for all of those.
You don’t need to be an expert, but learning fundamentals will help you a lot.
And you’ll get an idea of different compositions that will help you see things in a more photographic way, too.
But mostly take a million photos! Back in my old days I’d have 24 precious frames of film at a time. With digital your frames are unlimited so use them with abandon!
As for general tips, get closer and fill the frame. You probably aren’t taking photos to be scenic postcards so your photos will be more effective if you compose more tightly around your subject.
Second, put that subject off-center in the frame.
Like every photography rule, these are made to be broken, but they’re a good start.
Finally, back when I was shooting 24 frames at a time, I was happy to get 2 I really liked. You will make mistakes and most of your frames won’t be “good,” but that’s part of photography and art and life in general.
Also finally, practice photography the way that makes you happy! Don’t judge yourself against anyone else’s work. ✌️💛
Jan 12, 2025
even if they start doing these prompts just using their iphone it will change the way the compose and ideate around photography in a really impacftul way once they get access to more serious gear but as long as you got a phone you're a photographer!
Sep 24, 2024
Top Recs from @krawleek
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Hey! There are actually a lot of platforms where you can build your site without knowing HTML/CSS. Some of them i've already tested, some just planning to do, but i will list here all of them so you can choose the one that will suit your goals better
1 — Framer
Basically it's like figma, but for websites
2 — Readymag
A lot of templates for different sites, but with some bugs.
3 — Cargo
Good if like brutalist websites
4 — Mmm
Simple tool for one page websites
5 — Ctrl
Haven't tried yet, but they seem nice
6 — Webflow
This one is a little harder than the previous ones, but maybe one day you would want to try something like that!
Good luck with creating your site!
Jul 30, 2024
i'm a designer and i only want to do things that are not boring, so i only was able to learn p5js and processing) it's basically about making pictures (maybe even simple animations/interactive things) with code. For example, i've animated these circles to move and look like a beer foam. If you want to learn things like that, you can watch p5js course from The Coding Train on Youtube, its very simple and exciting, and the teacher is so goofy and hilarious that you will fall in love with him (and with coding) immediately :) Hope this helps <3
Jul 27, 2024
It's a simple story about the pressure and violence against queer people shown with the example of one queer kid.
Feb 28, 2025