A few recommendations for beginners

dallasimagery · Jun 10, 2011

Hi, I thought I'd type up a post with some recommendations for beginners.

1. Probably the biggest piece of advice I can give to someone starting out, is to pick up some good photography books. I've seen far, far too many people attempt to "learn via internet photography forum." The issues with this are plentiful, but the main one is, they're filled with people who don't know what they're doing! Lol. Seriously, it's true. I've seen alot of people not improve at all after 3 years of shooting because they keep making the same mistakes over and over again, so they never improve.

2. Always push yourself. When you start charging (if you ever chose to), yes it's nice to have a standard set of things you do that you know work. However, from every shoot, try and take away something new, that you never did before - whether it's a new angle you never thought of, etc.

3. Learn as much as you can about photoshop - don't forget, we're in the digital age and this is digital data here! Learning everything you can about photoshop will not only help your post-processing, but there are all kinds of tips and tricks that can save you tons of time, such as the keyboard shortcuts.

4. Posing - pick up a good book on posing, and learn the basics. If you don't, you could shoot for years and never figure out something that someone else figured out 50 years ago. Honestly, photography hasn't changed much in the last 100 years. Digital is just another medium, that's all. One of my very favorite portraits is one of my grandfather, taken in the 1920's. It's a masterful portrait. You can have the best-lit portrait in the world, but if the posing is horrible, it will truly kill the photo.

5. Pick up a good book on lighting - I'd recommend "Master Lighting Guide for Portrait Photographers" - Amazon.com: Master Lighting Guide for Portrait Photographers (9781584281252): Christopher Grey: Books. You can have the best photo in the world, but if the lighting is horrible, it probably won't be very interesting.

6. Don't worry so much about equipment! That's another one I see alot of new people get "hung up on." Again, see point #4, photography hasn't changed much in decades - did photographers 30 years ago produce crap because they didn't have a 135L? Hardly.

Cheers

PreciousJessie427 · Jun 10, 2011

Thanks for the great advice!

iolair · Jun 11, 2011

7. Practice, practice, practice. Take loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooots of photos. (And look at them with a critical eye).

"Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst." Henri Cartier-Bresson

8. Learn about composition ... rule of thirds, symmetry, leading lines ... practice the rules ... and then once you've got them down pat, see how it looks when you break them (and *sometimes* it'll look good).. Whenever possible, make sure everything in your scene is there because you've chosen to include it. Move around to get the right elements. Watch for distractions in the foreground or background.

"Beauty can be seen in all things, seeing and composing the beauty is what separates the snapshot from the photograph." Matt Hardy

matt hkd · Jun 11, 2011

a lot of really helpful tips. thanks a lot =)

KmH · Jun 11, 2011

Here is a list of inexpensive books most amateur and/or beginning photographers can learn a lot from:

Understanding Exposure, 3rd Edition: How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera

Learning to See Creatively: Design, Color & Composition in Photography (Updated Edition)

Beyond Portraiture: Creative People Photography

The Photographer's Eye: Composition and Design for Better Digital Photos

The Photographer's Mind: Creative Thinking for Better Digital Photos

Light: Science and Magic, An Introduction To Photographic Lighting, Fourth Edition

If you want to learn photography, you have to understand the basics of how the camera and lens work (the tools of the trade), and you have to think about what you are doing. Don't just go out and happy snap away taking looooooooots of photos.

Having a goal and a plan for each shoot is more productive and conducive to learning the craft. Look at the entire scene, backgrounds in particular, not just the main subject. Verify your camera settings by looking at the settings information displayed in the camera's viewfinder.

Read your camera users manual thouroughly, know where each control/button/menu is and what it does, and practice making camera setting changes before you go out to shoot.

amandalee · Jun 12, 2011

Thanks so much for posting this! I will definitely have to take a look at these books!

dallasimagery · Jun 12, 2011

amandalee said:
Thanks so much for posting this! I will definitely have to take a look at these books!

No problemo...

I almost mentioned "practice, practice, practice" but felt that #1: It's pretty obvious and #2: Just practicing alone will never get you anywhere, the main point of this thread was that too many people do just that and try to "learn via internet photography forum" and never get anywhere.

iolair · Jun 12, 2011

dallasimagery said:
amandalee said:

Thanks so much for posting this! I will definitely have to take a look at these books!

Click to expand...

I almost mentioned "practice, practice, practice" but felt that #1: It's pretty obvious and #2: Just practicing alone will never get you anywhere, the main point of this thread was that too many people do just that and try to "learn via internet photography forum" and never get anywhere.

Wish it was quite so obvious ... I'm sure I went through a stage a few years ago where I tried to get fit by reading sports forums ... OK, not quite that bad, but it is very easy/tempting to spend more time reading and discussing instead of trying out what you've read about and discussed ... or just to be lazy and sit on your butt. You get better at photography by doing photography. I guess it should be obvious, but we don't always act that way!

dallasimagery · Jun 12, 2011

ioalair, on the other hand, I see a lot of people "practice, practice, practice" and five years later, they're doing the same old crap and they still suck. Practice alone does NOT make one a good photographer, at all, anymore than one can become a surgeon without going to medical school.

AgentDrex · Jun 12, 2011

You can buy books, practice and what-not, but saying visiting a forum won't help as they are filled with people who don't know what they're doing is a bit much. TPF is FULL of wonderful photographers and perhaps this particular forum is an exception to the rule. If not for TPF, I would not be shooting the photos I do now. I still make the occasional mistake but I am one-hundred-percent sure that I have improved immensely since the time I joined three years ago...having a true passion for this is another piece of advice...you can practice all you want...without passion, you will not grow...I hunger for every moment that I'm behind the viewfinder...on the other hand...I do go out with a business card I cut a rectangle in the middle of and just go out to practice composition...leaving the camera at home...when I visit with friends, I spend a lot of time just listening to them as I watch how the available light illuminates them...I love photography and wish to do nothing else on my days off from work...

iolair · Jun 12, 2011

Definitely ... it's a balance ... practice is part of the formula, it doesn't replace instruction/books/learning, nor feedback/discussion. I wouldn't dare suggest that practice by itself would ever be enough.

Kbarredo · Jun 12, 2011

An advice given to me by my mma trainer. Better to practice the right way 10 times than the wrong way 1000 times.

Raian-san · Jun 12, 2011

Read those books and remember it so when you take your camera out, you can use those knowledge to shoot and you'll see what those mechanic do to help you. Keep shooting and don't be shy. Try to always have the camera with you wherever you go. I almost always carry one in my backpack when I go to school. There's so many times when there's a festivities and I took out my camera and took some great shots. There are also time when I drove by city's events and there's tons of artwork, and etc to take picture of. If you into portraits photography then friends and families are your best tools! Ask them and take shots in the sun, against the sun, in shade and etc. The more you practice the more you'll learn. Then you will know why a flash is so important. :thumbup: