You can be captivated by this beautiful pastime called “photography” and yet you can’t enroll in any formal photography course. The prices of the courses are usually very expensive, it takes a lot of time, assistance, dedication and in the end no one guarantees that you will find the right course. Well, many academies and study centres offer courses of very poor quality or that are very superficial.
If this is your case, don’t worry, there are people who have survived in the field of photography and who have become true artists taming their SLR cameras without walking in a classroom, studying photography in a formal course is just a way to learn, but there are other ways, just as good, sometimes better, for those who really want to learn more about SLR photography.
Here are some tips to help you harness your artistic talent and sharpen your passion for photography.
1- Discover the semi-manual mode of your camera: The semi-manual mode is that you can control a setting, for example the aperture, and the camera takes care of the other settings in the most appropriate way. The camera knows how to do this because the experts who manufactured it have programmed all the “technical” rules of photography. You can use it to learn: change some settings, such as shutter speed, and see how the camera changes other settings, such as aperture. The camera’s semi-automatic behavior can give you clues on how to control manual settings yourself.
2- Analyze and criticize other people’s photos and learn from them: do not analyze your photos because there will be some subjectivity in your opinions, all of them, when we take a photo thinking that it is spectacular, we fill ourselves with joy and pride and then we find it difficult to see our own mistakes, is it possible to analyze and criticize other people’s photos without having much photography knowledge?if possible. Sometimes it’s difficult, but keep in mind that the rules of photography are mostly pure logic, for example, a bad composition tends to produce negative feelings in the viewer, whether or not it’s a photography expert, look at other people’s photos and ask for yourself: Why do I love this photo so much?What captivates me about this picture, or why not finish accepting this one?What’s bothering me about her?
3- Watch tutorial videos on YouTube, Vimeo and others: The Internet is full of people who provide their knowledge altruistically. Whether you don’t know how to manage your camera, which button to use, or how to edit photos in Photoshop, portals like YouTube and Vimeo, among others, are full of tutorial videos that you can learn from. There are so many, you just need to take the time.
4- Take a look at how your camera works: it’s obvious but I promise you there are people who have never opened it. One minute. . ! Have you read it?? It is true that this can give us some laziness, but I assure you that many of the questions you ask yourself are answered, if you do not want to read it in its entirety, I understand it, but at least whenever you have existential doubts related to the operation of your camera, try looking at the manual and look in the corresponding section, oh, and if you have lost it nothing happens, google it and you will surely find it in digital / PDF format. For example, put: Nikon D3100 PDF instruction manual in Spanish. You may be pleasantly surprised.
5- Get inspired. See a lot: observation is the best source of inspiration, no idea comes out of nowhere. Looking at the photos others have taken (on Flickr, Facebook, etc. ), you’ll find ideas, perhaps the same (there’s nothing wrong with mimicking other people’s photos) or maybe these photos will inspire new ideas.
6- Invest some money: I’m sorry to have to tell you, but my friend, you have a slightly expensive hobby. It is true that to take a beautiful photo it is not always necessary to have a very expensive camera, I agree, but it must be acknowledged that a successful photo depends, in many cases, on a lens. Adapted. For example, for a good macro shot, not just any type of lens will work for you, you need a macro lens or at least one macro converter lens. Maybe it’s time to wonder if you really have the goals and equipment you need.
7- Practice a lot, photography regularly: practice will be your best ally to learn photography, take advantage that DSLR cameras cost almost nothing (no film to buy), and the movie, don’t be afraid to shoot. it is better to take fewer photos and make them better, I think that on the contrary, shooting is the way to learn, if you take many photos, you will make many mistakes and learn to avoid them. little, you will learn little.
8- Make friends with the experts: be social. Meet people similar to your tastes, who also love SLR photography. If you can and have time, try to work as an assistant to an experienced photographer, even if it’s just carrying your backpack or tripod from one place to another, visiting experts will eventually infect you positively.
9- Specialization: Discover the type of photography you like the most, do not stop taking photos of all kinds, but practice and focus more on the types of photos that you are most passionate about, you will see that your performance improves in a short time.
10- Work on exercises with specific objectives: When you take the camera into your hands, you have decided what you want to achieve. Think of a final result before starting the session. That “I’ll see what I can photograph” usually doesn’t work much. Work on concrete ideas, set them as goals, achieve them, move on, etc. ?
As you can see, learning photography is not only for an elite of professionals, nor for a group of students in the field of photography, the most important thing is to have passion and want to produce beautiful things, if you can afford a formal Of course, feel free for a second, you will learn many things, but if you apply the 10 tips I just shared with you , you’ll learn the same thing or faster.
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P. D. 1: Many people desperate to learn photography don’t know where to start, please, if you liked this article, spread the word and recommend it.
P. D. 2: If you still think you need a photography class, take a look at this.