A simple tip that will teach you loads about photography

ksmattfish · Jul 25, 2006

A simple tip that will teach you loads about photography.

Put down your camera, and borrow someone elses' camera for a day. Then do it again with different gear. If you are shooting digital, shoot a few rolls of film. If you are shooting film, fill up a 1 mb memory card. Try out a vintage camera. Try a camera design other than a point-n-shoot or SLR. Try out enough different kinds of equipment, and you'll realize how much your photography relies on you rather than the brand name or design of gear in your hands. You'll find that all the fancy technology Canon and Nikon would have us believe are essential for good photography, are only vital to their stock reports. And then you'll be free.

Happy photography, everybody!

terri · Jul 25, 2006

Truer words.....

It's good mental exercise, regardless of your level of knowledge. When people say they're bored with their photography or have gotten stuck in a rut, I like to tell them to pick up an entirely different camera or format to try.

Arch · Jul 25, 2006

this is a good philosophy..... i desperatly want to get back into film..... anyone wanna send me thier camera?!..... a hasselblad or summin would be nice.

:mrgreen:

spiky_simon · Jul 25, 2006

Great advice! Why not try using a polaroid camera for a different perspective on things

tempra · Jul 25, 2006

Archangel said:
this is a good philosophy..... i desperatly want to get back into film..... anyone wanna send me thier camera?!..... a hasselblad or summin would be nice. :mrgreen:

You could borrow my old rollei if you come the the London meet - that way you might be able to explain to me how to work it

Arch · Jul 25, 2006

ooohh.... thats purdy.... if im at the meet i'll have to take you up on that!

Big Mike · Jul 25, 2006

Good post Matt.

Reminds me of a show that I used to see on TV once in a while. It was called Nikon Wildlife Adventures. The host was a tool and they would have guest photographers come on to show him stuff. One Pro showed him how to change the active AF point and quickly explained the rule of thirds. By the end of the show, the host was explaining how his Nikon camera had "rule of thirds" as if it were an option.

terri · Jul 25, 2006

Big Mike said:
Good post Matt.

Reminds me of a show that I used to see on TV once in a while. It was called Nikon Wildlife Adventures. The host was a tool and they would have guest photographers come on to show him stuff. One Pro showed him how to change the active AF point and quickly explained the rule of thirds. By the end of the show, the host was explaining how his Nikon camera had "rule of thirds" as if it were an option.

terri · Jul 25, 2006

Archangel said:
this is a good philosophy..... i desperatly want to get back into film..... anyone wanna send me thier camera?!..... a hasselblad or summin would be nice. :mrgreen:

Why not a Holga? Cheap, easy, and all you need is some tape to hold the back on. :razz: Totally fun way to shoot 120 film.

markc · Jul 25, 2006

I think it's a great idea. I found that when I first got my Yashica TLR, it really got me to slow down and think about what I was doing. Another thing to try is to grab a disposable camera or two and shoot a bit. With the limited choices, you really have to thing about the composition..

Digital Matt · Jul 25, 2006

Great point Matt. I'll just add my $.02 of experience to confirm this. When I started taking my photo class, I was shooting 35mm, with a very similar camera to my DSLR. I was using the same lenses, and felt very comfortable. After getting a great deal on a 645 camera, and using that solely for class now, I've been learning so much. I've had to really slow down and think about what I want, and it's caused me to look at my pictures, my compositions in a different way. I only have 1 80mm lens. The depth of field is less at any given aperture. The camera is heavy, and tripod mounted 99% of the time. I have to use a handheld spot meter to calculate my exposures.

The entire process has opened my eyes, and changed my thinking entirely. Works wonders

cumi · Jul 26, 2006

I recently shoot a roll of films with my fathers manual-focus SLR bought in 1980. It was great (unfortunatly 20% of photos were out-focus), I learned a lot, produced some really nice photos. And, later it was great to use my PS Camera, then again it was even better to use my new DSLR! :sexywink:

JTHphoto · Jul 26, 2006

good advice matt, i'd love to try out some different equipment, but everybody i know shoots canon.

i've had my dslr for a year and haven't touched another camera since. i miss my 35mm, so I dug it out and put a fresh battery in it. I am going to use it on my vacation this/next week. I can't believe how excited I am :lol:

.

xfloggingkylex · Jul 26, 2006

ksmattfish said:
A simple tip that will teach you loads about photography.

Put down your camera, and borrow someone elses' camera for a day. Then do it again with different gear. If you are shooting digital, shoot a few rolls of film. If you are shooting film, fill up a 1 mb memory card. Try out a vintage camera. Try a camera design other than a point-n-shoot or SLR. Try out enough different kinds of equipment, and you'll realize how much your photography relies on you rather than the brand name or design of gear in your hands. You'll find that all the fancy technology Canon and Nikon would have us believe are essential for good photography, are only vital to their stock reports. And then you'll be free.

Happy photography, everybody!

so what, take a quarter of a picture? :lol:

actually I have been meaning to get out and do this with my dads full manual K1000, just havn't bought the film yet.

ksmattfish · Jul 28, 2006

xfloggingkylex said:
so what, take a quarter of a picture?

Doh!!! I must have been posting before coffee again.

Hey man, I started out in digital photography with a Kodak DC-50 in the 1990s! Here's a quote from the instruction manual.