where did you learn photography?

[Young Grasshopper]

where did you guys learn photography? im thinking about taking this up as a hobby. i love traveling but would like to learn to take better pictures. i bought an ebook called 'understanding exposure' which is good. any other resources?

 

[CuriousMike]

3 factors

1 - Books - Understanding Exposure was the first; A book by David Busch(sp) on my camera had some good general knowledge, and a couple books on composition.

2- Videos/youtube -- Magic Lanterns Guide to Great Photos With your Digital SLR helped cement what I had read about exposure with visual explanations.
Various youtube videos discussing questions I had

3 - Internet forums. Posting photos and asking "why didn't this photo turn out how I planned?"

You'll pick up the science of it easily enough ( shutter speed, aperture, ISO ).
Using that knowledge without an idea of composition/light and you'll get nowhere.

I'm slightly beyond nowhere.

 

[randomrogue]

1. Read the manual
2. Read other books
3. Practice

Many buy these fancy cameras and keep them on full auto or at best P mode. They don't understand exposure, ISO, shutter speed, F Stops, Depth of field, composition, or really anything about photography. All their photos look like snapshots and could just as well be taken with a camera phone. If you spend the time learning the basics and then practice you'll be way ahead of the game.

I personally bought a book specifically for my camera. Not one of the dummies ones but something basic along those lines. I read that along side my manual and I read them more than once. I then picked up some other books explaining exposure. The first one I read wasn't even with respect to digital but explained Ansel Adams' zone system which I found interesting. Other books worth noting would be post processing books such as the ones by Scott Kelby. There's quite a bit on the internet as well. Google "exposure" or "perfect exposure".

Also, don't buy a whole bunch of lenses when you start out. You should buy one and then when you understand what you're doing you'll know which other ones to get.

 

[cantholdanymore]

Books!!
Not your camera specific book but photographic techniques. Back in the film days I used the Michael Langford books, but these are outdated now.
And avoid the forums like the plague while you're learning the basics:biggrin:

 

[Railgun]

Books!!
Not your camera specific book but photographic techniques. Back in the film days I used the Michael Langford books, but these are outdated now.
And avoid the forums like the plague while you're learning the basics:biggrin:

Especially non-photog ones.

Forget books. There's no such thing as outdated. Most of it is about the eye of the beholder.

That said...the rule of thumb is the rule of thirds...can be a gift or a curse. It's all dependant on your composition. It doesn't ALWAYS have to follow that rule.

As for me...practice. Nothing more simple than that. Over time, you'll improve. You'll look at your shots and tell yourself what you like, what you don't like.

As has been commented, they've suggested they've seen progress in the quality of my shots as I've continued through the years. Have only really been somewhat serious about if for the last three years.

As for exposure...most cameras are going to handle that for you. Unless you want to do something specific...leave it alone.

 

[JohnnyRebel]

Practice. Take a lot of shots and learn not to save any but the best (unless a special memory is involved).

Always take your camera with you. Your best work will be unplanned, opportunistic shots.

Read books. Here are some of the best:

The Art of Photography
http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Photography-Approach-Expression/dp/1933952687/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1350393981&sr=8-1&keywords=art+of+photography

Chasing the Light
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0321752503

Composition: From Snapshots to Greatshots
http://www.amazon.com/Composition-Snapshots-Great-Laurie-Excell/dp/0321741323/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1350394172&sr=1-3&keywords=d7000+from+snapshots

The entire "From Snapshots to Great Shots" series is very good and they have some camera specific editions that are worth getting. I really like the one for the D7000.

Keep reading, never stop learning. As a beginner you will crave rules to follow. It will only be after you have a lot of good shots under your belt and you have thought through conflicting, good sounding advice that you will develop your own style. Right now, just work to get where you can plan shots that are not boring.

Of course, I make a living taking snapshots in P mode and that is what I tend to do with my family. I do tend to create, less and less, boring shots. Don't get too hooked on the tech or the tools. You need a camera "good enough" so that it doesn't get in your way. Don't be intimidated by some on this site who disdain letting the camera do a lot of the work for you. Would you rather be a technician or an artist? P mode is a pretty good place to be.


JR

 

[Batmeat]

I hate reading, I do enough of it for school. I talked with friends then started experimenting.

 

[alkemyst]

Green setting FTW, let technology beat layman's skills.

Seriously, just a book a long time ago. Whatever Prog mode allows me to control I try. On critical shots know about bracketing and the like.

There really isn't a lot on the tech side of it. The hard work comes from getting an eye for the shot and what those tech settings will make it look like.

 

[jhansman]

Took a class with lab using my film Canon AE1 back in the 70s. Been learning ever since. Now you have unlimited teaching resources (books, videos, interwebs, etc.), but if you can find a class to learn the basics with others and a knowledgeable instructor, and a computer to process your work, you'll get off to a good start. Enjoy!

 

[Maximus96]

P mode is for Professionals!

I spent a lot of time on POTN when i got my first Canon XSi in 2009

 

[corkyg]

1. From my father when I was a kid.
2. From books and then years of film photography.
3. Joined photo club in high school and learned to process film in darkroom.
4. Two month course in US Army - Photo Intel Collection
5. Transition to digital - by doing.

Check your local community college for photo courses.

 

[happysmiles]

For me.

deviantart.com

boston big picture
and tumblr.com

that's all that I needed. you graduate from dA because it's the same crap all over again but you definitely learn a lot.

The other thing is to simply take inspiration and shoot something similar,you learn a lot about composition that way.

 

[randomrogue]

Just to slightly counter a few things. You really should learn how to shoot in manual and understand how to get a proper exposure. The camera has a meter but you should understand how it works so that you can get a good shot when conditions are tough. A white wall, a black wall, the camera doesn't know how to take pictures of these things. There's nothing wrong with shooting in P mode (I do it occasionally) but it's really great to be able to use all the modes on your camera so you can get that awesome shot that beats your metering. One of the mistakes I made was thinking the camera could do everything for me and when I brought the camera to the top of Tikal's tallest pyramid to capture the sunrise it was completely unable to pull it off. It's an easy shot but not for full auto or P mode. After that debacle I started reading up. Unfortionetly you can't go to the top of the pyramids anymore so I'll never get a chance to get that shot again.

 

[shortylickens]

I had a class in junior high, but that really didnt teach me too much and we forgot it all the next quarter.

Most of what I've learned since has been self taught. Some of it was from online beginners guides.