Complete newbie to photography advice please!

sean ybarra · Oct 7, 2018

I'm completely new to photography I always wanted to get in to it and learn and participate as a hobby/and develop a new skill but I'm at a loss on how to go about learning I usually read a lot and participate in forums like I am now. So I was wondering if any of you can recommend a good overall encompassing book to learn photography or several books for learning how to compose pictures for beginners, photo theory, or just photography for beginners. I recently bought a sony A6000 so that's the camera I'll be learning with the lens I'm using is the stock lens thats 15-50mm i believe. Any advice or stories about how you learned would be great too thank you

480sparky · Oct 7, 2018

Reading is fine, but nothing beats going out and shooting.

sean ybarra · Oct 7, 2018

480sparky said:
Reading is fine, but nothing beats going out and shooting.

I understand that through practice one gets better but if I start taking pictures of everything with zero knowledge would that be a better method of learning rather than learning through some text first than applying that slowly over time?

480sparky · Oct 7, 2018

I'd start out with:

Light Science and Magic and Understanding Exposure

Gary A. · Oct 7, 2018

You might want to look into a community college or adult school beginning photo class(s). The classes are affordable and offer a formal structure. Just make sure the class is for digital and not film.

TCampbell · Oct 7, 2018

Understanding Exposure (by Bryan Peterson) is popular. That'll get you the basics of camera operation (you'll actually understand quite a bit more about how to use the camera.

Another good book is The Photographer's Eye (by Michael Freeman). This is a book on photographic composition (why two photographers can go to the same place, use the same camera... and for some reason you'll like the photographers shot by one photographer more than the other. This is because one of the photographers probably understood "composition" better than the other.)

Gary A. · Oct 7, 2018

sean ybarra said:
480sparky said:

Reading is fine, but nothing beats going out and shooting.

Click to expand...

I understand that through practice one gets better but if I start taking pictures of everything with zero knowledge would that be a better method of learning rather than learning through some text first than applying that slowly over time?

Trial and error, while quite effective ... is also long and can often be painful.

Designer · Oct 7, 2018

sean ybarra said:
I understand that through practice one gets better but if I start taking pictures of everything with zero knowledge would that be a better method of learning rather than learning through some text first than applying that slowly over time?

Practice is good for the mechanics of it.

Studying composition is for the art side of things.

You probably need both to be successful, and you can do them concurrently.

Get a book on the basics of photography, and one on artistic composition. Read both. Practice. Then get some critique on what you did.

There is a thread on here (search) that helps people post for critique. When people offer a critique, learn from what they are saying, then go out and try some more.

407370 · Oct 7, 2018

Hi Sean,

What are you interested in? take pics of that.

Look at ways of improving them by better lighting, composition, post processing etc. Try longer / shorter exposures or handheld Vs tripod or make a vertical / horizontal panorama.
Youtube is your friend. Pick a type of photography and look it up. Digest all the advice you like and ignore the rest.

Derrel · Oct 7, 2018

I think reading and looking at a structured overview of the sub-fields in photography makes a lot of sense. here's a book that will show you a HUGE amount of information, and which will offer you many lessons you can do. https://www.amazon.com/John-Hedgecoes-Introductory-Photography-Course/dp/0240803469

This is about photography, a book about how to see,and about how to approach,and how to position yourself and your camera, in relation to the light. This book was written by a master instructor,and an accomplished photographer. He was the first-ever full professor of photography at London's Royal College. He is the man Queen Elizabeth selected to photograph her official portrait which was later used on British postage stamps. This is not a modern-day cookbook about how to "run a digital camera", or about "how to use the sliders" in Lightroom, etc.. Nope. This is an introductory course in photo-graphy. Not a step-by-step,paint-by-numbers book about digital imaging...this is a book that will show you and teach you a huge amount about "photography".

The basics of photography have remained mostly unchanged for decades. I still recommend this,specific author's books, because of how well they were written and illustrated.

webestang64 · Oct 8, 2018

Get to know your camera inside and out. Study the manual!! Learn all the functions and what they do.

Maybe take a few photo classes at a local camera store or community college.

ac12 · Oct 8, 2018

Find a class where you can learn with teacher.
If you get stuck, which is EASY to do at the early stages, a teacher is much more help than spending hours or days searching the internet for something you do not understand.

Study the camera manual, and KEEP IT WITH YOU in your camera bag, or a PDF of the manual on your smart phone.
There have been several times where I forgot how to do something, and I had to look it up in the manual. Or worse, did not have the manual, and had to wait till I got home to read it. Cameras today are extremely sophisticated and complicated, compared to the simple film cameras of yesteryear.

JoeW · Oct 9, 2018

Lots of good advice so far, let me throw in a few comments as well (besides--WELCOME!)

1. Books: I second Bryan Peterson. He's very approachable as a beginner--not too dry or intimidating. Plus, if you like one of his books, he's prolific (with books, videos, workshops) so you can be pretty sure you'll like his other stuff. I hate buying a book and then finding the author isn't my cup of tea but I love finding someone who works for me (in terms of how I think, process info, etc.). And Peterson's books will include a lot of lovely photos that will inspire you.

2. Go online to "Meet-up" and look for a photography meet-up group (or more than 1) in your area. Your profile doesn't way where you are. Let me give you an example: I'm in the Washington DC area. I help coordinate a group called "Shutterbug Excursions." We've got over 1,000 members. Everyone from really serious amateurs who take 2 months off from work to tour the US in a van and take pictures at National Parks to people who show up to a meet-up going "I just bought this camera, I only used my phone before this--HELP!" Meet-ups can be a great way to connect, find resources, and learn.

3. Read your manual. Then read it again. Then find a book in the library or Amazon that is NOT your manual but explains your camera (it will offer different perspectives than your manual will, offer advice on settings, etc.). The more you know about your new camera, the more options you'll become aware of as a photographer.

4. The great French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson said "your first 10,000 photos will be your worst." So your job is to get to 10,001 as quickly as possible. So get out there and start shooting!