A "learning thread." What was your "A-Ha!" moment in photography?

[rexbobcat]

....when i learned how to spell epipheny

Epiphany?

Epitome?

Empathy

[Ads]

[flow]

Epiphany?

Epitome?

Empathy

Epiphyte?

[480sparky]

Epiphyte?

Ephriamite?

[bratkinson]

Epiphany #1 - That RAW files exist and have far more manipulation 'room' in post than JPGs. I won't tell you how long I thought that JPGs were the only thing coming out of a digital camera!

Ephphany #2 - Canon AF methodology on Youtube:
I had been using one-shot AF all the time figuring I wasn't doing any continuous mode shooting... Whoever posted that link 6 months ago...THANK YOU!!!!

[cpeay]

Mine was when I read Understand Exposure by Bryan Peterson

[Solarflare]

When I read digital cameras had reached 6 Megapixels.

Thats about the resolution of standard color film, so that was the breaking point.

[The_Traveler]

In terms of shooting a portrait photograph that will get **good** reviews and positive criticism, I think in the past I have worked too hard on getting the technical aspects correct and I have focused less on the composition of the image. I have posted many portrait images on this forum which I considered to be technically sound, but the reviews were lukewarm at best. Perhaps it's a personality thing--regulars on here know me and I'm not friends with everybody, and this place does tend to be a bit of a popularity contest , so those who are more popular get more responses and more positive critiques of their images.

But back to my A-Ha! comment--in the future, I think I should worry less about nailing the technical aspects and worry more about making the photograph appear interesting. For example, maybe instead of just a head shot or a head and torso shot, I should focus instead on the person doing something, or I don't know...I'm still thinking this through. I guess if you boil it down, what I'm trying to say (and this sounds so OBVIOUS now that I'm typing it ) is that composition is more important than technical soundness.

I'm not certain if a slow realization can be classed as an epiphany but I have come to beiieve that technical stuff just isn't the crucial thing, that great technical pictures look best on calendars and great pictures make the technical details irrelevant.

I am a little surprised by the number of AHA moments in this list that would have occurred much early in the photographers' respective development if they had only read the manual.

[unpopular]

When I read digital cameras had reached 6 Megapixels.

Thats about the resolution of standard color film, so that was the breaking point.

welllllllll....

[gijoan12]

My aha moment was the first time I tried the Nikon D5000 and realized how much fun I was having with it. I'm now moving up to a Nikon D300 and hope it will be a good move. I can't afford a D3 but I think this camera will be a good upgrade from my D 5000.

[Compaq]

Why the negative is negative and the print is positive, was my most recent. Dodging and burning belongs in the same epiphany.