1.No Matter How Pro You Get, It’s Still a Passion Play

Don’t ever lose the spark that got you into photography. Your passion for creating beautiful images of things that interest you is the underlying motivating force behind every shoot you do. When that spark goes out, it also leaves your images. So, treat your inspiration and creativity as the most vital skill you have. Honor it, cultivate it, nurture it.

2.Establish Your Own Compositional Rules
Whether it’s an adherence to the rule of thirds, a love of circles, filling the frame, dramatic lines or repeating patterns, your choices in how you frame a shot defines you as a photographer. Know what appeals to you and create your voice through your compositions.

3.It’s All in the Details
Audiences love detail and light provides it. The more light, the more detail. But don’t forget to keep a steady hand, too. This is the physical skill of taking photos – keeping the camera level and still. Keep improving your abilities here, use a tripod when necessary and remember that there are surfaces everywhere to place a camera on or steady yourself with. Also, most new cameras have the ability to click a shutter with your phone. Take advantage of every tool you have to get as much detail in every shot.

4.Shoot like a Pro, Think like a Student
There’s nothing less impressive than the know-it-all photographer. As good as your shots get, there’s always room to learn and improve. When you keep a student mentality, it keeps you curious and hungry. And this keeps you getting better. As soon as you think you got this all down, you join the ranks of the jaded and uninteresting. Stay thirsty, put yourself in places that challenge you

5.Read the Manual
Very few of us read our manuals. But you should definitely think about digging it out and learning something new about your gear. Put aside some time on a rainy day, or during a long, boring airplane ride. As dry as that writing is – and as many times as you’ve tried to understand what TTL or rear curtain means – really studying it might just lead to the idea you need right now.

6.Eyes Are the Prize
When it comes to people, remember that the best way to connect your viewer to your subject is through their eyes. Eyes not only tell us the big emotions: sadness, anger, joy – they tell us the complexities of life. A smile with sad eyes is an entirely different emotion that a smile with bright open eyes. Give direction and be a studier of painting a portrait with a look. This will do more for your image than any settings or light setup you can learn.

7.Experiment and Play
We all need a little reminder every once in a while that we’ve gotten a little rigid with our style. It happens to beginners and pros alike – we learn what we’re good at and we stick with it. Don’t forget to do something different. Take on a crazy assignment, or give yourself one. Take a few shots during your photoshoot that are done in an entirely different way. Photoshoots, by their nature, lean toward a certain time-restained bottom line. Just get the shot! This means that on set, the person who says, “Hey, what if we tried this a little differently?” is going to be resisted. Be that person. Fight the resistance!

8.Your Profile Is Your Portfolio
You can learn a lot about yourself and your photography by keeping a public profile. Sure, your decisions are your own, but seeing what people respond to is also a powerful thing to be aware of. You can use it to your advantage. So, set up your online portfolio, in your place of choosing, and curate it well. This will become your calling card and, these days more than ever, and a deciding factor on whether people want to hire you.

Sometimes you may decide to switch it up and be something different online. Go for it. Reinvention is part of the process – you can try on as many hats as you like!

9.Learn By Adjusting In the beginning, you go out, shoot and some images look good and some don’t. Then you adjust so that you get a higher percentage of good images. But as you move on from those beginning stages, it’s important to remember to never stop those little adjustments. That one step closer to the subject, that slightly steadier hand, that more perfect composition – these little things will help you continue to improve a few steps everyday. This is the key to mastering it

10.Live! Hey, no matter what level you’re at, you are first and foremost a human being. You’ve got to be out having a great time, living life and following your passions. Recommit yourself to enjoying every minute you’re out shooting. Even when it’s frustrating or not going how you thought it would go, enjoy that, too! Photography is, and always should be, one of the most rewarding things you can do. At the end of it, you have something to look at. Something tangible. A little moment of life as you lived it. What a beautiful thing to get to do.

For me these tips are the best because they teach me how to do new things.