The Digital Photography School blog asks “What have you learned about photography lately?” — following on from Martin Gommel’s list of his 100 lessons. Here are the most significant ones for me, in approximate order of importance:

1. The simpler the composition the better. Having lots of things in a picture is just confusing. Having a few things in a picture makes for something bolder and more aesthetically-pleasing.
2. Advice I once received: “The difference between an amateur photographer and a professional is that the professional will only show you their best photos while the amateur will show you all of theirs”. For me, binning 19 out of 20 pics feels good.
3. Judicious cropping can transform a picture from hopeless to wonderful. Mainly I do this to cut out the extraneous rubbish. See point 1.
4. If you’re photographing people — especially if you want reportage shots — then using continuous shooting mode is essential to get the right moment (including no-one blinking). See point 2.
5. Even if you vaguely think something might be worth a photograph, then photograph it. By the time you get it back onto your computer it may well look like one of your best shots. See point 2.
6. Expect anyone you meet who shows an interest to be a better photographer than you.

The list of what I’ve failed to learn about photography would take too long.