Your journey into understanding the nuances behind photography begins with your search for the right camera, and continues as you evolve as a photographer. Finding a story to depict in each picture rather than merely capturing a visually appealing image is one of the creative aspects of a photographer’s job. Other techniques, like learning to age your photographs and adjusting your shutter speed, have to be part of your basics of photography training too.
Basic equipment needed for a beginner
While many argue that you can learn the basics of photography and establish your shooting style with any camera, it’s important to remember your goals and what you intend to shoot. A micro four thirds or DSLR camera is a good place to start looking. As a photographer, your camera should allow you to adjust its aperture, shutter speed and ISO. The body of the camera itself should be taken into consideration. It has to be one that you can hold with ease. For instance, someone with large hands cannot be comfortable with a pocket size body, while those with smaller hands will find it difficult to access all the buttons on a larger camera[1].
Also, keeping in mind your use, opt for the appropriate lens. There are essentially two varieties[2] –
- Zoom lenses that allow you to zoom and are heavier and expensive
- Prime lenses that cannot zoom but are lighter, cheaper and offer sharper images
Lenses are further classified based on their focal length, i.e., standard, wide angle, telephoto medium, etc. So it’s important to identify your needs and ensure that your lenses offer you the capabilities you need to shoot your pictures effectively. Other factors about the camera that you need to consider are the sensors, the CPU, the battery, the flash card and also the processor.
Exposure: a crucial element
The exposure is nothing but the darkness or brightness of an image or a photo. While it may seem to be the easiest thing to learn, it is a skill that will come into play the more you learn to pay attention to the colors and themes surrounding the object you photograph rather than focus on the object alone.
Most of us use the automatic setting or the green mode in our cameras, which means you let the camera control the exposure, adjust the shutter speed and select appropriate settings like the ISO setting and the aperture setting. This takes away your control over the pictures and the settings. The manual exposure, on the other hand, allows you to explore your creative sensibilities in a picture. You will need to learn to control the shutter, ISO and aperture in order to control the exposure as well[1].
Technique and composition
Once you’ve mastered the art of shooting pictures without relying on a pre-installed setting, the last leg of your introduction to photography takes you towards converting your photos into a well composed end result. There are various tricks to help you with this. Examples include the rule of thirds and Fibonacci’s ratio among many others.
Perhaps you are an aspiring photographer but don’t know where to start. Or maybe learning everything on your own can be a bit overwhelming. If this is the case, then maybe you might want to consider taking photography classes and/or getting a degree in photography. By doing so, you may be able to hone in your skills, use your creativity and artistic abilities, and get on your way to making your hobby a potential career path.
Are you ready to pursue a career in photography? Get information about schools in your area and online using our photography degree finder at the top of this page. ↑