The Newbie Photographer’s Survival Guide
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The Newbie Photographer’s Survival Guide
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Re: The Newbie Photographer’s Survival Guide
#2You can know everything, and have all the right gear - but if you aren't interesting, or don't do interesting things, or don't find interesting people, you probably won't take good photos.
The hardest part about photography is what your photo is about. What is it saying, which can be different from the literal image, like how what a painting is about is often not exactly what is literally depicted
Re: The Newbie Photographer’s Survival Guide
#3You can know everything, and have all the right gear - but if you aren't interesting, or don't do interesting things, or don't find interesting people, you probably won't take good photos. The hardest part about photography is what your photo is about . What is it saying, which can be different from the literal image, like how what a painting is about is often not exactly what is literally depicted
nor will you make insightful articles for photographers to read...
Re: The Newbie Photographer’s Survival Guide
#4You can know everything, and have all the right gear - but if you aren't interesting, or don't do interesting things, or don't find interesting people, you probably won't take good photos. The hardest part about photography is what your photo is about . What is it saying, which can be different from the literal image, like how what a painting is about is often not exactly what is literally depicted
I agree on "if you aren't interesting" but disagree on the things and people requirement.
I believe an interesting person can create interesting photos of almost anything.
Re: The Newbie Photographer’s Survival Guide
#5Light create shadow, not the other way around. So remember to use shadows, erm I mean light, to bring your objects to life.
Re: The Newbie Photographer’s Survival Guide
#6You can know everything, and have all the right gear - but if you aren't interesting, or don't do interesting things, or don't find interesting people, you probably won't take good photos. The hardest part about photography is what your photo is about . What is it saying, which can be different from the literal image, like how what a painting is about is often not exactly what is literally depicted
I agree on "if you aren't interesting" but disagree on the things and people requirement. I believe an interesting person can create interesting photos of almost anything.
I don’t think you have to be interesting but have an eye for interesting things. One way to do this is not to be “interesting” but to be “interested”.
On the other hand it certainly helps to do unusual stuff so you can take pictures not many people can take. For example there are pilots who post pictures from the cockpit. Hard to compete with that for most of us. Or even better be on the ISS.
Re: The Newbie Photographer’s Survival Guide
#7You can know everything, and have all the right gear - but if you aren't interesting, or don't do interesting things, or don't find interesting people, you probably won't take good photos. The hardest part about photography is what your photo is about . What is it saying, which can be different from the literal image, like how what a painting is about is often not exactly what is literally depicted
Regarding "about", if you're doing photojournalism, there's a simple idea that I found tremendously helpful (as an amateur student): your image should tell a story.
There's a lot of technical stuff you need to internalize, and some visual sense, but, at the end of the day, your main goal is not something that looks appealing above the fold on the front page, but that communicates some important essence of the story.
Re: The Newbie Photographer’s Survival Guide
#8You can know everything, and have all the right gear - but if you aren't interesting, or don't do interesting things, or don't find interesting people, you probably won't take good photos. The hardest part about photography is what your photo is about . What is it saying, which can be different from the literal image, like how what a painting is about is often not exactly what is literally depicted
Regarding "about", if you're doing photojournalism, there's a simple idea that I found tremendously helpful (as an amateur student): your image should tell a story . There's a lot of technical stuff you need to internalize, and some visual sense, but, at the end of the day, your main goal is not something that looks appealing above the fold on the front page, but that communicates some important essence of the story.
Right, that makes perfect sense for photojournalsim; of course you also can have non-representational things such as abstract photography; whether you want to use the word 'story' for that too I'll leave as an exercise for the reader.
Re: The Newbie Photographer’s Survival Guide
#9I really like the content, as it's all about the artistry of photography. Too often so much photography content is about gear, which always does scratch an itch I must admit, and does matter a little bit, but is highly context-sensitive to the mission you have in taking photos.
I'm still a noob in photography, but one of the most helpful things in my learning has been youtube videos where other people's photo submissions are critiqued in a constructive manner. Nothing has taught me more about the possibilities of composition in different scenarios, and it has inspired lots of creativity in my own shots and techniques. My favorite Youtube channel for this is Tony and Chelsea (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDkJEEIifDzR_2K2p9tnwYQ) ... they do a weekly show every Thursday where they critique photo submissions- their feedback is great and they go through lots of high quality photos.
Other noteworthy channels:
Matt Granger (https://www.youtube.com/user/thatnikonguy)... has lots of content on gear, but his videos about lighting and portraiture technique have really helped me with taking pictures of people.
Mike Browne (https://www.youtube.com/user/photoexposed)... Great instruction on the basics of photography, as well as great advice about composing interesting shots (my favorite: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UT-hh0wQ-GI)
Thomas Heaton (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfhW84xfA6gEc4hDK90rR1Q)... One of the best at explaining the creative mindset and struggle of photography. He specializes in landscapes.
Re: The Newbie Photographer’s Survival Guide
#10What I've realized about photography is that it's all but pointless. Virtually every single person on earth is a photographer, there's so much supply of great content that it's unlikely that anyone will ever give a damn about your photos.
So, just do what you like. Express yourself, shoot what you like, when you like it, and don't worry too much about the rest. Maybe I'm too pessimistic (or just bad), but I've relinquished any hope of ever getting any kind of audience.