Recently, my husband had been talking about this YouTube content creator whom he had started following. He mentioned how he had learned a lot of things from him and that he wanted to share this information with me like he usually does.
By the way, I started loving photography ever since I was in grade school. I was gifted with a point-and-shoot camera and I just do take pictures, have them developed, and then the cycle goes on. By college, before I graduated, my brother and father gifted me with my first DSLR. The same thing happened, I just take pictures, I use the auto setting. My husband who was my boyfriend at that time began to love photography also but more than that, he began to dig deeper into the technical aspects of cameras and photography as well as filmmaking. He just consumed and consumed a lot of information via the internet, YouTube is one huge medium in gaining this knowledge. He also joined workshops and a lot more so when I came back from the UAE, I was surprised at how knowledgeable he was in terms of the technical aspect of the camera, may it be the terms, the hardware, and even the software portions. I, on the other hand, had learned to grasp these things through his help.
So, when he says he wants me to learn this, I have to get my full attention and ears focused on what he is saying.
Mattias Burling is a technical person who focuses on photography, he is more into the old forgotten cameras which he refers to as modern vintage, and will always try to keep his budget low but with high quality. According to his YouTube channel's About page, he reviews cameras but he is more in image-making than the numbers. The gear is pretty much just an excuse to talk about the photography and the process of creating.
Here are five things that my husband shared with me after watching this guy's video regarding making photography.
Gear Doesn't Matter
We have heard of this many times, it becomes a cliche but it is true. Some people have to upgrade their cameras and thought that he can only be able to get good shots and photos if he'd upgrade the gear but then, they'll end up being disappointed.
This happened to us too, we have been buying and buying different brands and models only to find that the gear is not the problem but our approach to taking photographs. There are other things that would affect a photograph, it's not just the gear or the camera.
Also, the latest mobile devices today are also showing huge potential in taking great images. Its portability is truly an advantage too!
Learn the Basics Then Break Them
The basics that need to be learned here are composition and exposure. The camera itself has settings to tweak or change to be able to achieve the desired image. There's the aperture, shutter speed, ISO, all of these can be adjusted in the camera using a manual setting. Get used to the buttons on the camera that can be pressed to adjust them.
But sometimes, it makes sense to blow the highlights or crush the shadows. When breaking the rules, there's an automatic thought, analysis, and decision on both the composition as well. This process is what separates experienced photographers.
It is indeed understandable that when someone breaks the rules and gets a great picture even after that, there's a great chance that he is someone who had been doing this art for a long time.
Keep It Simple
Do as little editing as possible. Post-processing can actually make or break a photograph too. It is recommended that when you shoot, you have made the right settings already so that the controls that you may do during the editing process are just cropping, exposure, white balance, shadows, highlights, and blacks.
Shoot and post more, edit less.
Don't Be Afraid to be Repetitive
Did you know that your first 10,000 pictures are your worst pictures too? It takes a lot of hours of practice and experience to be able to master something just like photography.
That's why it is best to learn from taking photographs of the exact same thing over and over again. But, make sure to change the timing, exposure, and composition during each attempt.
Move Towards What You Love
In this subject, we may sometimes become interested in a lot of types of photography, there's portraits, landscape, macro, animal photography, and a lot more. It is okay to try them but it is also great if you focus on what really is that you love.
Sometimes, we become occupied with what it is that is demanded from us, what most people are making or doing and we end up being exhausted, some may even turn away from photography because they were on the wrong path. Know what you love and focus on it.
Conclusion
Photography Sony a6000 with Sony E 55-210mm f/4.5-6.3 OSSa great hobby, it can also become your career and earn from making good photographs. Learning how to take photos is a long process and may also be expensive but if you love what you do, you'll find ways, and surely, applying these tips above can truly help!
xoxo,
mommy jean of momentswithmatti
Love harder than any pain you've ever felt.
"...it takes a lot of hours of practice and experience..."
I can totally agree. Just this morning my post on noise.cash was about how photography teaches us to be patient. My only high end camera then was the digital cameras. But I had one camera where it has the panoramic and I think a wide camera lens. Not sure. It was old and it only had a setting in which you are to pick from panoramic, wide and normal. I only found out about it after I have developed my first few shots. I was in love with the panoramic photos when it was developed. Its film was also different from the ordinary films. I do not know where my mom had placed it but I hope it is still ok.
I really want to learn photography. I also wanted a DSLR camera before because I saw how beautiful the shots were. My cousin taught me about tweaking the settings but I really do not know how. So when I read the ISO, I thought of him. Napaenglish ako. Aguy. Hahaha