4 Tips for Better Photos from professional photographer, James Robertson
by professional photographer, James Robertson
20 Photos is asking professional photographers to share their top tips for taking better photos, that anyone can benefit from.
James Robertson, a photographer whose love of cycling found him documenting the niche world of ultra cycling, is first up.
James’ 4 Photo Tips
1/ Define your own idea of success
Maybe all you want is one photo you love?
Or perhaps it’s about capturing the story and individual images are less important? Sometimes experiencing the moment is what matters so there doesn’t need to be an image.
Ultimately, you get to choose what’s important for you in each situation.
2/ Go where the photos are: rarely will a good photo come to you.
Hoping that a photo arrives exactly where you are and when you want it to, is unlikely to be that successful. Sometimes you see something that has potential to be a beautiful photo and you have to follow it. Other times you see somewhere that has the potential to be a photo and you have to wait there for the photo to turn up.
“I am often in awe of James’ images and the lengths he will go to get them (think sitting in the heather in a remote mountain pass for a day, facing all weather, waiting for one rider to come by, or following riders into their pit stops- he has patience and no shame!). I think if we have just a fraction of that patience, we would all be doing well.”- Jo
“And sometimes you have to follow the cyclist carrying two bags of ice to their hotel room” - James
3/ Auto-mode is fine
What you point your camera at and how you frame it is so much more important than the settings. There are times and places to worry about settings, but the right settings will never make a boring photo into an interesting one.
4/ There are no good tips
There's more than one way to skin a cat, so if it works for you… it works! Don’t worry too much about following trends for better ways to get images, if you have something that works for you, keep doing it.
James Robertson is a photographer whose love of cycling found him documenting the niche world of ultra cycling - where riders race unsupported across continents covering up to 450km every day.
He first covered the Transcontinental Race in 2015 and has documented every edition since, following the race from start to finish resulting in a book documenting the suffering and private moments of the riders. It’s fun to note that most of his photos, despite being of cyclists, seldom feature people on bikes.
You can buy his photobook - It’s a Race - with his imagery of the iconic Transcontinental via his website. Enter the code 20Photos at checkout for 20% off.
James’ work is featured in The Guardian, Sidetracked, Soigneur, Cyclist and even in Netflix documentary, Onboard the Transcontinental Race and in many beautiful coffee outdoor lifestyle table books you possibly own. All photos on this page are his.
Also in this series
Kenny Gordon’s tips - showcasing advice on wild weather, getting up early and just asking!
Mike Guest’s advice - featuring his glorious water and surf work - his advice focuses on joy, photographing friends and seizing the moment.