Exercises to improve your photography

STEP 1 – Shoot film/limit yourself to 1 photo a day for a week
Taking less photographs makes you consider each shot more carefully.

STEP 2 – Shoot in black and white
Shooting in colour adds distractions for the view. Shoot in B&W and it makes you study the picture more carefully. Things such as contrast, texture etc… for the most part anyway.

STEP 3 – Start shooting colour but stick to one colour as the dominant one in the image. For example, take pictures of scenes where red is the dominant colour (or blue/orange/green etc.).

STEP 4 – Create a time lapse photo
Shooting the exact same scene (without moving the camera) over a period of hours and then put them side by side. Notice the change in colour because of the change in light.

STEP 5 – DOF.
Shoot the same object using different DOF settings starting the lowest number (least amount of area in focus) for the first shot and then higher incrementally for the next set of shots. Notice the difference the aperture settings make to the same image.

STEP 6 – Photo information.
If you’re using a digital camera, check out the EXIF data. If you’re shooting film, take notes. Keep an eye on aperture, shutter speed, ISO and zoom range. See how they affect the images you took.

STEP 7 – Go to somewhere you are familiar with. Perhaps it’s a spot you pass on your way to work. Stop there and take 10 photos from different angles, distances of things on that spot. This should help you analyse your subject more closely.