So it always intrigues me how people got started in photography and how they progressed.
For me it all started when I went to Europe on a vacation in middle school. Taking photos was so much fun! Fast forward to my freshman year in college when I got my first camera of my own... a canon powershot point and shoot camera. I thought I was all that. Oh yeah I rocked out those close up of flowers!!! Remembering how much I liked taking photos... I asked for a dSLR for christmas and got it!
A year later I still thought I was awesome... despite the fact I had no idea how to compose a shot... how to edit a shot... how to take a photo on anything other than automatic. I loved taking "artsy" shots... of flowers. I look back at these and laugh at myself. I though I was (pardon my language) the shit! Oh yeah I was going to sell prints.. do wedding and engagements... after all I had an AWESOME camera! (Thank goodness I actually attempted this)
Then I started climbing and met a photography student who also climbed. When I saw her photos I saw how far I really had to go. So I started observing what she did when taking photographs. I began asking questions on how she worked her camera... what she looked for in a shot. How she composed her photo. I researched online and I joined flickr... finding a group that would critique photos and help make them better. Sometimes I learned... sometimes I didn't... but I always had fun trying.
Even though photography was just hobby I still wanted to excel in it. I still do. Only now I feel like instead of thinking my stuff is the greatest thing in the world... I always wonder how I could have made my shot better. I look around at the great photography on this site and on flickr and I wonder if I can ever achieve that. I want to learn and I want to improve. That is currently my only goal... well... and to have fun with photography.
So now that I have told you how I got into photography... and how I progressed (and am still progressing) it is your turn. Whether you are professional photographer or amateur with a point and shoot I want to hear your story!
I realized a point and shoot wasn't cutting it for taking photos of bands. So I bought the Nikon D40 when it was released and photography has become an expensive hobby. Realized the short coming of that camera (lack of internal focusing motor and commander mode for flashes) and stepped up to the D90 when they released that.
I got sick of having to get other people to take photos of my car I race, so I picked up a DSLR and realized I could do it just as good, if not better, as the "professionals." Had photos published 2 months later, and about 4 months later I was shooting motorsports with media passes. That's how I got into the serious aspect of it... I would always wander around and take photos with my point and shoot, but never really thought much of it.
It's funny, I actually have a photo of myself during my first ever car shoot using a DSLR... kinda a weird thing to have documented.
I picked up a point and shoot one day and decided to take close ups of flowers. That magic little "macro" button was too much fun. After a few months of doing that, I decided the crappy kodak P&S camera wasn't cutting the mustard, and I wanted to branch onto bigger and better things =D So for Christmas (2011) hubby bought me my first SLR (Canon EOS 1100d) and I am in love with the thing. My passion for photography was ignited. I'm never looking back!
I started taking photos in 3rd grade. All of our camping trips, I'd want to take the photos with my dad's Kodak Instamatic. I think for my birthday or Christmas, I was given a camera that took roll film. I thought it was so cool.
Worked my way through several viewfinder cameras over the years, bought my first SLR when I was a senior in high school. I had that for 10 years when my wife upgraded me to a Minolta Maxxum SLR as a wedding gift.
About 11 years ago, I bought a Olympus P&S digital, took both that camera and the Maxxum camping with us wanting to use the P&S for photos of the kids while camping, but use the Maxxum for landscape. My son suggested that I should just use the Olympus for everything as opposed to lugging both around all the time, so I did for that trip and haven't taken another film shot since.
I bought a Sony Alpha about 4 years ago, mainly because it had Minolta lens mounts. I've never used the lenses from my old camera however. I'm starting to get lens envy again. Possibly for Christmas next year I'll be sporting a new lens on my camera.
My mom was a local photog/reporter for a small ( and I mean small) town weekly newspaper. I thought that taking photos was cool and borrowed her SLR once in a while...under strict supervision while I was using it, btw! I had some sort of small film camera that I used on occasion and got a few decent photos with it. Fast forward about 10 years. The SLR had gone to the mothballs and I figured I'd pick it up and play around. I found a few books in my parents library about photography and the process. I read and re-read those books, tried things and trusted the light meter in the camera to tell me I was right with my settings. I learned a whole hell of a lot shooting film. I followed around a friend that was in the photography program at the local university and was exposed to the dark room process.....3 years ago my mother in law said that for her other daughters wedding, instead of paying a photographer she would buy me a DSLR in exchange for photographing the wedding. I told her "No way...I'm not doing it." She was set on it and I got roped into picking out a camera in her price range that would be something worthwhile after the fact. I had a month, yes a month, to get to understand the camera and how it worked. I am still not pleased with the results but she is happy and so is the bride.....thats all that matters I guess. Since then I have become way more comfortable with the DSLR and have begun to really explore it. I definitely credit my knowledge to the SLR and having to understand film and the camera to get the shot....and how I couldn't afford to really screw up too much if I wanted quality out of the 35mm I shot. I could never have learned the DSLR as quickly if I hadn't figured out the SLR beforehand. It's amazing what I actually learned without realizing it. I'm glad for it because I can contribute to this community some of the time. I have a hell of a lot more to learn that is for sure, but I'm enjoying every minute of it!
I was laid off of work and pretty down because I could not find a job. My friend Nikki who lived long distance, told me to go out for a walk and take some pictures of whatever catches my eye and then to come home and show them to her online. She was impressed with the photos I had taken. Most importantly, I realized that it was very relaxing to me and almost like therapy. I fell in love back then and now it is a passion that has only grown over time.
@joesabino I definitely hear that! I feel like every time I get a new piece of equipment I find something else I NEED lol
@hmgphotos that is really cool! I've never shot any motor sports but I would imagine that it would be very difficult!
@claireclinch isn't it wonderful how accessible photography is with digital photography! I don't think I would have ever pursued it without my first point and shoot digital camera! Sounds the same for you.
@webfoot You are so lucky to discover the wonder of photography so early. I know what you mean about lens envy... I get it often! :P
@curiousmomworm Oh my goodness! That must have been so difficult! I hope she is doing ok!
@shadesofgrey you are so lucky that your parents had a good photography library! I'd love to try film... but still being new and being in school it just isn't in the budget. Maybe after med school :P. I'd be so scared to do a wedding! I have a few friends and some family who are professional photographers and they say there is nothing more stressful than shooting a wedding!
@babedol23 Its amazing how relaxing photography is! I know when I am having a stressful day sitting down and setting up a photo... or going for a walk and trying to look at things from a different perspective (literally) it helps to change my own perspective on life! Hope things are going better for you!
A friend of mine bought an EOS 400D, and just seemed to get so much enjoyment from it that I saved up and bought exactly the same thing as he had. While I was saving up I started using the compact that I had to take more than just the snapshots it had been used for before. And it grew from there.
But I was okay at pinhole camera classes at school. Then I scored a SLR, took a bunch of road shots. Borrowed a Canon SLR and went to the Land of the Long White Clod and took 360 photos.
Then went home and didn't take another photo for a few years. Scored a digital point and shoot, the same that took today's Volcano shot. Em Tasol.
30 plus years ago I was studying Geology. Taking photos of rocks needed a camera I could take macro shots with (which meant extension tubes (you'll have to trust me) and an SLR. Still have that Fujica camera. Carried it all around the world...
when I was a Girl Scout, I wanted the photography badge! I earned it but I didn't start fiddling with it for real until I got my first "nice" camera in high school. My uncle gave me a Pentax K1000 and I was off and running.
Great start to the thread, @eking2007. For me it was simple, I fell in love with a boy, he enjoyed photography, then he wanted nothing to do with me so I picked up photography to remember him better.
I didn't think I was good or anything, I just had a junky camera, but I started getting a lot of compliments on my framing so I started trying a little bit, over time buying better cameras. This past Christmas that same boy who wanted nothing to do with me bought me a d90 ; )
I was an antique dealer and took pictures for my website and ebay with my camera phone, it didn't have a flash so I bought a Panasonic Lumix to take the pictures indoors. I started messing around in photo shop, I posted a photo called The return of the hero's on a forum and 3 days later someone said I love it my son is in Afghanistan so I sold him a copy a few weeks later I sold 3 more copies of the same photo all to people who had loved ones serving in Afghanistan, I also had some bits I'd put on for fun on Zazzle and I found I had made 6 sales after that I sold 3 photos at a craft fair and another 4 to friends, the antiques market was getting harder so I changed to photography, I also do cards letterheads business cards and photobooks. It all works well I don't make a fortune but I love it and thats more important you can earn a huge wage and dread waking up to face a day at work, with photography I feel a thrill and wonder why delights my camera and I will catch today :)
I had gotten a little toy Polaroid camera for Christmas when I was about 7, and my brother had gotten one too. It didn't take real pictures, it just shot out pre-made photos, but I liked it. When I got tired of it (or it broke, I don't really know... xD,) I moved on to disposable Kodak cameras. I always liked taking photos with them, but I wasn't very good. I remember taking a photo of my brothers after one of my basketball games and I had barely gotten them in the shot. When they bought a point and shoot for a vacation to Florida, they let me take pictures for them, and I never wanted to give the camera back! I was so fascinated by all of the little lizards and flowers, and wanted to take a picture of every one of them. I was around thirteen when I got my first point and shoot, and I got to be what I considered "good." I loved doing it, and I was praised for my work. I had that same point and shoot until I got my first dSLR in November. I guess I could say I've been into photography since before I even knew what photography was. :)
I started taking photos when I was 11 or 12 when got my parents old camera. It was only in 1998 when I started a photography course that my interest really took off. I had to buy a SLR camera for the course and really loved using it (it was a film camera). I have experimented with both film and digital since then.
I started when I was about 15 and my parents gave me their old 35mm point and shoot. It didn't even have a zoom on it. I think the first time I realized I may be an ok photographer was a trip to Paris when I was 19. I was still using the crappy point and shoot but getting some really nice results (which always felt like a bit of a surprise seeing as it was film!) I upgraded to a digital point and shoot after college, and ended up getting the Rebel XT about 5 years ago. I ended up doing some engagement/wedding photos for friends, and then I became the go-to photographer at my office, which really kept fueling my passion to become better. I upgraded to the 7D at the end of last year, so now I'm focusing on the lenses that I want. I still feel like I'm learning so much!
We had a baby. I felt like I wanted pictures of him. I started taking a few but really didn't get all out overtaken until I started this project last June. Now I can't get enough. I feel like I want to learn constantly!
@curiousmomworm that is awesome!! I'm so glad to hear it! She looks so cute! :)
Hey everyone it was great hearing the stories of how you all got started! I'd love to respond to each and every one of your posts but unfortunately my homework is calling me :( Let me just say that I think all your stories are awesome and it is amazing how many different routes we all took to get here! Keep up the great work! :)
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It's funny, I actually have a photo of myself during my first ever car shoot using a DSLR... kinda a weird thing to have documented.
Worked my way through several viewfinder cameras over the years, bought my first SLR when I was a senior in high school. I had that for 10 years when my wife upgraded me to a Minolta Maxxum SLR as a wedding gift.
About 11 years ago, I bought a Olympus P&S digital, took both that camera and the Maxxum camping with us wanting to use the P&S for photos of the kids while camping, but use the Maxxum for landscape. My son suggested that I should just use the Olympus for everything as opposed to lugging both around all the time, so I did for that trip and haven't taken another film shot since.
I bought a Sony Alpha about 4 years ago, mainly because it had Minolta lens mounts. I've never used the lenses from my old camera however. I'm starting to get lens envy again. Possibly for Christmas next year I'll be sporting a new lens on my camera.
this Christmas i upgraded my camera to another form of kodak camera :-]
@hmgphotos that is really cool! I've never shot any motor sports but I would imagine that it would be very difficult!
@claireclinch isn't it wonderful how accessible photography is with digital photography! I don't think I would have ever pursued it without my first point and shoot digital camera! Sounds the same for you.
@webfoot You are so lucky to discover the wonder of photography so early. I know what you mean about lens envy... I get it often! :P
@boycotting that is great! Love scrapbooking!
@curiousmomworm Oh my goodness! That must have been so difficult! I hope she is doing ok!
@shadesofgrey you are so lucky that your parents had a good photography library! I'd love to try film... but still being new and being in school it just isn't in the budget. Maybe after med school :P. I'd be so scared to do a wedding! I have a few friends and some family who are professional photographers and they say there is nothing more stressful than shooting a wedding!
@babedol23 Its amazing how relaxing photography is! I know when I am having a stressful day sitting down and setting up a photo... or going for a walk and trying to look at things from a different perspective (literally) it helps to change my own perspective on life! Hope things are going better for you!
But I was okay at pinhole camera classes at school. Then I scored a SLR, took a bunch of road shots. Borrowed a Canon SLR and went to the Land of the Long White Clod and took 360 photos.
Then went home and didn't take another photo for a few years. Scored a digital point and shoot, the same that took today's Volcano shot. Em Tasol.
I didn't think I was good or anything, I just had a junky camera, but I started getting a lot of compliments on my framing so I started trying a little bit, over time buying better cameras. This past Christmas that same boy who wanted nothing to do with me bought me a d90 ; )
Hey everyone it was great hearing the stories of how you all got started! I'd love to respond to each and every one of your posts but unfortunately my homework is calling me :( Let me just say that I think all your stories are awesome and it is amazing how many different routes we all took to get here! Keep up the great work! :)