Teaching my wife...please for the love of god, I need help!

[michael j hoffman]

You might start by asking her to identify from books, magazines, calendars, etc., five of the kind of photos she wants to be able to produce. Chances are the photos will fall into one or two specific categories. Teach her what she needs to do to make those specific kinds of photos, and lead her to qickly and successfully accomplishing that goal. Take her to see gallery shows of the types of images in which she is interested, or get her some photography books to peruse for inspiration. Then, if she keeps at it, slowly expand the breadth of her knowledge to include other areas, techniques and categories of photography.

 

This micro approach to imparting knowledge will go straight to the core of her interest. It will be easier for you and for her to build knowledge around a specific area of interest, rather than to start at some basic, arbitray point and hope that her learning intersects with her goal(s) (i.e. to become a good portrait photographer).

 

I've never been a big fan of the liberal arts approach to education. I think its better to learn a specific passion thoroughly and intimately, rather than to have a passing awareness of a myriad of nebulous concepts.

 

The class is a good idea, but encourage her to follow her own path, too! A decent instructor will allow her to direct her enregies toward her specific goals.

 

Michael J Hoffman

[William Kahn]

Been here, done this, and believe me, all the advice to let her learn from a class or other third party source? Right on! It's the only way for her to keep her self esteem and you to keep your sanity. That way, your biggest problem would be if she turns out to be a better photographer than you. My wife is a good artist with a great eye for composition. Right now, her 300D is in "green" mode, but I know that one day she'll start experimenting with RAW in manual mode, and then I'm in big trouble......

[john_r._fulton_jr.]

Julie Styles--well said! (still rofl).<br>

 

That said, <I>National Geographic</I> publishes some well written and well illustrated

books on "how to" in photography. They have a 'general' one which may be a bit dated. They

have a fairly new 'digital' one and one for children. They're all quite good. Might be worth a

look-see.

[bruce neufeld]

<i>Iori Suzuki Photo.net Patron, jun 18, 2006; 12:13 a.m.<p>

Good move Mark. I tried teaching my wife stick just after we got married, because it was the only car we owned. It lasted 30 minutes after I realized that it was the fastest path to a divorce. Teaching her photography? Forget it; besides, who then is going to carry my camera gear? ;~}</i><p>

 

Iori,<p>

I taught my wife both stick (jeep) and photography. The secret is patience and compassion. Still married after 23 years.<p>

 

Mark,<p>

Don't be afraid of trying to be a mentor to any family member, especially your spouse. Take it slow and follow their lead when it comes to being ready for the next lesson. When they are ready, they'll let you know. And if thet fails, by all means, encourage her to do the class...<p>

 

Bruce<p>

 

http://neufeldphoto.com/

[ky2]

You can't teach a wife. They know everything.

[erin.e]

Mark, are you still married?

[phule]

There is no reason you can't teach your wife photography. You need to figure out what method she can best learn by: reading, listening, or doing.

 

Don't expect anyone to pick up all the concepts you've been refining over the years in a few hours time. Start with something easy like the Sunny 16 rule and go out during an afternoon and just have fun: you and her each with a camera. Practice. Wait for her to ask questions. And do not get all hung up on the minutia of photographic principles.

[grant g]

LOL. I had enough trouble teaching my wife to use the Digital Elph...

 

I think the class and the couple of good books is the way to go.

[m_barbu1]

I agree 100% with Rob. The reason you've had difficulty in the past with teaching your wife is likely because you have a different style of learning than she does. Identify that first (her learning style) , and the rest will be a <i>much</i> smoother process. <a href="http://www.ldpride.net/learning_style.html">Here's a site that may help with that</a>.

[m_barbu1]

Oops... that previous link may not be a good idea. I actually took the time to fill out the form after posting the link and it looks like they require you to order the results. <a href="http://www.chaminade.org/inspire/learnstl.htm">Here's a chart that compares learning styles</a>, instead.

[phyrpowr]

I stand by my first answer: classes from a paid instructor

 

I'm sure you're a caring, sharing 21st century "Oprah" watching man, etc. etc. but if you've honestly tried and run into problems, bail out. Some things just shouldn't be pushed

 

BTW, do NOT use the stupid Green Square mode, picks the wrong focus point 90 % of the time, but I bet you knew that.

[Brad_]

You might first want to read <I>You Just Don't Understand</I>, by Deborah Tannen. Will no

doubt help in other areas as well.

[marknagel]

Thanks, we have a class tonight, I thought I'd take it with her.

 

 

Erin, yes, we're still married.

 

 

Went to Barnes and Noble, they didn't have swaut for books, I'll try online.

 

 

Yes, she has a differnt style of learning than me. As I said above, I am a certified flight instructor/checkairman and been through many teaching courses. I've taught 18 year old kids to Korean's with little English speaking abilities to fly many differnt aircraft all the way through they commercial/airline ratings. But, Damn my wife wife has always been my toughest student.

 

Mark

[m_barbu1]

Have you tried to teach her how to fly?

[thomas_sullivan]

I taught my daughter how to drive a manual transmission car. I have taught numerous on the job type one on one instructionals to electronic techs on how certain pieces of equipment work.

 

None of them get it the first time thru. I am a firm believer in the theory that they only learn 10% of what you teach them the first time. Each successive time, teaching exactly the same thing........word for word.....and by the 3rd time thru there is some conceptual understanding. This is when you let them on their own, with that particular idea.

 

Then, on to the next.

 

Actually, most classes do the same thing...you just don't notice it. They teach you the first time in class, the second time is the homwework you get, the third time is the review of your homework back in class............and then, they assign an actual project using that knowledge.

[m_barbu1]

The only reason I was asking, was that it might help you identify what the difference is (all else being the same).

[marknagel]

We were actually flight partners when we learned to fly at flight school years ago.

 

Mark

[rob_murray]

Ok, here is what you have to do. Stick the camera on the green zone...

I mean stick it there so it wont move! Cover up the other symbols on the control dial. Charge the battery, insert a card, hand it to her,

show her where the shutter button is, tell her that her shots are great!

[conraderb]

Mark - if your problem is exposure, I teach my students the basics this way:

 

making a nice photograph is like filling a bucket of water.

 

you can use a fire hose and fill it in one second, or you can use a straw and fill it in a few minutes. the concept equivalent exposure becomes intuitive.

 

aperture - size of hose.

 

shutter speed - you know.

 

it gets a bit more complicated w/ the fact that f16 is smaller than f1.8, and then adding ISO into the picture (ie. using a smaller or larger bucket i guess!) but this gets the idea across.

[conraderb]

oh boy - david totally stole my fire :-)

[kay_thorogood1]

Okay, here is a perspective on this subject from the "wife's" point of view!

 

My husband was very involved in photography 30 years ago. He took classes, had a darkroom, and took some excellent technically perfect photos. Years later I used his old Minolta camera and took some black and white photos of one of our grandchildren. I was hooked. I bought a Canon Elan 7 and a zoom lens. I did this without my husband's input. He thought my choice was poor. Nonetheless, I began shooting. I struggled - I was disappointed - I was frustrated. I did well compositioanlly but techinically I was mediocre to poor, depending on my luck.

 

So, I signed up for my first semester basic photography class. And, so it began.....

 

It wasn't but a few weeks into my class that my husband and I became so frustrated with one another - he for not understanding why I didn't "get it" right off the bat, and me for not appreciating his unwanted, critcal advice. I studied hard and even though intellectually I understood all the technical aspects of beginning photography, I had a hard time applying it. I talked to my instructor about this and she said that happened to her as well, and then one day it all fell in place. She suggested patience. I took two more classes. I would leave work and be in the darkroom until ten o'clock five nights a week. It was exhausting but I loved it. Bottom line is: You LEARN by DOING.

 

My final porfolio for my third semester class: ten 11 X 16's photos developed by me on fiber coated paper. They were technically and compositionally well done. I was very proud of them. After my husband looked at them, he said: "I didn't think you had it in you." I kind of chuckled because after 38 years of marriage he should have known that I DO have it in me if I put my mind to something.

 

I want to make it clear that I did and still do value my husband's photography experience and advice. It's all in the approach. Often as spouses, parents, managers, etc., we forget there is more than one way to skin a cat. As pointed out previously, we all learn differently.

 

As an amusing side note, at least to me, I was searching through my husband's old photo boxes looking for something. I ran across his old first semester class binder. I cracked up after viewing his work. Let's just say he wasn't a star student. Sometimes we all forget our beginnings.

 

Mark, with all due respect, LET GO. Leave your wife alone for God's sake. Men, women and people in general learn differently. Let her find her way. You just might destroy her interest in phototgraphy. If she really wants to learn, she'll find the resources, not you. And, don't take a class with her, she's not a child. Sit at home, do your thing, and when she comes home from class, marvel at her work and praise her progress. She'll respect you more for your support and positive affirmations. It's not about YOU.

 

Well, got to go. I have a wedding shoot to prepare for. :-)