Start with film. Get Ansel Adams books "The Camera" "The Print" and "The Negative".
And after that, practice.
And after that, practice.
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Best way to Learn Photography
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Back in the early days (just a few years ago) I was always at the photo lab on base but they have since combined the photography careerfield with public affairs and now the photography side has taken the back seat. They don't even cover retirements unless your an O-6 (Colonel) or above. So, I've been taking a lot of retirement and squadron events photos. Apparently I'm doing a good enough job as I've got lots of requests; however, I know I want to improve and I'm sure people don't complain as much when the service is free
For others,
I take lots of photos all the time and when I'm not I live on my computer either working with my photos or reading this and other forums. I've mostly been reading about lens, body's, etc but am ready to learn the skills of photography it's self.
I currently have Aperture 3 (ver 2 before) and Adobe CS4 Master Collection. I really need to learn how to properly edit my RAW files as that's what I primary take.
You folks here are wonderful and it's why this site is MY NUMBER ONE SITE for photography and Mac's (no specific subject order
.Mike
Back in the early days (just a few years ago) I was always at the photo lab on base but they have since combined the photography careerfield with public affairs and now the photography side has taken the back seat. They don't even cover retirements unless your an O-6 (Colonel) or above. So, I've been taking a lot of retirement and squadron events photos. Apparently I'm doing a good enough job as I've got lots of requests; however, I know I want to improve and I'm sure people don't complain as much when the service is free
That sucks, but they still may have a good manual (or you could see if you can get hold of one from one of the other branches.) One of my high school classmates traveled with the Thunderbirds as a photog, but our "unit photographer" when I was in Germany was our mail clerk. At the White House I think we just had one of our AV guys do all the promotion/retirement shots- though honestly it could have been one of the staff photogs, I never paid much attention other than learning my lesson about not getting in the news coverage on the South Lawn when I was supposed to be working (oops!) and a brief stint at running the White House Photo database until someone figured out the military shouldn't be doing that!
After you read the two books referenced, spend your time on composition stuff- beyond the basic rule of thirds, look at negative space, leading lines and tension/release and the arrangement of different numbers of subjects in the image. Once you understand them, you can start "breaking" the "rules," but people who break them without understanding what works and why it works in terms of art generally just end up producing junk- original junk for sure, but what has worked since the middle ages in getting artists fed and clothed has worked for specific reasons. Look at art appreciation and history as well as graphic design texts- there's likely to be a couple of good texts of the former at the base library. Devour everything on strobist.blogspot.com if you haven't already started, there's a wealth of stuff there too.
Paul
A bit off-topic...
While you're in Korea, I'd take the chance to check the photo shops next to namdaemun market. I bought my Nikon there at a great price, with card, cleaning kit, bag, etc, etc...
Here's a guide on how to get to those stores:
http://www.davidsmeaton.com/index.php/super-daves-korean-camera-buying-guide/
By the way, The south of South Korea has great landscapes... if that's your thing, you can take great pictures on the hills overlooking the small islands or small fishing villages tucked away on a slope of a hill.
Seoul has some sights, but I found them to be quite boring... as all the temples are very alike.
annyeonghi gyeseyo.
While you're in Korea, I'd take the chance to check the photo shops next to namdaemun market. I bought my Nikon there at a great price, with card, cleaning kit, bag, etc, etc...
Here's a guide on how to get to those stores:
http://www.davidsmeaton.com/index.php/super-daves-korean-camera-buying-guide/
By the way, The south of South Korea has great landscapes... if that's your thing, you can take great pictures on the hills overlooking the small islands or small fishing villages tucked away on a slope of a hill.
Seoul has some sights, but I found them to be quite boring... as all the temples are very alike.
annyeonghi gyeseyo.
The best way to learn photography is to read a book like Photography Fundamentals. It explains ell the basics in a very simple form and has you go out and practice what you just learned. That's the best place to start. You can get it at photographyfundamentals.com
Notice how you started out, taking about camera equipment. It is as it a writer wanted to learn how to write a short story and stated talking about word processors and monitors and printers.
The way to learn is to approach photography from the "artist direction" not from the "equipment operator" direction. Well OK, if you want to be an equipment operator go ahead.
So the first step is to find some large format "coffee table" books maybe from some well known photographers. Figure out what you like that try to emulated that style. This is the way artists have learned for centuries.
Along the way you may find you have technical problems, such as how to get shades of white or how to create a motion blur or whatever. then stop and read the books like "Understanding Exposure" or others. But you will never learn how to do portraits without looking at many of them and trying to make one like the ones you like. Learning needs to be "image driven". You have an image in your head then try to make it. You learn nothing be shooting snapshots of just anything.
Give yourself an assignment or two and go out and shoot 50 or so frames. Some back and run them all through your process and keeep the best one or two. Then compare that to the image in the coffee table book and decide how to do better. Repeat as required.
Do NOT shoot a billion shots and hope that luck will help. Think about each frame you shoot.
Use a tripod if your subject is not fast moving. It will slow you down and make for sharper images too. But mostly it allows you to fine tune compositions.
Again LOOK at lots and lots of good photography of the genre you want to learn. Do NOT bother with equipment unless you have to.
My opinion is that the most part of photography is composition. Everything else is icing on the cake.
Look at pictures on the internet from popular photographers and learn how they compose. Once you get the eye of it, shoot on manual or AV to discover your style of photography.
Have fun in Korea! I was born there but haven't visited in 18 years.
Look at pictures on the internet from popular photographers and learn how they compose. Once you get the eye of it, shoot on manual or AV to discover your style of photography.
Have fun in Korea! I was born there but haven't visited in 18 years.
Necro!
I found having interest and opportunity are the most important things. Go out and shoot. As said here, find photos you like and try to emulate them. When you can do that, you can basically do whatever you want. Your lenses and camera are not limiting you.
My favourite photos are all taken with cheap lenses like the 50/2 Ai Nikkor.
We've all taken some good and some bad shots. Some of my worst and some of my favourites are at my flickr account (same with everyone).
By now, however, I assume you will have discovered all you need to know and will be out of Korea as well. I used to live there. I hope you enjoyed it.
I found having interest and opportunity are the most important things. Go out and shoot. As said here, find photos you like and try to emulate them. When you can do that, you can basically do whatever you want. Your lenses and camera are not limiting you.
My favourite photos are all taken with cheap lenses like the 50/2 Ai Nikkor.
We've all taken some good and some bad shots. Some of my worst and some of my favourites are at my flickr account (same with everyone).
By now, however, I assume you will have discovered all you need to know and will be out of Korea as well. I used to live there. I hope you enjoyed it.
Thanks everyone for the recent feedback. I have left Korea, only spent a year there and took tons of photos seance then. I'm now in Warner Robins, GA at the base here and not a lot of places to go take photos so I'm researching new ideas. I like portraits but am far from being any good at that. I am looking at lots of photos for ideas.
I surf this forum and Canons several times a day.
Mike
I surf this forum and Canons several times a day.
Mike
How To Learn Photography
I Have Been Taking Photographs For Many Years, These Days I Think You'd Find It Hard To Take Bad Pictures,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_thirds
Rule Of Thirds Is A Good One To Keep In Mind, Don;t Try To Run Before You Can Walk, A Good Camera Site To Use Is http://http://www.dpreview.com/ I Have Been A Member Of Pixalo For Many Years, From New To Old From Am To Pro Everyone Has Got Time For You, Every question Answered And Also You Can Upload Your Image To Have People Look And Tell You How To Improve, Macro Landscape, Still Life, B&W Etc Etc, If You Want To Start Of Doinfg Landscapes Then Say So, If Its Portraits Then Mention, http://www.pixalo.com Firstly find out how to resize your images you might want to upload, they don't allow you to upload say an 8 meg or more file, if you go on there site, look up the section on how to size up, or ask, go to new members they will help, its like me in here, i am really new to Imac, or any mac, it's all a learning curve, i would say general photography is really cheaper these days, we had to send film away, and wait a week, lol...good luck!
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Can anyone help me whilst i am talking Photography, i have been using Aperture and i have several hundred images i have put on a disc for a customer, they can not view them on a dvd player, so i placed them on a card and i went around to find 1 image then a black square then image then black square, etc etc, i was going to take them to Asda just for a contact sheet, and they place the images on a Kodak cd, which my customer says they can view there own images, i am wondering is it because of Mac, i though a jpeg was a jpeg, ?
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Just realised i was answering an old discussion
I Have Been Taking Photographs For Many Years, These Days I Think You'd Find It Hard To Take Bad Pictures,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_thirds
Rule Of Thirds Is A Good One To Keep In Mind, Don;t Try To Run Before You Can Walk, A Good Camera Site To Use Is http://http://www.dpreview.com/ I Have Been A Member Of Pixalo For Many Years, From New To Old From Am To Pro Everyone Has Got Time For You, Every question Answered And Also You Can Upload Your Image To Have People Look And Tell You How To Improve, Macro Landscape, Still Life, B&W Etc Etc, If You Want To Start Of Doinfg Landscapes Then Say So, If Its Portraits Then Mention, http://www.pixalo.com Firstly find out how to resize your images you might want to upload, they don't allow you to upload say an 8 meg or more file, if you go on there site, look up the section on how to size up, or ask, go to new members they will help, its like me in here, i am really new to Imac, or any mac, it's all a learning curve, i would say general photography is really cheaper these days, we had to send film away, and wait a week, lol...good luck!
----------
Can anyone help me whilst i am talking Photography, i have been using Aperture and i have several hundred images i have put on a disc for a customer, they can not view them on a dvd player, so i placed them on a card and i went around to find 1 image then a black square then image then black square, etc etc, i was going to take them to Asda just for a contact sheet, and they place the images on a Kodak cd, which my customer says they can view there own images, i am wondering is it because of Mac, i though a jpeg was a jpeg, ?
----------
Just realised i was answering an old discussion
If you just want to learn how to shoot manually, you need to learn a few things..... All of which are reasonably easy to work out from internet resources.
1. Shutter Speed.
2. Aperture
3. ISO
4. How 1,2 & 3 relate to each other.
5. How shutter speeds effects movement
6. How aperture effects Depth of Field
1. Shutter Speed.
2. Aperture
3. ISO
4. How 1,2 & 3 relate to each other.
5. How shutter speeds effects movement
6. How aperture effects Depth of Field
Also, focal length. And how focal length and distance affect Depth of Field.
But really... Before you do any of that....
Start paying attention to light. Forget about the colour of light for the moment. Pat attention to the quality of light (is hard light like on a bright sunny day, or soft light like an overcast day). The direction of the light. Is is coming from one direction, or from multiple directions (overcast day, or from objects that are reflecting the light).
Photography is about light. Until you start seeing light, there is little point in spending time on the technical stuff. Note: There is a difference between "seeing" light, and being really good at using it. The first step is to simply start seeing it, and learning how your camera sees light. It is different than what you eyes see.
The way I learned is trial and error, I love taking pictures, but don't consider myself to be professional in any way
Re: Best ways to learn photography
Mike,
Ive been a commercial photographer for over 20 years, now I mainly teach photography classes at a college. I get this question a lot. Since taking in-person classes might not be an option for you right now, this is what I would recommend:
1. Learn with the equipment you have now, although I would suggest adding a good sturdy tripod if you dont already have one. You will be able to make better equipment choices later.
2. Start out with the book: Understanding Exposure, 3rd edition, by Bryan Peterson. Read through each section and try the exercises as you go with your own camera. Dont worry so much about the content you are creating, you want to understand and be confident the concepts of exposure (aperture, shutter speed, & ISO) as you go. Once you comprehend exposure, you can build on this essential fundamental foundation of photography by concentrating on creating meaningful images. This knowledge of exposure will transfer to any camera system you may want later. I wouldnt get too wrapped up in gear talk; you can do amazing images with basic cameras, especially if you enhance them in Photoshop or Lightroom.
3. The next step is to learn file management and basic Photoshop/Lightroom editing tools, such as straightening, cropping, along with levels, hue/saturation adjustment layers. These tools are simple to learn and can transform your images immensely. You can then move on to retouching tools and sharpening techniques. I would recommend Martin Evenings books on Photoshop and Lightroom for a very comprehensive guide on both of these programs.
4. At some point, you will want to shoot in RAW format, when you have advanced your photographic skills. A great book to get is: The Digital Negative, by Jeff Schewe. It is everything you need to know about RAW image processing from a master.
5. Sign up for a Flikr account and poke around to see what other photographers are doing. Try to find what type of photography you like and join some groups. When you are ready, post some images and get some feedback. Build on this feedback by improving your images through technique or content. Try some new techniques and ask questions if you see something interesting, most people are willing to share.
6. Finally, for a historical perspective of photography, I would highly recommend the History of Photography podcast by Jeff Curto, which is available in iTunes for free. It is a recording of his entire 15-week college course lectures with images. The companion book is: A World History of Photography by Naomi Rosenblum.
7. The key is to be patient, understand each concept as you go by reading and shooting with your own camera. Dont be afraid of making mistakes, it is part of the learning experience. Look at a lot of photographs, ask questions and share your work with others. I promise you will be amazed at your growth as a photographer! The techniques of photography are rather easily mastered with patience and practice. The tougher part is finding your own voice as an image-maker.
All the best, Steve
Mike,
Ive been a commercial photographer for over 20 years, now I mainly teach photography classes at a college. I get this question a lot. Since taking in-person classes might not be an option for you right now, this is what I would recommend:
1. Learn with the equipment you have now, although I would suggest adding a good sturdy tripod if you dont already have one. You will be able to make better equipment choices later.
2. Start out with the book: Understanding Exposure, 3rd edition, by Bryan Peterson. Read through each section and try the exercises as you go with your own camera. Dont worry so much about the content you are creating, you want to understand and be confident the concepts of exposure (aperture, shutter speed, & ISO) as you go. Once you comprehend exposure, you can build on this essential fundamental foundation of photography by concentrating on creating meaningful images. This knowledge of exposure will transfer to any camera system you may want later. I wouldnt get too wrapped up in gear talk; you can do amazing images with basic cameras, especially if you enhance them in Photoshop or Lightroom.
3. The next step is to learn file management and basic Photoshop/Lightroom editing tools, such as straightening, cropping, along with levels, hue/saturation adjustment layers. These tools are simple to learn and can transform your images immensely. You can then move on to retouching tools and sharpening techniques. I would recommend Martin Evenings books on Photoshop and Lightroom for a very comprehensive guide on both of these programs.
4. At some point, you will want to shoot in RAW format, when you have advanced your photographic skills. A great book to get is: The Digital Negative, by Jeff Schewe. It is everything you need to know about RAW image processing from a master.
5. Sign up for a Flikr account and poke around to see what other photographers are doing. Try to find what type of photography you like and join some groups. When you are ready, post some images and get some feedback. Build on this feedback by improving your images through technique or content. Try some new techniques and ask questions if you see something interesting, most people are willing to share.
6. Finally, for a historical perspective of photography, I would highly recommend the History of Photography podcast by Jeff Curto, which is available in iTunes for free. It is a recording of his entire 15-week college course lectures with images. The companion book is: A World History of Photography by Naomi Rosenblum.
7. The key is to be patient, understand each concept as you go by reading and shooting with your own camera. Dont be afraid of making mistakes, it is part of the learning experience. Look at a lot of photographs, ask questions and share your work with others. I promise you will be amazed at your growth as a photographer! The techniques of photography are rather easily mastered with patience and practice. The tougher part is finding your own voice as an image-maker.
All the best, Steve
If you have time, you might enjoy the classes at Creative Live. They show them live during the day but rebroadcast all evening. The classes are AMAZING. Jared Platt's stuff is off the charts helpful. You mentioned wanting to learn to edit your RAW, etc. etc., and his workshops are fabulous. Also Lynda.com has great stuff. Chris Orwig's courses there and books on portraiture might interest you. He has exercises you can work through. You get some inspiration and then you start to see things differently.
Another trick is to get a new lens and look for a Flickr group where people have posted images they've made with it. I have a particular lens I've had for a while that I've never really known what to do with, and the uses they found there blew my mind! That's a great way to spend an evening learning. With your military shots, you might enjoy having a macro. Then you could get in there and take shots of medals, etc. Or just a new portrait lens. Just something to freshen things up and let you see things differently.
I've also enjoyed the classes I've taken at ClickinMoms, but alas you aren't eligible to join there, sorry.
Tony Northrup's book "Stunning Digital Photography" is incredibly well done. Buy the iPhone/iPad version of it and it includes tons of "how-to" videos.
He's also got his own Youtube channel, which I highly recommend.
He's also got his own Youtube channel, which I highly recommend.
Nothing crazy about buying a 5D. Adorama and other camera stores sell used 5D. I believe Adorama also sell a warranty with the used cameras they sell.
One thing I like about FF is taking landscape photos, and also portraits. I bought a refurbished 5DII from canon, since it costs $1,500 this month. Got it via FedEx this week: I opened the box, and looked at the camera's button layout. For a moment I got confused since it looked like my 40D, so I turned the camera around to make sure it was a 5D Mark II
I just gave my 40D to my oldest son. Will be using the 7D for wildlife and such, and the 5DII for landscapes, taking photos of the Auroras (or my wife below, altered with SilverEfex):
Forgot to mention that I like to use wide-angle lenses for landscapes and for taking photos of the Auroras with FF cameras. I use a supper wide lens with my 7D, a Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8. Will probably buy a 14mm Rokinon or another brand for the 5DII, but at the moment I am using the Tokina lens for it and for the 7D. On the 5D the Tokina lens works just fine from 14+ to 16mm.
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I realize this is an old post, but I don't always like the how to stuff. If you know basically what you want and wish to see an example of where someone else has done a portion of the legwork to get to that point, it works. The thing that doesn't come up enough is basic art skills and understanding of color and tone. It's important to understand exposure and composition, lighting, and technical camera details. It's just that even pre-photoshop photos were adjusted in darkrooms, and many of the book focused on photography tend to rush through details of perspective, perception of form, and color. You have a much greater capacity today to analyze direct outputs as you make changes to a different setup or wait for the right lighting for a landscape compared to what was available using something like a polaroid back for reference prior to that point.
The problem I see is that photography resources focus so much on photography rather than the conglomeration of what often goes into the creation and pre-visualization of an image. People get focused on the camera and lens, and they are important. Cropping way in obviously doesn't help capture fine detail or nuance. It's just there isn't enough focus in what they're trying to achieve. Much of the time if books or videos address a case study, it's a highly contrived one with little problem solving so as to allow for a very clean presentation. It reveals very little of the calculation of what goes into making a landscape image or producing something to match a conceptual board supplied by an agency. I think a lot of photography resources tend to be shallow in that regard.
Hi Mike,
I've noticed your post and I think what I have to offer might have already been mentioned a few times, but I'm just getting in to photography myself and can tell you what's working for me. You should note that everyone learns differently, so by no means take what I say as gospel.
The first and most important thing that I've been doing is taking my camera everywhere I go. Starting photography has made me look at the world in a different way, and always having the camera there to capture the moment or scene has been a great way for me to practice.
Which leads me quite nicely on to *practice*. This is the only way to get better. You put in your first post that you think you're ready to step up out of Auto. Well go ahead and do it. Get on to Aperture or Shutter priority, or even Manual mode. Snap away, take lots of photos, make mistakes. I am only taking my photos in high-quality JPEGS at the moment, just so I can save space on my SD card and take even more photos. RAW can wait for when I want to learn post-processing.
REVIEW your photos. Not only while you're shooting (to adjust settings), but afterwards as well. I've started a diary where I critique myself with the settings I used and whether I think they were right with improvements to be made. I note this down with the light I had on the day (sunny, overcast etc) and then when I pull my camera out next I take a look at my notes to see what a good starting point should be for ISO, shutter and aperture. I then branch out from there.
Know the theory. This may be a moot point for some, but I like to know how things work. www.cambridgeincolour.com is a great site I discovered, and www.digital-photography-school.com is a totally free site (and forum!) that has guest writers of professional photography to give tips and hints. These 2 sites have been invaluable to me.
If you've made it this far in my post then you deserve some credit Kudos for being so far away from home and family as well. Korea sounds like a great opportunity to get some great pictures so best of luck to you.
Alex
PS have a word with your neighbours in the north, will you please? Everyone will appreciate it
I've noticed your post and I think what I have to offer might have already been mentioned a few times, but I'm just getting in to photography myself and can tell you what's working for me. You should note that everyone learns differently, so by no means take what I say as gospel.
The first and most important thing that I've been doing is taking my camera everywhere I go. Starting photography has made me look at the world in a different way, and always having the camera there to capture the moment or scene has been a great way for me to practice.
Which leads me quite nicely on to *practice*. This is the only way to get better. You put in your first post that you think you're ready to step up out of Auto. Well go ahead and do it. Get on to Aperture or Shutter priority, or even Manual mode. Snap away, take lots of photos, make mistakes. I am only taking my photos in high-quality JPEGS at the moment, just so I can save space on my SD card and take even more photos. RAW can wait for when I want to learn post-processing.
REVIEW your photos. Not only while you're shooting (to adjust settings), but afterwards as well. I've started a diary where I critique myself with the settings I used and whether I think they were right with improvements to be made. I note this down with the light I had on the day (sunny, overcast etc) and then when I pull my camera out next I take a look at my notes to see what a good starting point should be for ISO, shutter and aperture. I then branch out from there.
Know the theory. This may be a moot point for some, but I like to know how things work. www.cambridgeincolour.com is a great site I discovered, and www.digital-photography-school.com is a totally free site (and forum!) that has guest writers of professional photography to give tips and hints. These 2 sites have been invaluable to me.
If you've made it this far in my post then you deserve some credit
Kudos for being so far away from home and family as well. Korea sounds like a great opportunity to get some great pictures so best of luck to you.Alex
PS have a word with your neighbours in the north, will you please? Everyone will appreciate it
As others have mentioned, "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson is a fabulous book for understanding how the camera interperets light. I also recommend "the photographer's eye" by Michael Freeman (and the other books in this series) for information about improving composition.
