The Only Ingredient for Good Photography is a Good Camera....Right?

There are countless photography tutorials across the internet. It feels like there is a separate tutorial for every human alive.

Some are good, some are bad. Some, just think they're good.

In early 2015 I was going through that phase every photographer goes through, where you are learning at such as rapid pace - your passion to learn is high, and you absorb every single bit of info you come across. It's at this stage, you almost start to believe that you're a natural.

I took some photos back then that floored me. I really thought they were amazing. Not in an arrogant way mind, I was genuinely proud of what I was producing. Problem was, being self-taught, I had no-one to clip my wings for me.

It's only been three years, but since then my learning has at first plateaued, then dipped, then freefalled. I look back at work I produced and realise just how far away from my goal I was. I still am - light years away. The difference is I can accept it, be grateful for it even. I still have no mentor to guide me, but I do have those older photographs. They can teach me more than any youtube tutorial.

I'll lay myself on the line for ridicule now by displaying one of my original "masterpieces". This is from a shoot with a model called Nicole but who goes by the moniker Ballsy Wallsy. We called the shoot "Space Balls" cause we're hip.

So, this is straight from camera with no further processing done - I didn't want to paper over the cracks here.

At the time, this shoot had it all... a friend designed the costume (an homage to an old movie that I can't remember), my wife Maria spent hours applying the bald cap and makeup, we had a smoke machine, and a photographer with university level hours of youtube education. What could go wrong.

Turns out my eye. My eye could go wrong. In so many many ways.

This image is so full of beginner errors, I'm sure I'll miss quite a few, but here's my list:

• Model is facing square on to camera
• Models hands are at the same level
• Models shoulders are at the same level
• Image is cropped at the models knees
• The seams on the cuffs are facing the camera
• There's loose thread on the silver breastpiece
• She has jewellery on her fingers (doesn't match the look)
• Ditto red nail varnish
• The nail varnish is chipped
• The image has no breathing space on the left
• The dent on the breastpiece should have been straightened out

OK, I admit a lot of these could be corrected in photoshop, but that's besides the point. Nowadays, I'd see these problems before they become problems. A little bit of experience, a better trained eye and a pinch of patience has served me much better than pricey equipment. Now that I shoot weddings more than model shoots, this has served me well.

If you're starting out in photography, I'd urge you not to get too involved in obsessing over tutorials about lighting and gear - instead focus on posing, colour harmonies and good composition. Learn to look at the whole frame and not just the model. And don't worry about getting that crazy expensive camera - I certainly don't have one!

Next week - I'll deny ever saying any of this and write a piece about strobe lighting :P