So, I want to learn photography.
But I dont know where to start.
Like, cameras.
Tools.
Tricks.
And stuff.
What photography exactly is.
I just know I want to take pictures to express how I feel.
Nature/objects/people.
And stuff.
So.
Whats a good camera? Not too expensive, good brands.
Where do i start?
First of all, you want to start out with an SLR (Single Lens Rflex [film]) or DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) camera, something for starters. I highly recomend you use an SLR camera because you will be forced (due to the expenses of buying the lens and the development, and the fact that you can’t look at the photo right after you take it) to evaluate your scene and your subject, which is a key importance in photography.
Anyway, after you get your camera of choice you should start researching the compositions of photography (like: lighting, angel, rule of thirds or golden rule, depth of field, leading lines, and so on). Once you get an understanding of these composition (you can research composition on google.com, there are many good sights), then you should go out and practice to further your development and understanding of these compositions (using an SLR will help jumpstart your development and understanding).
Once you get the basics down then you can move on to the more fun stuff. You can then start working on developing your creativity (though it helps to start at the beginning only staying with in the confinds of the composition rules; once you get into the more advance stage you can start breaking the rules and coming up with very creative photos) and your style (a style that is unique to you, something like when someone sees your photos they know you took them because of your style).
If you want to be great photographer you need to persevere and work hard to gain success, once, if, you become a professional your research doesn’t stop there. You will always be researching to further your development your photographic skills. I’ve been doing photography for 4 year now and I still find myself researching different techniques, styles and different ways to shoot a photo, I spend sometimes an hour, 2 hours or even 12 hours on a daily basis trying to search an answer to my question (the same will happen to you if you really want to be great).
Photography is a gift and also a talent that one has, the greatest photographers are very passionate about their style like landscape/nature, portraits, and so on. That is what helps us to strive hard to get to where we want. I hope the same happens to you because it is a very rewarding process to see your hardwork in galleries, newspapers, magazines, or even in museums.
But first, you need to learn the basics and work your way from there. Good luck, I hope you do well.
Here is a link to my flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/26285083@N03/
2 Responses to “I want to learn photography, but I don’t know where to start?”
Learn about your camera !!!!
Read your manual !!!! Read it several times, and practice in between. If you don’t have a book, download from the manufacturer’s website.
Attend a class, read some books, read/watch online tutorials.
The major camera manufacturers (like Canon, Nikon, Olympus etc) all have very useful sections on their website for learning about photography.
http://www1.nikonusa.com/slrle...../index.php
http://www.olympusamerica.com/.....center.asp
http://www.usa.canon.com/dlc/c.....omePageAct
http://www.webphotoschool.com/.....index.html
Understanding at least the basic principles of photography (as well as being familiar with your camera) will enable you to make the most of your gear, and will make a HUGE difference to your images.
I don’t like to give recommendations for particular cameras because there are too many choices and too many variables in what people are looking for. I find it much more useful to help you think this over, then make up your own mind.
Point & Shoot cameras are wonderfully handy because of their small size.
When light conditions are ideal, they even take really nice photos – all of them do.
However, they all DO have limitations – they don’t do very well in low light situations (i.e. noisy photos, hard to avoid blur, etc). The little onboard flash is very harsh at close range, and doesn’t reach very far.
Many of them have no manual functions, so you are limited to only very basic photos, you can’t compensate for unusual situations, or do many fun "tricks" and special effects.
P&S’s also suffer from frustrating shutterlag and many of them chew through batteries rather quickly.
If you’re ok with all those limitations, then go ahead and pick one, most of them (the same type and same price range) are rather similar. Personally I would pick either a Canon or a Nikon, and would certainly stay away from Kodak.
A higher end P&S will give you more manual options and better quality. Many of those even give you the option of adding a proper flash (which makes a big difference to your flash photos).
Don’t worry too much about megapixels – all modern cameras have plenty enough, plus there is a limit to how many pixels you can squash into a tiny P&S sensor before you actually LOSE quality rather than gain it. 6 megapixels is about the upper limit for those little sensors.
Don’t worry about digital zoom, in fact, don’t EVER use it. It simply crops away pixels, i.e. destroys information. The only real zoom is optical.
Some people ask for a camera that "doesn’t take blurry photos". Blur is the photographer’s problem, NOT the camera’s. Even the most expensive camera will take blurry photos if the person behind it doesn’t know what they’re doing.
Some words about special effect features such as color accent, or even just b/w or sepia:
About applying any sort of effect in camera: DON’T DO IT !
Imagine if you just happen to take the best photo you ever took – surely you would want to have it in all its glory, right?
Always set your camera to biggest size, best quality (and to color).
That way, you start with the best possible photo as your original.
Then you make a copy and edit it to your heart’s content.
You have much better control over any editing on your computer, even something as simple as b&w will look MUCH better when it was processed properly instead of in camera.
You can do all sorts of things to it PLUS you get to keep your original.
Decide which features are important to you, and look for cameras that have that feature.
Then go compare a few models on http://www.dpreview.com .
The very best thing you can do for your success is to borrow some books and learn about photography. A bit of knowledge will make a much bigger difference to your photos than your choice of P&S camera can.
For what it’s worth – if I was in the market for a P&S camera right now, my choice would be a Canon Powershot SX20 IS http://www.usa.canon.com/consu.....elid=19208
References :
First of all, you want to start out with an SLR (Single Lens Rflex [film]) or DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) camera, something for starters. I highly recomend you use an SLR camera because you will be forced (due to the expenses of buying the lens and the development, and the fact that you can’t look at the photo right after you take it) to evaluate your scene and your subject, which is a key importance in photography.
Anyway, after you get your camera of choice you should start researching the compositions of photography (like: lighting, angel, rule of thirds or golden rule, depth of field, leading lines, and so on). Once you get an understanding of these composition (you can research composition on google.com, there are many good sights), then you should go out and practice to further your development and understanding of these compositions (using an SLR will help jumpstart your development and understanding).
Once you get the basics down then you can move on to the more fun stuff. You can then start working on developing your creativity (though it helps to start at the beginning only staying with in the confinds of the composition rules; once you get into the more advance stage you can start breaking the rules and coming up with very creative photos) and your style (a style that is unique to you, something like when someone sees your photos they know you took them because of your style).
If you want to be great photographer you need to persevere and work hard to gain success, once, if, you become a professional your research doesn’t stop there. You will always be researching to further your development your photographic skills. I’ve been doing photography for 4 year now and I still find myself researching different techniques, styles and different ways to shoot a photo, I spend sometimes an hour, 2 hours or even 12 hours on a daily basis trying to search an answer to my question (the same will happen to you if you really want to be great).
Photography is a gift and also a talent that one has, the greatest photographers are very passionate about their style like landscape/nature, portraits, and so on. That is what helps us to strive hard to get to where we want. I hope the same happens to you because it is a very rewarding process to see your hardwork in galleries, newspapers, magazines, or even in museums.
But first, you need to learn the basics and work your way from there. Good luck, I hope you do well.
Here is a link to my flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/26285083@N03/
References :