Are there any skill building exercises to help with learning a camera?

[Cheesewheel]

Some time this week I'd like to take my Canon 350D out on the trail near my house and take some photos. That and have an opportunity to wear my awesome photo vest

It will be late afternoon/early evening, and there will be a lot of trees so it will be mostly shady. I have a 28-70mm lens and a 70-300mm lens to work with, as well as a tripod, two UV filters, and a circular polarizer. There are a few bridges and a lake.

So, what should I plan on doing (besides shooting hundreds of photos)? Is there anything specific I should be looking for to build camera skill with?

 

[DeepSpring]

Work on the composition of shots. Take a bit of time to frame them each perfectly, don't just shoot shoot shoot. With bridges and lake a long exposure of the water running could look really nice. Pay attention to the sun and try to use it to your advantage but maybe going on the other side of the bridge so you could back light it.

Good luck

 

[Digital Matt]

Some time this week I'd like to take my Canon 350D out on the trail near my house and take some photos. That and have an opportunity to wear my awesome photo vest

It will be late afternoon/early evening, and there will be a lot of trees so it will be mostly shady. I have a 28-70mm lens and a 70-300mm lens to work with, as well as a tripod, two UV filters, and a circular polarizer. There are a few bridges and a lake.

So, what should I plan on doing (besides shooting hundreds of photos)? Is there anything specific I should be looking for to build camera skill with?

Who are your favorite photographers? Emulation is a good way to learn.

 

[Cheesewheel]

Who are your favorite photographers? Emulation is a good way to learn.

My big sister :hug::

Unfortunately, she lives in Indiana and her portfolio is made of prints rather than digital images, so I have no access to them

 

[Digital Matt]

Perhaps you should broaden your horizon. Here is a list of some of the most important photographers of the 20th century.

http://www.betterphoto.com/forms/linkAll.asp?catID=2

Since you are going to be shooting outdoors, probably nature since you said on a trail, I'd suggest you look at Ansel Adams. You might also enjoy Eric Meola.

 

[Cheesewheel]

Perhaps you should broaden your horizon. Here is a list of some of the most important photographers of the 20th century.

http://www.betterphoto.com/forms/linkAll.asp?catID=2

Since you are going to be shooting outdoors, probably nature since you said on a trail, I'd suggest you look at Ansel Adams. You might also enjoy Eric Meola.

Thanks for the recommendations! I'll take a look through their works at lunch to see if I can figure out what they were after.

Would you recommend that I shoot in black and white, or should color be fine with desaturation later (as required by the individual pictures)? I believe I heard there was a subtle difference, but I'm not sure.

 

[Digital Matt]

When shooting digital, you should always shoot color, because you'll get a much higher quality black and white conversion using a computer and software, rather than letting the camera do it.

 

[Garbz]

Best skill building I have ever done is to post my photos in the Critique section on this board. The guys here are brutal and I love it. Each one I post is better than the last!

 

[xfloggingkylex]

What I like to do is try to take at least 1 picture a day that I will keep on my computer, something that is decent enough where I could show it to others.

On days when I dont have spare time during daylight hours, this limits me to inside shots (not much anymore since it is no longer so cold) and it is pretty hard to make something in your house look interesting. Quite the challenge but you really try a lot of new things in an attempt to get that shot of the day.