 Connie Chung |
Can you give me some advice please?
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robert G. Fately |
Welcome to the world of photography, Connie. Probably the most important thing, advice-wise, is "practice practice, practice!" Go out and shoot a lot of stuff. Experience is important. You want to cultivate your "mind's eye" - great photographs are more often the result of the photographer having an idea in his or her head as to what the final image should look like. The "craft", understanding focal length and angle of view, depth of field, shutter speed and blur, composition, etc etc as nauseum, is of course important but without the creatuve spark and vision it is not so useful. To learn the craft part - how all those technical terms inter-relate and what they even mean, etc. - you can start with a course or a book as well as a list like this. Some folks are 'readers', others are 'listeners' - that is, I have found that while some people are happier gaining knoledge from reading a book, others don't "get it" unless a person is explaining it to them with arms waving, etc. So if you're a book-type, just hit the library and start in the photography section. The fundamentals are the same - digital or film - and while there may be books some people particularly like (even me) the reality is that you can tell as you glance through a tome whether it will make sense to you. If it doesn't, pick up another book...there are only about fifteen million basic photography books out there today. If you're more the listener type, then you should probably enroll in a course at school, or perhaps a trade school, or on this website (note the courses listing to the left). Whichever way you go, you will find, I think, that most folks on this site are quite willing to help and many are rather knowledgeable. And remember, the only stupid question is the one you don't ask - so ask anything! Now go out and shoot some pictures!
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Connie Chung |
Bob, Thanks for the help! I joined this site because I am a junior and I have to start thinking about college and I want to know how good my pictures are and how can I improve them I have read like 4 books (and my friends think I am a geek because I have been into photography since I was 9), but obviously I don't remember half the terms. hehe
Overall, I am pretty good at photography (and those who don't think I am are probably laughing at me). But some of my pictures don't come out because I don't meter right when I shoot for my photo class. I also sometimes have too much headspace when I have to rush. I guess I need to slow down and pay attention to that more often. I also shoot digital outside of school, but because of my limited transportantion, I don't really know where to go to take really good pictures. Any suggestions? Thanks for helping me out!
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Pete H |
Hello Connie, Just to add to Bob's already fine advice, here's what I did years ago. It helped me tremendously, maybe it will help you too. I looked at magazine photos of many things, boats, people, product shots..everything and everything. Barring impossible shots, I tried to duplicate some shots. Perhaps it was a bottle of perfume. How'd they light this so well without reflections? Etc..etc... Photography starts in the imagination. To echo Bob, Practice, patience, more practice. In my opinion, if I had to concentrate on only ONE area of photography, I would choose the understanding of light. It's color, contrast, soft, hard, and shadows. Time of day if outdoors. Artificial light: Same as above...distance from subject etc... Ever see a great scene with your eyes and shoot the pic, only to be let down by the final result? All the best... Pete
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Tamera S. Phillips |
Welcome to BP Connie. I too started photography in high school. I took classes and learned that I loved to capture moments on film. I now use a digital camera but enjoy it just as much. I've learned a lot on this site by looking at others work and also by reading through the forum. Take lots of photo's, read as much as you can and just have fun. That's the most important part of it. I love taking photo's and if others like my work it's a bonus. Use your creative side when you see something you want to shoot. Look at things from another angle, take time and don't be afraid to ask for help. I look forward to seeing your work. Tamera
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Connie Chung |
Thanks for the advice guys! I really appreciate the help. it's good to know there are nice people in the world (unlike where I live...). Anyways, I have a question, how do you take night shots with a digital? Most of mine come out blurry.
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robert G. Fately |
Well, digital or film, the answer to your night shot question is the same...you need to achieve a high enough shutter speed to freeze motion, which means you need to use a combination of a fast lens (one with a wide aperture, a low F-number) and a sensitive imaging layer (for film or CCD, this means high ISO number - though in the old days film was measured in ASA. Ssame thing exactly, just a different name) If there is not enough light to properly expose fast film/CCD with a fast lens, then the only options are to 1)use a flash or 2) use a support, like a tripod. A flash can help IF the subject is close enough and moving. The tripod approach can help if your subject matter is static - its purpose is to eliminate any motion on the camera side of things (this means you). Of course, if you're trying to catch a bicycle messenger speeding down 5th avenue at 9PM, the tripod/slow shutter speed combination probably won't be much help. Although, you could pan with the movement of the cyclist so he stays fairly sharp but the background becomes streaky-blurred due to the camera's motion. Make sense?
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