Contents
This series will have six parts, each of which might be a substantial read, but are all important to understanding how to use your camera and get it to do the things you want to do.
- Camera Controls - P, A, S, M modes and Autofocus Modes
- Focal Length Choice
- Aperture and Shutter Speed Choice
- Principles of Composition
- Understanding Flash
- Workflow and Post-Processing
Better Photographer
A story photographers love to tell goes something like this. One night, at a family gathering, the host comes up to the photographer covering the event and compliments him on his camera, saying that with such a big and technologically advanced camera, he must be taking some great photos. The photographer thanks her and proceeds to have dinner along with the rest of the guests. As he is leaving that night, he approaches the host and compliments her food, "the food was great, you must have a really expensive oven".
That's often the truth in photography, people get carried away with gear and equipment rather than skills. Any rich guy with a six-figure salary can go out and buy the latest and greatest. That's easy, if you have money, you can buy things. Just because you have a better camera doesn't mean you'll take better pictures - much like having a Mercedes won't get you to your destination any faster than a Toyota.
That's the point of this series, to show you how to be a better photographer without getting into the technical mumble-jumble. The electrical engineers can sit around and banter with you about ADCs, the Nyquist-Shannon Sampling Theorem, Fourier Transforms and stuff they learned at universities - all of which are relevant to photography, but won't help you take better pictures. Similarly, the guys who've been to art school can tell you a million and one things about composition and framing. That won't make you a better photographer either.
What helps you become a better photographer is knowing what you are doing and practice, and this series of articles will, hopefully, help you on that path.
That's often the truth in photography, people get carried away with gear and equipment rather than skills. Any rich guy with a six-figure salary can go out and buy the latest and greatest. That's easy, if you have money, you can buy things. Just because you have a better camera doesn't mean you'll take better pictures - much like having a Mercedes won't get you to your destination any faster than a Toyota.
That's the point of this series, to show you how to be a better photographer without getting into the technical mumble-jumble. The electrical engineers can sit around and banter with you about ADCs, the Nyquist-Shannon Sampling Theorem, Fourier Transforms and stuff they learned at universities - all of which are relevant to photography, but won't help you take better pictures. Similarly, the guys who've been to art school can tell you a million and one things about composition and framing. That won't make you a better photographer either.
What helps you become a better photographer is knowing what you are doing and practice, and this series of articles will, hopefully, help you on that path.
Requirements
A camera would be great to have. You don't need a terribly advanced one. You would be able to follow all of these instructions with any modern mid-range point and shoot camera that allows manual control.
More important would be a desire to learn, to experiment and to get out there and shoot.
More important would be a desire to learn, to experiment and to get out there and shoot.