Need some info

[shayrgob]

Hey! I just joined the forum and i'm really excited. I will be starting my new job at Ritz Camera pretty soon, so i need to learn as much as i can about this stuff. Do u guys have any suggestions as to what i should be learning and where i can get the info from? thanks

 

[John the Greek]

I thought the other employees would teach you the basics... wait so.. do you know anything about photography? And which Ritz do you work at? What area?

 

[shayrgob]

I live in Gurnee, IL. I will be getting trained just as anyone would but i would like to put in my own effort for a couple of reasons:

1) I dont know too much about photography although i did take graphic arts in HS.

2) Photography is really awesome.

3) I will probably make more $ via commission if i know what i'm talking about w/ the customers.

 

[John the Greek]

Well.. there's a great book out there called The Basic Book to Photography- The Classic Guide, I have the 2004 version, I'm sure there's a 2005 version.

Anyway it's a large book, about 500 pages or so dedicated to teaching everything about photography, you start simple and gradually learn more complex concepts. You'll learn about diff. equipment, lenses, accessories etc that you'll probably be asked a lot about working at Ritz.

 

[fadingaway1986]

What sort of department will you be in?

I am not familiar with Ritz... Will there be film processing, or sales?


Maybe have a read up on filters, what they do...
Different cameras
Different lenses


Generally if you form a nice bond with a camera, its easy to sell them! All you have to say is, "if I was buying a camera, it would be this one".... Have a couple of reasons to back that up.


If you are working in the processing side - they should teach you everything you need to know.


Maybe look into a couple of debates:
Film vs. Digital

SLR vs. P&S

don't bother with nikon vs. canon though... it won't get you anywhere (cause we all know canon is better. hehe)

Maybe with the film vs. digital argument, look into things like the cost of shooting a roll of film (find out the cost of the film and the processing) and then find out the cost of a digital print in your area, multiply by 24... you can see the difference in cost of shooting either.

 

[Artemis]

You can add me to your msn or yahoo if you want, and ill try and help you with any questions...
Falcon2057@hotmail.com...

 

[sbalsama]

I second picking up a book. Check out the New Manual of Photography by John Hedgecoe. It's quite a read, but I think it does a pretty good job of explaining all the various parts and kinds of cameras. You probably won't even have to read past the technical section if you didn't want to.

It has a pretty nice chart with the angle of view for many lenses along the spectrum. I'm not sure why I like this, but it's handy and I doubt you'll ever need it

 

[TheBarbaubot]

I don't think you'll have much trouble. An old buddy of mine worked at a Ritz Camera in Crystal Lake, IL, he offered me a job, told me they teach you everything. I work at a Walgreen's 1 Hour. They taught me everything, though I don't have to constantly explain the difference in cameras and what polorizors do(just learned that on my own as the job got me interested in photography). A job in retail basically assumes that you're there for the money, not the interest. Therefore training will probably be thorough.