Where to get started?

dutchessphotography · Sep 19, 2009

I love taking photos and recently decided that I want to become a photographer. Right now the camera that I have is just a digital Nikon CoolPix L3. I plan on getting something better once I get the funds.

Where should I start? Besides taking classes what can I do?

Any tips and advice would be great.

Thanks all!

craig · Sep 19, 2009

The fact you said taking photos as opposed to pictures is a good start.

At this point I suggest you immerse your self in shooting. Then shoot some more. Post photos for critique. Study the technical aspects of photography then shoot some more. Learn the technical aspects until they become second nature. Then shoot some more. Always be shooting and think about developing your style. Ultimately your personal style is your calling card. Always be thinking about it and always be developing it.

After years of shooting decide what field of photography you would like to get into. Move to LA or NYC and start assisting.

Love & Bass

dutchessphotography · Sep 20, 2009

Craig, Thank you for the advice. You are the ONLY person who has been kind in the advice given. I plan to take tons of photos and hope to get some opinions, advice, and tips. I have several photos up right now. I know they are not any where near great standards and I am just starting off. Right now I am using just a $150 camera and plan to upgrade once I get the funds and feel that I am ready.

Thanks again I really appreciate the time you took to reply.

smn_xps · Sep 20, 2009

If there are no photography classes near where you live try taking some art classes at your local community college. a course in 2-dimensional design would help many of those who post on here to improve their work. even though I am a physicist I have a number of art credits, it helps.

there is a lot that can be learned by reading in here and on many of the other photo oriented sites.

Good luck,
jerry

craig · Sep 20, 2009

My pleasure! I forgot to mention; check out the work of the Masters in painting and photography.

Love & Bass

dutchessphotography · Sep 20, 2009

I will be sure to. I took your advice and took tons and tons of photos today.

craig · Sep 20, 2009

That is very positive!!!! Keep it up. When and if you lose motivation contact me or the gang here at TPF or the kind folks at The Photo Beat - Photography Discussion and Critique Forum - Powered by vBulletin. We are here to help.

Love & Bass

IgsEMT · Sep 20, 2009

Look up reading material by David Ziser, Doug Gordon, Steve Sint. You'll learn a lot from these guys.
Good Luck

g-fi · Sep 20, 2009

If you serious about photography as a career and a business, TAKE BUSINESS COURSES. I don't think that can be overemphasized. It's great to immerse yourself in the technical and artistic side of photography, but if you want to be successful, you have to understand business and what goes into making a business profitable. It's not enough to be able to take a beautiful picture, if you can't be profitable at it, it will always just be a very expensive hobby. Good luck!

IgsEMT · Sep 20, 2009

If you serious about photography as a career and a business, TAKE BUSINESS COURSES.

Definitely.
Hobbyists are usually pixel/lens junkies and are after latest gadgets. (Usually, NOT always). Pros: spend less $ and make more $ - hence business.

craig · Sep 20, 2009

g-fi said:
If you serious about photography as a career and a business, TAKE BUSINESS COURSES. I don't think that can be overemphasized. It's great to immerse yourself in the technical and artistic side of photography, but if you want to be successful, you have to understand business and what goes into making a business profitable. It's not enough to be able to take a beautiful picture, if you can't be profitable at it, it will always just be a very expensive hobby. Good luck!

Small business marketing is common sense. Taking business classes are generally a waste of time. In a market like LA or NY your work is key. Other areas.. try SEO.

Love & Bass

damonb · Oct 4, 2009

While I am not a pro by any stretch, the biggest factors will be taking a lot of pictures to make yourself better & to learn basic composition theory. You can also learn a lot by looking at the work of photographers that you admire.

If you do go out on your own at some point, you will have to learn about marketing and SEO (starting your own site is one thing; marketing it is an entirely different beast). You can take a look at what some top photographers are doing in the social media fields, for example, to get some clues as to what works).

Some folks to check out:
Stuck In Customs HDR Photography
fine art and commercial photography / c h r o m a s i a / Blackpool, UK
Chase Jarvis Photography

Best of luck!

KmH · Oct 4, 2009

Taking a lot of pictures won't teach you much, unless you have the time to put a self critical eye on each of them and answer questions like:

Is the main subject sharply focused, or was their camera shake and I need to work on my camera holding technique and/or get a good sturdy tripod?
Does the composition make sense?
Is my main subject clearly defined, or are there secondary or even tertiary elements that pull attention away from the main subject?

The list goes on but the point is you have to look at the images you make and discover what you could have done to make each one better.

I think a better strategy is to have a plan when you shoot. Each outing, explore an aspect of exposure and/or composition, or fill flash, or some other aspect of photography.

I would actually limit the number of shots you allow yourself each day. Say 25 max. That would force you to think about, and be more careful about setting up, each shot. To many amature digital photographers just 'spray and pray' hoping to get a handful of good images out of hundreds made.

Derrel · Oct 4, 2009

One of my favorite instructional book series is the 1970's-era Time-Life Library of Photography. Silver-and-black hardbound books, in an homage to B&W film I think, this series of books is one I have read multiple times. It has a lot of books, like The Camera, Light and Film, Special Problems, The Studio, Photojournalism, The Great Themes, Color, and others. Each book takes you through its subject in pretty good detail, and the books were written in a collaborative style, with multiple authors and editors for each book.

Many libraries across the USA have these books. What is nice about them is that they are not like "modern" photography books, which are often very recipe-like, with "do this, do this,do this", and with reference to specific software and specific digital cameras--these are books about the underlying fundamentals and principles of photography,and they explore aspects of each sub-section very deeply and also very broadly,if that makes sense. I would search out some of these books and read at least five of the series. What's nice is that these books show works by masters of the past,and were put together by the editors of the Time and Life magazines, and thus by people with decades' worth of experience, and not just one single author. A lot of today's books are so specific they seem to lose relevance once the next batch of software comes out--these books are not like that.

damonb · Oct 5, 2009

"Taking a lot of pictures won't teach you much, unless you have the time to put a self critical eye on each of them and answer questions like:

Is the main subject sharply focused, or was their camera shake and I need to work on my camera holding technique and/or get a good sturdy tripod?
Does the composition make sense?
Is my main subject clearly defined, or are there secondary or even tertiary elements that pull attention away from the main subject?"

I guess I should have clarified my statement about taking a lot of pictures

Most of the folks that I know that majored in photography and/or became pros were very dedicated to learning how to make themselves better by taking a lot of pictures (trying new shutter speeds, apertures, changing composition angles, etc. of the same scenes over and over to find out what works).