nicholeV photography [the blog]

My Tips For Any Beginning/Aspiring Photographer

So I last posted about my own journey as a photographer. 

This post is Part Two: My tips for any aspiring photographer. 

These tips are listed in no particular order. Just my thoughts and things that I’ve learned along the way. These tips are meant for anyone just starting on their photography journey; those who are wondering where to even start.

 

• Practice, practice, practice.
• Learn your camera inside and out. You don't need super high-end equipment to create an amazing image. Just a digital SLR (DSLR) and a good lens or two. The eye and knowledge behind the camera are MUCH more important than the actual camera. That being said, a DSLR or film SLR is a necessity. If you want to become a photographer, you must have a camera that lets you swap lenses and use completely manual settings. DSLR’s are nice because you get immediate feedback; you don’t have to take notes and then wait for the film to be developed.
• Resist the temptation to constantly upgrade your equipment. A better camera won’t necessarily help you take better photos. Learning the intricacies of aperture, shutter speed and focal length will help you take better photos. Only upgrade once you have completely learned your current equipment and are feeling its limitations. Also, a good lens will more dramatically improve your images than a new camera (if you‘re trying to decide where to put your money). The glass you shoot through is always the most important element to achieving a high-quality image.
• And again, practice.
• Read the manual. Seriously. It really has some good info. Before jumping into other books or classes, learn everything that your camera manual has to teach you.
• Buy an inexpensive prime lens that stops down to at least f1.8 (like the Canon 50mm f1.8 lens). You can get one for under $100. A prime or fixed-focal length lens will be the quickest and best way to understand aperture. And a solid understanding of aperture is absolutely essential to taking good photos.
• Did I mention practice?
• Learn the intricacies of aperture, shutter speed, ISO and focal length. You can do this through reading your camera manual, online forums or a good photography book (or a combo of all three), and then practicing and applying what you read. Learning how each item affects the look of your photos will give you extreme technical control over the final outcome of a photo.
• Make it your goal to learn to shoot on M or Manual regularly with your camera. In the process, you will better learn how aperture and shutter speed interrelate.
• Don't use a flash or any other artificial light until you've completely mastered natural light and manual mode shooting. Then add artificial light back in. You don't want to be dependent on artificial light. You need to learn to “see” the light and then you will be better able to add artificial light to a scene.
• Uhmmmm . . . . . . . Practice!
• Study painters and photographers that you admire. Really assess what makes their photos amazing and wonderful, and then try to start seeing the world as they do.
• Get lower. It’s the biggest mistake most make. Especially when photographing children, you want your camera to be no higher than their waist. This usually means sitting, squatting or even lying on the ground.
• Learn the rule of thirds and practice framing your photos according to it. Also, a solid understanding of traditional painting composition is enormously helpful. This will help you understand how lines create tension or harmony, balancing positive with negative space.
  
• Make LOTS of mistakes. The more you shoot, the more likely you are to make mistakes. And you learn the most from your mistakes. The more mistakes you make, the more you will remember to NOT do that stupid mistake again.
• And above all, PRACTICE!! Photograph anyone and everyone who will let you. Experiment. Go crazy. You will learn from each little photosession, usually from your mistakes. 

And that's ok. That's the journey.

How I Became a Photographer

Well, I get a lot of emails from people asking me how I got started in photography, what I did to learn, etc. And so I thought it might be helpful to post a little about my own journey as a photographer, as well as some tips for those starting out on the journey to become a photographer.

This is Part One . . . . How I personally became a photographer.

So here it is in a nutshell . . . . I am entirely self-taught. I’ve never taken a class on photography and I’ve never really read a book on photography. There are excellent books out there and wonderful community classes. I just never did either, for whatever reason.

So how did I learn photography?

Well, it began with an enormous background in the arts. My own father is a talented painter and I grew up watching him create. He would discuss the artistic reasons behind his compositions and explain how he was using light.  I learned to see the world through a painter‘s eyes. From that beginning, I went on to college and received my undergraduate degree in Art History and Humanities.  Basically, I studied art and design year after year---every major art period, every major artist, every painterly technique from chiaroscuro to cubism. Actually, I felt it was terribly ironic. I could always see exactly how I wanted to capture a scene as a painter; I could “see” the final image in my head. All my years studying other’s works had given me that. But I somehow missed out on my father’s talent for drawing. I was a painter trapped in a body with no artistic outlet.

Adding to this, I also have an insatiable desire to learn. I’ve spent an astonishing amount of time in school. Did I mention, I LOVE to learn? Once I graduated with my degrees in Art History and Humanities, I went back to college, this time earning a post-graduate degree in English (because, let‘s face it, what do you do with a degree in Art History?). Then, still not having enough of college, I taught upper-level university English courses for about 10 years. I love studying and teaching myself new things.  I love pushing my brain to understand new concepts and skills.

So somewhere along the way it all collided with photography . . . . my passion for art and my love of learning. I met and married my husband, who has always been a talented and avid hobbyist photographer, and he brought into our marriage an excellent film camera. A few years later, we invested in our first DSLR.

And then it all clicked with me. I sat down and read every manual for every piece of camera equipment that I owned. I devoured every piece of info I could find online. But most importantly, I practiced, practiced, practiced. I was so liberated. The painter inside of me finally had a voice! I just had to acquire the skills and knowledge to transfer what I “saw” to the camera.

And that’s been my goal over the last several years: To create with the camera what my painter brain sees. So I taught myself about aperture and shutter speed. I read up about it in my owner’s manual and online, and then practiced. And practiced and practiced. And then did the same with shutter speed . . . . and focal length . . . . and focus. . . . You get the idea. I just digested one little piece at a time, until I had learned all the fundamental basics. And truth be known, I’m still learning. Photography is a vast field with an astonishing amount of information to learn.

So that’s a little bit about my journey . . . . Stay tuned for Part Two which will include my tips to any aspiring photographer.