Improving Your Photography by Analyzing Your Year

Out of all the pursuits I’ve tried, I think wildlife photography has got to be one of the most difficult – and I’m including my doctorate in pure mathematics on that list. That’s why I like to take some time at the end of the year and go through my favorite shots and figure out what I liked and what I didn’t like. It’s also a good time to think of ideas for the future so that I can better express myself in photography next year.

Something I do to keep learning as a photographer is to choose a series of up to twenty images as my favorites for the entire year. It’s a somewhat difficult task. By asking, “Why is this photo more attractive than the other?” I have to really stop and think about visual concepts that I like in a photo – whether I had thought of them at the conscious level before or not. This exercise helps me to understand the sort of image that I consider just very good and one I consider portfolio-level.

To show you what I mean, I’ll include three images that didn’t quite make the cut, and my thought process when deciding to exclude them from my yearly favorites. Then, I’ll show you one image I included in my portfolio-level category. It doesn’t mean it is perfect, but it does mean that I think it is among the highest level I was able to achieve in 2024.

Non-Portfolio Images

Before I show you the images, I need to tell you one key aspect of my thought process. Namely, I still like the images that didn’t make it into the final selection and would be happy showing them to others. They all have some concept that I like. But within the microcosm of each individual image, I felt that I would still like to try again later to better illustrate the same ideas.

So, without further ado, here is the first photo:

Southern Lapwings favor grassy laws, so I like the idea of showing this habitat. Still, there are some ideas I would like to improve upon. For one, something bothers me about the grass. There is one strand coming up between the legs of the lapwing, along with some brightly-colored grass to the right, including some fairly out-of-focus grass that renders as bluish bokeh. There is also some yellowish grass due to the time of year, and I know it’s possible to get more attractive looking grass.

The bird’s right foot is also raised only a little, and I wonder if it might be possible to get that foot in a more distinct pose? Also, the legs of the lapwing are slightly out of focus. Could I have changed that with slightly different angle? And finally, as lapwings are some of my favorite birds, I have a particular desire to capture it as best as possible and try different approaches. For example, the lighting on this day was pretty flat and cloudy, which gave the scene a “studio-like” appearance. Maybe that’s the right approach, but I think I would like to experiment a bit more before deciding that this sort of light is the best suited for lapwings.

The next shot is of a Striated Heron:

I like the concept of the heron prowling through a reedy, marshy environment. And I like that “broom” end of the plant at the bottom right. But although the heron is still pretty well-defined, there are some elements that I’d really like to change. For example, if I were drawing this image, I’d omit the fine strands of plant underneath the heron. Also, perhaps most importantly, I’m not really a fan of the solid thick branches going through the head of the heron. I already darkened them a bit in post, but this is not something you can really fix in post, only ameliorate.

I guess the branches might contribute to the idea of a heron emerging through the brush, but even if one were going for this idea, there’s still a prominent space between the branches going through the head of the heron that I find distracting. Perhaps a lower camera position would have accomplished that better.

Overall, this strikes me as a prototype shot. It’s a good blueprint and has the start of a clear concept, but I would like to improve on its execution. That would likely involve going back to a similar location, finding the best background, and waiting for a heron to step into it.

Finally, let’s understand this Eared Dove:

The Eared Dove is a common dove in South America, so I’ve had plenty of opportunities to try and get a good shot of it. And I really liked some of the concepts here – the idea of photographing in the rain, with a triangular branch, and gentle light. That being said, I don’t think I’d include this in my final selection of portfolio shots.

First, I think the rain concept is not so clear – not enough a few of the raindrops are distinct, and that makes them look more like distractions than part of the environment. As for the composition, I like the pose of the dove looking up, but I think it might be too exaggerated. Perhaps if I had been standing a bit higher, the effect wouldn’t be so prominent.

Also, while I like the general idea of getting rich, dark green backgrounds, I think that the color scheme overwhelms the dove a bit, especially since the plumage has hints of pale blue. Finally, I wonder about some of the potential distractions on the branch. I like most of the lichens, but there are so many that I think the detail overpowers the soft patterns in the dove. There are also some weird things on the lower curve of the branch that strike me as indistinct.

A Portfolio Shot

One of the shots I decided to include in my portfolio is of a Limpkin:

Not only is the Limpkin in its natural environment here, the leaves seem decently well-arranged and not disruptive of the Limpkin’s form. I also like the in-focus tree trunk on the right and how it provides some environmental context, and a bit of a natural frame to the image.

Although there may be one or two things that could still be improved, I think I came pretty close to getting what I wanted when it comes to “Limpkin resting in a tree.” This was an example of where I walked around the tree and tried many different positions, which gave me a chance to refine my composition. The result is that I captured my theme, or idea here with the Limpkin about as well as I could hope. Unlike the three prior images, I don’t feel compelled to re-capture this one at the soonest opportunity.

Thoughts and Conclusion

I feel like I still have a lot to learn in wildlife photography. Going back over 2024, I think if I had to give myself a progress report, I think I’m about 30% of the way toward recognizing in real-time the patterns I like best, and being able to include them in compositions before the animal flies or runs away. In 2023, it was more like 20%. And in terms of post-processing, I feel that I’ve improved quite a bit, but there are still mysteries I’ve yet to solve. I’d say now I’m about 40% through solving those mysteries, whereas in 2023 it was closer to 30%.

I’m still in the process of going through my images from this year, but I believe taking the time to sit down and really thinking about the strengths and weaknesses of each image really helps this improvement process. Thus, I encourage everyone to repeat this exercise. Go through your photos, think about what separates the good shots from the portfolio shots, and really take time to figure out how you can improve.