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Photography Advice – From Beginner to Novice

Posted on August 13, 2008

Earlier this year, two separate things happened in my life that made me want to learn more about photography. First, my wife dropped the handy point and shoot camera that we’d had for a few years which rendered it useless. Second, this very same wife became pregnant with our first child.

So there I was, camera-less with our first child on the way. I couldn’t stand it. I talked it over with my good friend Bo (the guy who writes all the great photography and Photoshop articles for this site) and decided that I should get a nice digital SLR, a Canon XTi to be exact. That is how it all began; I had a nice camera, a strong motive, and practically no photography experience. I knew that I wanted to take nice photos of our baby girl (it’s a girl!), not to mention all the upcoming family gatherings, but I didn’t really know where to begin. The following is a brief overview of the steps I took to go from an absolute beginner to a novice photographer.

Photography Books for Beginners

Understanding Exposure by Bryan PetersonLooking back, the best thing that I did was buying a good book that explains the basics. The book that was recommended to me, and the one I would recommend to any getting into photography, is Bryan Peterson’s Understanding Exposure. I read through the book over a weekend, not exactly grasping everything but pressing on anyway.

This particular book does a great job explaining the big three elements that determine if a photo will be bad, good, or great. Those things being, Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO. Peterson dedicates a section to each and provides plenty of examples to aid your understanding. One of the most helpful things, especially once you grasp how aperture, shutter speed, and ISO work together, is how every beautiful photo in the book is accompanied with the camera settings used. It takes a lot of the mystery out of the process and helped me to feel more confident when taking my own photos.

Photography Practice: Read, Shoot, Repeat

Now that I had a little knowledge under my belt, I grabbed my camera, set the dial onto full manual mode, and went outside and started snapping pictures of everything I came across. I experimented with different apertures and shutter speeds, examined the results, and then shot some more.[ad name=”250×250″]

I believe that taking a few dozen photos every day for a couple of weeks really helped me get a feel for what makes a good exposure. Next to that, something that increased my confidence in my photography skills was only shooting full manual mode. Nothing else will help set your understanding into your mind than considering the proper aperture, shutter speed, and ISO for every photo you take for a solid week. After a good week of practice, pick up that book you bought and give it another read. I guarantee a second reading will reveal even more knowledge that you can carry into your next week of practice.

Now, in regards to shooting in full manual mode, I wouldn’t risk screwing up a great photo opportunity simply because you are still trying to get better at taking nice photos. When you really care about what you’re shooting, switch over to Aperture Priority or Shutter Priority… at least while you’re still practicing.

Let me add one last thing about shooting in manual mode before moving on. Something that I noticed that really made me understand how exposures work, is shooting only with available light. Don’t get me wrong, flashes are great tools. It was just the process of trying to get the best shot possible with the available light really helped me out. If you’ve got a nice flash, by all means use it when you need to!

Get a Nice Lens, You’ve Earned It!

Canon 50mm f/1.8If you’ve been using the stock lens that came with your camera, I’d recommend getting a nice lens to shoot with at this point. Now, you don’t need to go drop a lot of cash for your new toy, err… investment. In fact, I recently bought a nice 50mm for only $85 that I absolutely love (if you’re curious, I reviewed my Nifty Fifty on this site). With that lens I can shoot indoors in relatively low light without a flash and the photos consistently come out tack sharp. Having a lens with such a wide aperture is something no photographer should be without, beginner or not.
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Beginner to Novice Summary

  • Get a good photography book and read it.
  • Practice taking shots in full manual mode, preferably without a flash.
  • Read your photography book again!
  • Get a better lens if you’ve been using the stock lens.
  • Keep practicing!
  • If you’re on a budget, used Canon or used Nikon camera

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Comments

2 Responses to “Photography Advice – From Beginner to Novice”

  1. Photography Articles Around the Web #8 on September 7th, 2008 2:45 am

    […] With Light Obvious Street Photography Tips How to Have Your Very First Art or Photography Exhibit Photography Advice – From Beginner to Novice Adventures in Close-Up Photography Learning Photography in Black and White Photography: Little […]

  2. Jared Holt on September 8th, 2008 11:01 am

    Thanks for the link, photoaxe!

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