Progress in photography with a 15-minute exercise

In this article, we’re going to talk about a short 15-minute workout that will help you improve your photographic style, and consequently your shots. Take your photography seriously in any season and with any camera you have ( Canon, Nikon…) to improve your photographic vision, don’t limit yourself to reading!

Let’s start with the moment:

1. Observez :

Soak up your surroundings without thinking about taking photos for 10 minutes. Your only mission is to observe…

I also recommend staying away from all kinds of photography equipment.

Look carefully and then imagine the shot or shots you could take:

• Le thème qui pourrait être intéressant ?
• La source de la lumière ? Comment éclaire-t-elle mon objet ?
• Mes sentiments à l’égard de cette scène ou de cet objet ?
• Est-ce que j’ai bien observé tous les détails ? Ya-t-il des détails qui pourraient donner un thème de photographie intéressant ?

2. Planifiez :

Once you’ve spotted a subject, start planning your framing, answering the next 6 questions:

• Comment un cadrage pourrait-il le rendre intéressant ?
• Comment vais-je faire pour composer cette image ?
• Comment trouver des éléments de détail qui pourraient enrichir ma composition ?
• Comment utiliser la perspective pour ajouter de la richesse à mon image ?
• Comment faire un réglage pour varier le résultat visuel de mon image ?
• Comment transmettre les émotions que je ressens actuellement dans mon image ?

Feel free to move around your object or character to get interesting ideas from another point of view. If you wish, consult your camera’s viewfinder to see if the frame would be interesting. But don’t photograph.

3. Déclenchez :

After observing your surroundings for 10 minutes, devote 5 minutes to the shot you’ve imagined.

You’ll find that the time you’ve taken to reflect on your surroundings will help you to photograph more effectively, whether in terms of technique (composition, exposure parameters) or the subjects photographed.

4. Demandez des commentaires :

At first, it can be quite intimidating to show your work. But feedback from others can help you discover what you’re doing wrong and what needs to be improved. There are groups on photo-sharing sites like, where you can upload your photos to be critiqued. If you’re not yet ready to share your work with the public, you can also ask photography enthusiasts around you to critique your work.

Now it’s your turn to train! Take 15 minutes to practice your observation skills, and feel free to share your images in the comments.