Hello everyone, I am new with practicing photography as an art instead of just snapping profile-pick-worthy pictures lol. I am interested in learning AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE about the world of photography. I have a Nikon Coolpix L110 and so far I like it but I'm already seeing that its nothing compared to the quality of some camera's. I have no interest in being a professional photographer. I just want to capture the beauty of the world in the best way possible.
If you can give me any advice about what you think makes a good picture, how to capture that "amazing" picture, or just advice in general I would love to hear it.
Also if you have any tips for using my type of camera please let me know! Im debating on investing in a dSLR but I have never used one and honestly I dont even know what the difference is =). What is youre suggestion on the best dSRL for a good price (around $500).
and lastly besides 365projects discussion area, what are some good websites for reading techniques and tips on simple to advanced photography!
thank you! Follow me if you want to and I will follow you, the more friends on here the better!
Hi brandon, for me a great picture is one that either shows something that someone would not ordinarily see either because it has been overlooked, is gone in a moment or in some cases with editing tools because it never existed at all :) or one that tells a story or captures an emotion, most truely great portraits fall into this. my tip would be first and foremost to take photos of images that please you or stir something in your imagination I find in doing that you put a part of yourself into the capture and that always shows through, there are a number of websites on photography to look at, one that I would always recommend is http://www.thephotoargus.com/
check out the tutorials and resources sections, anyway enjoy your work (It is looking good so far)
also, about photography as an art, i am still learning myself; but the first lesson of the first day of my first photography class the professor said this: "the difference between a snapshot and an "art" photo is that the snapshot probably only has meaning to you, but the "art" will have meaning to most people"
i don't know if that helps in any way. good luck on your journey
When you make the jump from just shooting to true photography, don't be disappointed. It will seem when you make that jump that you lose ground in your photography,but it will pass and the more shooting you do, it will come together and you will get nothing but better. just don't get discouraged.
I see photography as two interdependent parts: Be a Master of Technique (Voice) / Have your own Vision. The best photos (in my eyes) translate that person's view of a the world (Vision) into a compelling image (Voice).
It is no use having a great Vision without the technique to translate it into a story. And it is no use having a great Voice (technique) without having a story to tell.
I try to develop my own photography along both paths. Sometimes it works most often it does not. But this place is a great forum to try.
Honestly.....READ AS MUCH AS YOU CAN. After you read, practice everything they tell you. It will click (no pun intended) if you don't give up. Everything I learned was in less than a year and 20-30 books. I got my camera for Christmas last year and before that I didn't have anything besides a cell phone camera. So people that say it takes years to learn is full of it. Sure it will take years to master (if you ever even get to master it) but you can become better than average with knowledge of what makes a good picture and practice.
At first I just read. I barely even used my camera I just learned all the different settings, read the manual a bunch of times and tried to figure out all the buttons. Once I understood how to use my camera, I started to try many of the techniques they taught me. The first few months (February - June) were rough and I didn't get the outcome I wanted. I just kept at it and eventually people started to tell me my photos looked good. The more comfortable I got with my camera and the more books I read, the better I got. I am by no means a great photographer, but I think I have come along way. Besides reading.....look at pictures, analyze them, keep a mental note of what you like and what you dislike about them. Then get books to explain what you liked. Keep reading. I try to read at least 1 book a month about photography. I just go to my local library and take a new one out every couple of weeks.
Some good authors:
Bryan Peterson - All of them (I have read a few and they are what jump started my 'creative side')
Michael Freeman - The Photographer's Eye It's an eye opener because I never really thought about composition until I read that book
Scott Kelby (I forget the name but it is a three book series of how-to type of books)
I'm sure there are more, but those were good for me. At the time my wife was pregnant so I also read a bunch of books about photographing children and babies. Therefore if you have a special interest, look into that also. Most importantly, have fun with it and don't get discouraged. It takes some time and you will just continue to get better and climb out of your comfort zone.
And surf the internet.....bookmark things you find informative. There is so much good stuff on the web that will keep you busy for a while. DPReview.com also has a good beginner forum to read.
@christinaprato thank you, that actually makes a lot of sense to me. I have been trying to show the world what I see. maybe I need to focus more on not only what I can see but what someone else could see too.
@mattyb thank you so much. I will definitely check into some of those books. I dont have a lot of time for personal reading but the summer is approaching fast so I may have more time then to "catch up"! anything else you can think of (and this of course goes to all of you) please let me know!
Taking a great picture can often be more about having a good eye than having a certain camera. Try all the different settings on the camera you have now. Learn about aperture and shutter speed. Try the macro setting. Figure out what you want to do with a DSLR that you can't do with your camera. When I went to a DSLR, what I really wanted to improve was my ability to get good bokeh. Certain lenses are great for that. I also thought to have good photos I had to shoot in RAW. This, for me, doesn't matter so much anymore. I rarely use RAW because the most shots I can't see a difference.
I have been reading about and buying the best point-and-shoot cameras for a while (most recent was the Canon G11) and recently bought a Canon T2i DSLR. I am SO happy I moved to DSLR and I am sure you will be to! Camera advice- doesn't matter too much, but I would stick with Nikon or Canon. Lens advice- a 50mm can be purchased for about $130 and is a great learning tool and fun! Websites- DPreview is great for product reviews but "Digital Photography School" has really helped my technique. I didn't even know about the rule of thirds before going there. Below is a link to start at:
Browse the web. There is so much information out there. I have learned so much just from reading people's advice. And then go out there and take pictures. Loads of them. Try different compositions, different camera settings, play with different lighting. Then look at your pictures afterwards and see what worked out best and go from there. This site can be a big inspiration too.
@bsingleton0010 i can't give any advice as to what sort of camera etc as i am a novice myself,what i can say is i have looked at your pics and you have a good eye which is half the job done. i play with my settings and take qbout a hundred pictures sometimes until i find the setting i'm happy with for the subject although a couple of my pictures were taken on my phone so nothing clever about them apart from composition. my main tip is practice
I have not read all of the replies so i'm sorry if I am repeating anything. My best advice to you is to just play with different angles, lighting, settings on your camera and just have fun with it. Also looking through pictures on here can be a great inspiration. As far as cameras go I have a Nikon coolpix s6000 and have been very very happy with it, but I am going to upgrade to a canon eos rebel t2i. I have been doing a lot of research the past week and it seems to be the best camera for the price (for me anyways) Good luck :)
I @AshleyMiller I shoot nothing but cannon, the t2i is a great camera, i have a 7D and a t1i and purchasing a 5D mark II, you cant go wrong with a t2i, and you will blow everything away by the HD video that it takes.
@bsingleton0010 That is a mistake many make on putting personal stuff in, think out of the box, look at the big photographers websites, you see nothing of themselves in there pictures, you have no idea about them except there talent and that comes with time.
Take a look at http://www.peterlik.com
Hi! I am new also. First I was using a Nikon with a broken viewfinder and now I am using a Nikon coolpix. I love everyone's work here and learn so much from looking at all the different perspectives each person brings to their pictures. Like yourself, I am not a professional photographer, but I love taking pictures, too. Sometimes there are these happy accidents, that I would love to see happen more, lol!
Whatever camera you buy, search the web for deals. I got a 80-200mm (something close if not exactly that) lens and Nikon D90 DSLR body for around $500. The lens is versatile and it is what I use for most of my pictures. Some places throw in goodies like filters or lens clothes or other small items for buying a package from them. Keep an eye out. Also if you have reputable camera shop in the area, they may have a really good deal on a nice used camera/lens that would normally be out of your price range. Just beware of hidden issues with the equipment. I bought a Nikon because I have several older manual focus Nikon lenses that I wanted to be able to use with it.
@onarom thank you for your advice. I was looking into a cannon. my anut has one and I'm gonna check hers out first. @elephantgirl thank you! =) @sallycheese thank you thats very nice of you to say! i take so many pictures sometimes i have to unload them and take more before i even get one pic lol. @AshleyMiller thanks. I'd love to spend thousands on one but I don't have that kinda money lol. @purdy thank you! @potsbypam thats me excatly! good luck, I'm going to follow you along with everyone esle that replys to this. =) @all71s thank you! I unfortunately live in the middle of know where so walmart and the internet is my best bets lol.
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check out the tutorials and resources sections, anyway enjoy your work (It is looking good so far)
http://twitter.com/#!/ScottBourne
also, about photography as an art, i am still learning myself; but the first lesson of the first day of my first photography class the professor said this: "the difference between a snapshot and an "art" photo is that the snapshot probably only has meaning to you, but the "art" will have meaning to most people"
i don't know if that helps in any way. good luck on your journey
It is no use having a great Vision without the technique to translate it into a story. And it is no use having a great Voice (technique) without having a story to tell.
I try to develop my own photography along both paths. Sometimes it works most often it does not. But this place is a great forum to try.
At first I just read. I barely even used my camera I just learned all the different settings, read the manual a bunch of times and tried to figure out all the buttons. Once I understood how to use my camera, I started to try many of the techniques they taught me. The first few months (February - June) were rough and I didn't get the outcome I wanted. I just kept at it and eventually people started to tell me my photos looked good. The more comfortable I got with my camera and the more books I read, the better I got. I am by no means a great photographer, but I think I have come along way. Besides reading.....look at pictures, analyze them, keep a mental note of what you like and what you dislike about them. Then get books to explain what you liked. Keep reading. I try to read at least 1 book a month about photography. I just go to my local library and take a new one out every couple of weeks.
Some good authors:
Bryan Peterson - All of them (I have read a few and they are what jump started my 'creative side')
Michael Freeman - The Photographer's Eye It's an eye opener because I never really thought about composition until I read that book
Scott Kelby (I forget the name but it is a three book series of how-to type of books)
I'm sure there are more, but those were good for me. At the time my wife was pregnant so I also read a bunch of books about photographing children and babies. Therefore if you have a special interest, look into that also. Most importantly, have fun with it and don't get discouraged. It takes some time and you will just continue to get better and climb out of your comfort zone.
Camera advice- doesn't matter too much, but I would stick with Nikon or Canon.
Lens advice- a 50mm can be purchased for about $130 and is a great learning tool and fun!
Websites- DPreview is great for product reviews but "Digital Photography School" has really helped my technique. I didn't even know about the rule of thirds before going there. Below is a link to start at:
http://www.digital-photography-school.com/digital-photography-tips-for-beginners
Of course this site is wonderful (although I am new here) and I am sure I will learn a lot here as well.
Welcome to 365! :)
I have not read all of the replies so i'm sorry if I am repeating anything. My best advice to you is to just play with different angles, lighting, settings on your camera and just have fun with it. Also looking through pictures on here can be a great inspiration. As far as cameras go I have a Nikon coolpix s6000 and have been very very happy with it, but I am going to upgrade to a canon eos rebel t2i. I have been doing a lot of research the past week and it seems to be the best camera for the price (for me anyways) Good luck :)
Take a look at http://www.peterlik.com