Photographers three phases of development.

While learning and refining their skills I believe that most photographers progress through three distinct phases in their development.

Phase One occurs immediately after they purchase their first “good” camera and discover photography’s potential for fun and creativity. During this time, young shooters are fearless and enthusiastically explore their world. Each and every memory card is chock full of files that contains images that look so much better than they could have ever imagined. Unfortunately, this blissful period doesn’t last long and is quickly replaced by the next phase.

During Phase two, the photographer’s level of enthusiasm is still high but is somewhat diminished when reviewing their latest images only to discover that these new photographs are much worse than they had expected. Unfortunately, this phase can last a long time but the shooter continues to improve their skills by reading publications like Shutterbug and blogs like Photofocus, workshops offer you access to real professionals to shortcut and reduce the pain of this phase and eventually onto the third and final phase.

During Phase three the images the photographer sees in their viewfinder and what they actually capture are exactly what they expected. There are no surprises. It’s just as good or bad as they expected when they pressed the shutter button. While reaching this phase can be fulfilling, some of the magic is understandably lost. The upside is that fewer images are made because there’s no “shoot and hope for the best.” The biggest challenge occurring at this phase is that a photographer can end up shooting the same images over and over for years and years. So it’s up to you to break free from your comfort zone and do something to make sure that doesn’t happen.

Read my post visual pushups, get working with people at the next level, be inspired by the players more advanced, give yourself a five year plan, work your arse off.

Keep a folder of your fav images, the top 30 from the last 6 months, take time to look back and see your progress.

Remember the three phases of development.