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8 Phonebox Magazine | August 2025Olney Camera Club: Learning to See in Photography - sshh, but your camera is useless! One of the first things you might be told when asking 'how do I improve my photography' is to get to know your camera settings. To come away from auto mode if you like. But, if truth be told, unless you are wanting to take something very technical - an action shot, long exposure, low light, that kind of thing, or you are a master photographer - your camera on auto is likely to do a better job than you of getting those settings right. What your camera can't do however, is compose the shot for you. Or find that creative angle. And, frankly, until you have mastered that, how ever good your shot is technically, it won't have that magic we strive for. Fortunately there are some easy things you can do to practice 'learning to see', to improve your ability to find the angle, the composition, the shot. Learning to See: 3 things you can do right now to improve your photography Olney Camera Club regularly conduct learning to see practice sessions: these are two we did this year that you can try today. And you don't even need a fancy camera. Using your phone camera will train those instincts just as well. Scavenger Hunt This is a simple idea where you go out with a list of things to photograph in a short period of time. We went to Emberton village recently and gave ourselves one hour to take at least one photograph that matches these ten items: beginning with g, blue, high or low, minimal, motion, natures' mark, patterns, shiny, threes, wildcard. Keeping the list reasonably abstract tends to work the creativity harder. You'll find lots of lists online, or use ours. You can choose any location, even your garden or your living room. The idea is, that the short space of time and the limited list of items really makes you hunt down that image and hone your eye. Point of View Challenge In this challenge, you are free to take any photo you like, but from a limited location. We chose to stay within the confines of Olney Market Place, but you could go tighter still and choose a subject like a particular tree, Goosey Bridge, kitchen utensils etc. The idea with this one is that you learn to look at things differently. If you are going to take ten photos of Goosey Bridge for example, or the contents of your cutlery draw, what can you do to make them different. You will soon learn to see light, angles, perspective. The photos to the right are from the session the camera club did in June. Final Tip: whether you take up the challenges above or not, our parting shot would be just get out there and keep shooting. The more you use your camera and enjoy your hobby, the more you'll learn to see, and the more fun you'll have with your camera. Next Meetings: 20th August: Guided Photo Walk around Olney with Dan Evans 17th September: Social Session at The Swan 24th September: Club Competition, round 3 at Olney Centre. Next NEW MEMBERS NIGHT: 19th November at The Swan, 7pm For further information, call Andy on 01234 714570, or see our website. www.olneycameraclub.co.uk Next Meetings:20th August: Guided Photo Walk around Olney with Dan Evans17th September: Social Session at The Swan24th September: Club Competition, round 3 at Olney CentreNext NEW MEMBERS NIGHT: 19th November at The Swan, 7pmFor further information, call Andy on 01234 714570, or see ourwebsitewww.olneycameraclub.co.ukOlney Camera Club:Learning to See in Photography - sshh, butyour camera is useless!One of the fi rst things you might be told when asking %u2018how do I improve my photography%u2019 is to get to know your camera settings. To come away from auto mode if you like. But, if truth be told, unless you want to take something very technical %u2013 an action shot, long exposure, low light, that kind of thing, or you are a master photographer, your camera on auto is likely to do a better job than you of getting those settings right.What your camera can%u2019t do, however, is compose the shot for you. Or fi ndthat creative angle. And, frankly, until you have mastered that, however good your shot is technically, it won%u2019t have that magic we strive for.Fortunately, there are some easy things you can do to practice %u2018learning to see%u2019, to improve your ability to fi nd the angle, the composition, the shot.Learning to See: 3 Things you can do Right Now to Improve your PhotographyOlney Camera Club regularly conducts Learning to See practice sessions; these are two we did this year that you can try today. And you don%u2019t even need a fancy camera. Using your phone camera will train those instincts just as well.Scavenger HuntThis is a simple idea where you go out with a list of things to photograph in a short period of time. We went to Emberton village recently and gave ourselves one hour to take at least one photograph that matches these ten items: beginning with g, blue, high or low, minimal, motion, nature%u2019s mark, patterns, shiny, threes, wildcard.Keeping the list reasonably abstract tends to work the creativity harder. You%u2019ll fi nd lots of lists online, or use ours. You can choose any location, even your garden or your living room. The idea is that the short space of time and the limited list of items really makes you hunt down that image and hone your eye.Point of View ChallengeIn this challenge, you are free to take any photo you like, but from a limited location. We chose to stay within the confi nes of Olney Market Place, but you could go tighter still and choose a subject like a particular tree, Goosey Bridge, kitchen utensils, etc. The idea with this one is that you learn to look at things diff erently. If you are going to take ten photos of Goosey Bridge, for example, or the contents of your cutlery draw, what can you do to make them diff erent?You will soon learn to see light, angles, and perspective. The photos to the right are from the session the camera club did in June.Final Tip: Whether you take up the challenges above or not, our parting shot is simply to get out there and keep shooting. The more you use your camera and enjoy your hobby, the more you%u2019ll learn to see, and the more fun you%u2019ll have with your camera.