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3 edits | reply to Doctoree
Re: [Help] New Toy
One thing that sometimes helps a beginner it to find a subject material they enjoy, which may be related to another hobby, and start taking pictures of that.
If the hobby is something you know well, the real benefit is that you will "know" how the pictures should "feel" when you get back home and view them. Photography is about "nice pictures" but it is (at least to me) about emotion and passion. Ask yourself, can you visually convey the feelings you were experiencing when you took that picture? With a hobby that you know well, it makes it easier to remember those feelings.
Also by using a "co-hobby", you don't have to "search out" subjects. Not that looking for new subjects is a bad thing, but for new photographers, it sometime seems that there's "too much" going on. So having the comfort level of a known subject, makes it a little easier.
As well, the advice to shoot, shoot, shoot is a pretty good one but I suggest that one step back and maybe shoot a little less (so maybe shoot, shoot). It seems that often times people will sacrifice good composition and just "fix" it on the computer. Equally as disheartening is when people can't even tell when something has been "fixed" on the computer and accept the "new reality". So I would spend time with composition and setting up shots, and less in post production if I could. In fact I often suggest not doing any post production at all. Take the pictures, learn from any mistakes or positive experiences, and grow as a photographer. There's plenty of time to be spent in front of a computer later...but photography is improved by spending time on the camera, not on the computer...ESPECIALLY in the beginning.
The concept of photographic studies of a subject is sometimes lost in this modern world as well. By this I mean the classic study of a particular subject for a reasonable duration with an attention to detail. This can manifest itself again in your "co-hobby".
Let us say for this discussion, you like motorcycles, in fact we will narrow it down to 250cc supercross.
This subject will give you several different subjects to study. I would start with the static study of an individual bike, taking pictures at various different settings, and maximizing your time with the various settings you have available to you. You can also experiment with lighting, lenses, filters etc and so on...but be slow in your changes and try not to change more than two things at once during the static study period. Remember a study is as much about your technique as it is about composition...this is where you can "learn" you camera, in a structured environment.
I often suggest having a photographers notebook, with digital cameras it's nice because captured with most images are the technical photographic elements and the photos are nicely numbered...BUT for all the technology, the camera can not capture your thoughts while you were taking that picture, the "what you hoped to capture"; the "what emotions did you feel", etc and so on. For that a small notepad is a good thing to have. Put your feelings next to to the picture numbers as displayed...one or two words...to remind you what your "minds eye" saw that you were not able to capture.
As things progress, you can expand out to include people, events, action shots, again sticking with your "co-hobby" for a learning period. Now that isn't to say you should ONLY do that but always work forward from the "comfort" of a known subject. There is nothing worse than walking into a "great shot" and not having the sufficient skills to accurately capture the emotion, complexity and beauty of it.
After all that the BEST advice I can give you is to have fun...if all the above sounds too much like work, maybe just adopt portions of it as you go along...or maybe none at all.
Photography is really about passion, and if you find that passion waining because the above seems too much like work, just go out and shoot and have fun. |
