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How to Avoid Photography Tips

CJ Chilvers
CJ Chilvers
— 1 min read

I worry about you. Every time I see another popular tip article, I worry you’re reading it and killing untold brain cells.

  • 149 Tips and Tricks for Your DSLR
  • 55 Tips for Absolute Beginners
  • 30 Amazing Ways to Up Your Lightroom Game
  • 405 Cameras You Must Try Before Die
  • 23 Tips for Shooting Like the Pros

If you read these kinds of articles, don’t beat yourself up too much. You’re definitely not alone. They’re popular because they deliver the junk food of photography world; yummy and empty.

The tips are as predictable as they are boring:

  • Rule of thirds
  • Shoot raw
  • Use a tripod
  • Use filters
  • Rule of Thirds
  • Kneel down
  • Rule of Thirds!!

First, realize you don’t need tips. They’re built for page views, not education. They’re often full of incorrect information or information that’s incorrect for you.

No tip can tell you the only thing you need to know and it’s something you already know: what you love about photography. If what you love about photography contradicts the tips, the tips can’t be right.

Tip articles do not respect your time or attention and neither do their writers.

While tips may be the worst form of education, the best form is exactly what you need to avoid them: experience. Go out and shoot more.


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