Need to get good

[owahc]

I love taking pictures! There's no doubt about that and I have a good quality

camera.

 

How would I go about refining my skills to be that little bit better at it

without spending money on courses?

 

Any books anyone would recommend would be great too!

 

Thanks!

[gordonjb]

There are some good resources right here, click on learning above. If you want to avoid putting out money, search around the web, there are plenty of resources out there. Spend some time looking around the portfolios of photo.net members and look to other sites. Keep trying to be analytical and ask yourself what makes the photos you think are good the way they are. Like anything else, hard work, attention to detail and lots of patience will get you where you want to be, sooner or later. Happy hunting. P.S: if you live in an urban area try attending galleries.

[joshschutz]

you could start off by reading technical books. or maybe take on beaumont newhalls history of photography. then maybe move onto some more of the philosophical books by robert adams, susan sontag,cartier-bresson. another great way to learn is to view others photos. you could spend weeks on this website digging around. pretty much the best way to learn is to just shoot. take as many photos as you can.

[todd peach seattle, washi]

When I was learning about photography, I took extensive notes about camera settings and compared my results to my notes. That taught me how aperture and shutter speed affected the image, as well as under and over exposure.

 

Most DSLR cameras record that data for you in the EXIF data. It's a useful learning tool for grasping the technical ins-and-outs of photography.

[bob_lazzarini]

<b>Kimberley,</b><p>

While there's lots of really good books ... <br>

just go to your local Barnes & Noble or Borders and check them out while drinking your favorite beverage...<br>

There's <i>tons 'o stuff</i> available on the internet.<p>

Just "Google" the word <b>photography</b> plus any of these: <b>tips</b>, <b>instruction</b>, or <b>courses</b> to see what's available.<br>

Here's a few links to keep you busy:<p>

 

<b>

<a href="http://www.tamron.com/lenses/learning_center/pro_learning_center.asp">Tamron Learning Center</a><br>

 

<a href="http://www2.parsons.edu/photography/resources/reference.html">Parsons Photo Resouces</a><br>

 

<a href="http://www.sphoto.com/techinfo/phototech.html#closeupsandflash">sphoto tech info</a><br>

 

<a href="http://www.luminous-landscape.com/columns/aesthetics9.shtml">Luminous Landscape</a><br>

 

<a href="http://www.morguefile.com/archive/classroom.php"> Photo Classroom</a><br>

 

<a href="http://www.creativephotography.org/education/guides/aaguide/lookguid.htm">Creative Photo</a><br>

 

<a href="http://www.creativephotography.org/education/guides/sisyavgd/tipsguid.htm">Creative Photo Guides</a><br>

 

<a href="http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials.htm">Cambridge Color Tutorials</a><br>

 

<a href="http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/">Digital Photo School</a><br>

 

<a href="http://www.dg28.com/technique/index.htm">dg28 techniques</a><br>

 

<a href="http://photoinf.com/">Photo Info</a><br>

 

<a href="http://www.adorama.com/catalog.tpl?op=academy">Adorama Academy</a><br>

 

<a href="http://www.shutterbug.com/techniques/digital_darkroom/">Shutterbug Techniques</a><p>

</b>

 

And of course if you haven't done so already there's a bunch of stuff here: <b><a href="http://www.photo.net/learn/">Photo Net Learning Center</a><p> </b>

Have loads of fun!<p>

Cheers!

[geoff_foale]

Totally agree with Todd. That is what I did - and still do it. You have to be your own worst critic. Above all keep clicking on a wide range of subjects and always ask yourself how could I have done better with this image.

 

There are plenty of good on line tutorials to try. I have found these very helpful: www.luminous-landscape.com - www.cambridgeincolour.com - www.computer-darkroom.com. There are many others. Also, don't forget to search through the archieves here.

[rashedahmed]

Kimberley you can try Michael Freeman books.Visit www.ilex-press.com

you can also search by his name too in the web.

[beauh44]

Shoot. Read. Repeat! (Not that I'm qualified to say! I'm not there yet either!)

[johnw436]

I made the most immediate progress by doing two things:

 

1. Turn off anything AUTO. With the camera fully manual I took lots of pictures and kept notes. It forced me to learn how f/stops and shutter speeds work together to give you options. It taught me to control depth of field. It forced me to understand lighting. In full Manual mode, you have to learn how to interpret your meter and then decide what YOU want to do with the scene rather than allowing your camera to decide. Most of all, by keeping notes and comparing them to pictures it made me plan my shots because you can't take notes and machine gun shots at the same time.

 

2. Assign yourself a project. Once I had demystified the camera by learning how to operate it on full manual, I then began to learn composition. This is learned most easily by taking lots of pictures of similar things. It provides a repetitious environment and because of that you know what kind of shots you are looking for and you begin to plan your shots before you get there rather than waiting for something interesting or pretty to take a picture of.

 

A fun project for me that took on a life of its own was / is my "Churches and Cathedrals" project. It gave me somewhere new to go each time because I'd go seek out really cool churches for stained glass shots, altars, architecture, whatever. I got to see some gorgeous places. In the process I learned how angles and lighting really affect the image. By shooting lots and lots of similar settings I began to understand what works and what doesn't work so well. It stayed interesting because I was in a new place each time. The lighting is usually very similar, i.e DARK. I learned the value of a tripod and cable release. I learned lens perspective. I learned how to control distortion and why it happens.

 

The great thing about a project is you get to learn photography and also spend that time exploring something that interests you in ways other than just photography. The biggest pitfall in photography is boredom, which comes from getting stale. That is easy to do when you are waiting for good images to jump up in front of you. It's much more fun to learn how to create the image rather than go looking for good ones.

[Spearhead]

Here's a completely different take on this. I mentor people from time to time and work with them on how to improve their photography. I don't get into settings on their camera, turning off auto, etc. etc. Most people will learn far more from trying to understand why they are photographing, what they are photographing, how to process the images (digital or traditional darkroom) to make it look the way they want it to look.

 

Kimberley's photos posted here don't look like technique or understanding the settings are an issue, at least for now. What they don't show is any reason for existence. They don't hang together, they don't show any center of communication.

 

I would recommend two things:

 

1) Taking the time to look at the work of photographers you like, and figuring out what you like about them, and what makes them successful; and

 

2) Taking photographs of the things that matter to you in your daily life. Take photos that show what you are about, a daily diary of sorts, and eventually you will see what you want to say with your photographs.

[giggles]

Kimberly - I am the type to person that thinks it is next to impossible to learn a skill from a book. I believe in hands on learning which is just practice, practice, and more practice. Put your images up for honest critiques and take the critiques to heart or find another photographer that will mentor you or give you advice on your images and where you can improve. When I started out with my portrait work, I would search the internet and PN for photographs that I admired and then try to duplicate the image's colors, lighting, sharpness etc. It seemed that with each sitting I did the more confident I became and the better my images became. My poor children now run when I take out the camera since they were my guinea pigs for all of most of my practicing. Good luck!

[herma]

Thanks Bob, another great set of bookmarks! Isn't this fun Kimberly? BTW, does a shutter ever wear out?

 

Herma