Hone your skills and earn your chops

As a young writer, your goal should be to hone your skills and earn your chops as soon as possible; there’s no reason to wait years until you think you’re ready to publish. Besides the fact that publishing offers instant feedback from an audience, it also allows you to get paid to gain experience, which can be invaluable down the road. In this article, we’ll look at what you need to do to hone your skills and earn your chops as soon as possible.

Follow in the footsteps of great photographers

There are many ways to hone your skills, one of which is by following in the footsteps of great photographers. Photographers such as Ansel Adams, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Vivian Maier, Walker Evans, Peter Lindbergh, and so many more were masters at the art of capturing moments. So what did they do to hone their craft? Studied their predecessor’s work. Took a lot of pictures. Worked at their technique. Trial and error. Begged for critique from others or submitted to competitions or portfolio reviews. Educated themselves about camera equipment. Exhibited self-awareness about what kinds of images appealed to them personally (as opposed to what would appeal to an audience). Traveled for inspiration or pursued new techniques or genres…

Practice, practice, practice

Before using your newfound knowledge in a game, you must understand how it works. And before you can learn how it works, you must practice understanding the game’s controls. Practice is essential to hone your skills and earn your chops. For example, I’m currently playing Dragon Ball FighterZ in preparation for EVO, an annual fighting games tournament I’ve participated in twice to place better than last year.

Keep practicing until you can produce on-brand images every time

One of the essential elements of perfecting a shoot is lighting. Lighting affects everything, from the color of your subject’s skin to the expressions in their eyes. However, that’s not where it ends. As you grow more confident with shooting in manual mode, experiment with different aperture sizes and learn how they affect your photo. For example, you’ll notice that an open aperture—such as ƒ/1.8 or ƒ/2.8—produces images with a shallower depth of field than a closed aperture size like ƒ/11 or ƒ/22. As a result, subjects will be much sharper against a blurred background, precisely what you need for editorial shots that convey energy or movement, such as sports photography.

Study other successful photographers

Studying other successful photographers will help you understand what separates them from the competition. Of course, many blogs follow, but one way to get into their work is by following Instagram accounts. Below are some professional photographers that have solid work for study: 

1) Steve McCurry- with photojournalism as his trademark, this photographer has over four million followers on Instagram. His early influences were Henri Cartier-Bresson and Robert Capa, among others. The photographs of India, in particular, brought him international acclaim when they appeared on the cover of National Geographic magazine’s November 1985 issue.

Get feedback from others about what works for them

One of the things that have helped me most with my writing is asking for feedback from other writers in general (I think Twitter is perfect for this) and just getting people in the know to give me their opinion on what I have written. Sometimes it takes a lot of time or bravery to ask, but it pays off. You never know what constructive criticism someone might offer or how insightful they could be. Plus, they can make you feel perfect about yourself too! Seeing what someone else sees in your work can be rewarding when they help guide you through it can be rewarding. You’ll also want to consider if you plan on submitting any articles or essays as part of an application process.

Create a style that fits your brand

Current trends show that the more niche, the better. Every time a new person hits the industry with their unique perspective and voice, it’s refreshing. So create something different – find your voice. Have a fashion attitude, but know when to be serious. Never lose sight of how this is a business you are running at some point in time. When somebody compliments you on an outfit you’ve put together, the feeling is euphoric – never forget that.

Perfecting things takes time

Of course, you need time to figure out how to improve, but in the meantime, it can be helpful to focus on what you’re good at. For example, pay attention to the cinematographer if you’re on a music video set. Ask them about the lenses they use or the order in which they light a scene. Chances are that person will not only answer your questions kindly but may even provide tips for where to go next. Similarly, if you’re doing copywriting for a new client with specific expectations of their brand voice, try talking with their customer service team about what type of language resonated with past customers.

Get an intern, or at least hire someone to help you

I feel like a lot of blogs out there say to get an intern, but what if you can’t afford that? What if the work I do is only based on my own experience? 

If it’s possible, consider getting an intern to help. Interns are free labor who will be eager to learn and make mistakes on your behalf, so you don’t have to. Alternatively, hire someone for a set number of hours per week or month to help with social media posts, research, editing articles, or assisting with bookkeeping tasks. If you’re able to spare some money without affecting the quality of your blog posts, spending that little bit can go a long way towards making the running of your business easier.

Don’t be afraid to experiment with different styles

When people first start writing, they often think that it’s essential to master the genre they are writing in. So when they try to write a novel, they expect themselves to conform to specific standards of what makes a good novel. There is nothing wrong with this, but it can also be limiting. Experiments are great, as long as you use them as an opportunity to explore new ideas that you wouldn’t usually get a chance at if you just stuck with one genre. Just make sure that these experiments still work in some way towards improving your skill set.

The first picture is always the hardest

Why is this so hard? That’s probably what you’re asking yourself. Well, it’s been two hours, I’m exhausted, and I can’t make anything but a damn bunny out of this clay! This isn’t how the professionals do it on Instagram! Are these tutorials wrong? Am I doing something wrong? What am I doing with my life that doesn’t involve poring over shapes with my fingers for three hours until they magically look like the thing on the screen? All these questions must be racing through your head right now. And you’re right to feel a little overwhelmed. That’s okay! Don’t beat yourself up.

People love simple and clean

If you are looking to hone your skills and become a specialist, take some time to evaluate the different skills you possess. Larger companies like Panasonic offer programs for tech people to hone their skills. But it is also essential to assess what you can do on your own with limited resources. Here are a few things to consider:

(1) How much money do I have? Set a budget. This will help narrow down options;

(2) What hours am I available? Depending on when work is offered or needs to be done, this will determine how much time should be allocated;

(3) What’s my learning style? Do you learn better hands-on or with reading material? Once you answer these questions, try finding an opportunity that aligns with all three criteria.

Social media marketing requires a constant state of change

Marketing campaigns constantly evolve with social media, so there’s no shortage of new skills to learn. As with anything in the fast-paced world of social media marketing, you need always to be prepared for change. New features on different platforms might introduce entirely new strategies you’ll want to implement. Plus, you’ll also have to contend with changes in audiences–how they communicate, what language they speak, what videos they watch–you name it. You must be aware of these things as quickly as possible because ignorance could lead to disastrous consequences like disappearing customers or fewer followers.