Photo How To

If your New Year's resolution was to get better at photography in 2022, this tutorial is for you. In the below video, landscape photographer Nigel Danson shares his seven quick tips to help you significantly improve your photography this year.

"In this video I'm going to give you seven tips to kickstart 2022," Danson says. "These are the things that I do at the start of every year and some tips I think will make a really big difference to your photography."

#1 Start a Project

"It's such a good idea to have a project," Danson says. "That's a good tip in life in general really. Have something you are working on throughout the year and there's no time better than the start of the year to do that. This could be anything. I had a woodland project where I took woodland photos last year. This year I have a project called 'Black & Gold.'"

#2 Learn a New Skill in Lightroom

"Lightroom or Photoshop for that matter is such an important part of the photography process of producing that final image. If you can improve your Lightroom skills, then you're going to improve your photography. Also, it helps you to visualize when you're in the field as well, knowing what you can do to that image."

#3 Review Older Images

"Look back at your photos for the last twelve months. It's such a good idea to give yourself a pat on the back this time of year for all those great photos. But then be a little bit more critical too. The ones that didn't work, understand why they didn't work."

#4 Slow Down

"Learn to slow down and pre-visualize the image. It's something that I feel is so important that if you want to take your photography to the next level, this just makes such a big difference."

#5 Plan New Locations

"Plan three or four locations that you're going to go to in the year. But plan them in a lot of detail. Do a lot of research, think about where you're going to go. Look at the maps. Look at the weather conditions, the best time of year to go. It might even be somewhere really local, a tree that you've passed but just think about the best time to go and photograph it."

#6 Print Your Images

"There is nothing better than getting a print like this and seeing it come out of the printer. It transforms your photography because it brings it to life."

#7 Invest in Education

"We all spend money on gear. We all spend money on new tripods, new lenses, new cameras. And that's good because it gets us excited and motivated about photography. But what I'd say is we don't invest enough in ourselves. I don't think there's anything as good as doing a dedicated photography course."