How to Improve Your Photography Skills Using Reddit

Reddit can help you improve your photography skills. There are some great subreddits dedicated to photography. And if you pick out the best advice, Reddit can help make you a better photographer.

To help you get started, we’ve compiled a list of the best photography subreddits. All of which can help you take better photographs with whatever camera you have to hand.

1. Photography

This subreddit is the mothership for photographers of all hues. More than 2.4 million members make this the most-subscribed photography subreddit.

With so much going on, it can feel a little congested. However, you can get shares that might not fit into any of the other photography subreddits. As the sidebar says, this may not be a good place to upload your photos, but it’s a great meeting place to discuss everything else related to photography.

To get the idea, read through the Info Threads on the right that are a collection of the most important discussions. Also, go over to the Photographs subreddit which works as a sister community to this one.

Read: Ex-Stanford professor puts his entire digital photography course online for free.

2. Beginning Photography

Beginner photographers may feel crowded out from the other subreddits for photography by advanced amateurs or professionals. Therefore, this subreddit is more suited for newbies and amateurs.

Air your learning gaps, but do keep in mind that asking for feedback on your photos is frowned upon. You can use many of the other subreddits down below for photo critiques.

Read: The Beginning Photography Wiki

3. Photo Class for 2020

If you are new to photography, the Photo Class subreddit for this year will give you something to do with weekend assignments. You can take inspiration from members who completed those assignments. It doesn’t matter if the posts have died down.

The class began in January, but you can hop on anytime. This subreddit is a great place to go when you need a few project ideas to challenge yourself with. You can then compare your work to those who have previously submitted theirs.

Reddit also has a collection of similar photography classes for the previous years. Check them out too if you need more ideas.

Read: Go back to the Reddit Photo Class that began in 2011. The site gives you 30 lessons covering the basics of photography.

4. AskPhotography

If you have a question about anything dealing with photography—digital or otherwise—then you’ll find the answer in the /r/askphotography subreddit.

This is a massive hub for newbie and veteran photographers alike, and is also one of the best locations for online photography discussions.

Don’t be shy about asking what you need to ask, but do browse and search the subreddit before submitting any questions to make sure they haven’t been asked and answered before.

Read: Can photography be an antidote for anxiety?

5. Cameras

Even before you take up photography, the chatter of which camera is the best will take over your thoughts. It’s often the camera you have in your hands. But that’s never a satisfactory answer when so many camera bodies and lenses compete for your attention.

The Cameras subreddit is a magnet for these discussions. Go crazy over new cameras, compare cameras, and find the best lenses, gear, and accessories.

Read: Learn where to begin with this guide to buying a lens.

6. ITookAPicture

If practice makes progress, contributing to this photo-filled subreddit will get you closer to your goals much quicker than you might expect. In a way, it borrows from photography ideas that task users with taking one photo every day or week for a year.

The difference is that the ITookAPicture subreddit is updated more often and is a little bit more relaxed, allowing participants to increase or decrease their efforts as they wish.

Overall, it’s a great place to post works in progress and ask for feedback without the anxiety of a formal critique. And you can stay on as a lurker too while learning about different photography techniques and styles.

Read: The Wiki index is a compilation of all contests and their winning entries.

7. PhotoCritique

Some photography subreddits are only geared towards amateur photographers. Others are there for professional and aspiring photographers, and the PhotoCritique subreddit is one of those. In fact, it’s considered one of the best places to go for honest feedback.

A lot of the information on this subreddit is meant to be taken as a tool for learning, but because the critiques are rarely sugarcoated, you should only start participating when you have a good bit of experience and some thick skin.

Read: The finer points of leaving thoughtful critiques.

8. Edit Vs. Raw

Looking at finished photos can awe and overwhelm you. But you should remember that some of the most beautiful shots go through post-processing to finetune what the lens cannot capture.

So, if you are asking why your photographs don’t look that stunning then this young subreddit is here to provide some inspiration. The threads are all about comparisons between straight-out-of-the-camera shots and post-processed photos.

At the very least, the photos will push you towards the next two subreddits on the list and improve your skills with Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom.

Read: Spot the effect of a clean camera sensor on a photograph.

9. PostProcessing

Post-processing is a lot about theory and style and less about the filters at your disposal. Anyone who wants to learn how to produce a photo in a particular style will find this community helpful.

Just browse around and search for threads that involve questions like your own and you’ll find a lot of helpful tips and advice. A lot of photos are also cross-posted on the Before and After Edits subreddit too.

Read: The Post-processing megathread

10. Lightroom

The Lightroom subreddit is a place for photographers to discuss the technical details of post-processing with Adobe Lightroom. This includes light settings, file organization, geotagging, screen calibration, and more.

You’ll find various questions are asked and answered with links to outside sources that can help, particularly concerning the Adobe suite for the desktop and mobile. There are also several posts that provide links to free Lightroom presets to use.

The advice here is perhaps not as useful until you’ve started dabbling in post-processing, but once you do, this is a must-visit. Pair this with the large Photoshop subreddit to have two critical photography communities to fall back on.

Read: Look for the best tips to learn Lightroom for free.

Start Improving Your Photography Skills Now

You will discover many more photography subreddits as you narrow down the kind of photographs you want to take. Start with the most important photography tips for beginners and then go from there.

Reddit is a useful tool for improving your photography skills, but don’t be a Reddit lurker. Contribute and help others. And if you want to jump all-in then it pays to know what Reddit Karma is and how to earn it.

Read the full article: How to Improve Your Photography Skills Using Reddit

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