What's the #1 Best Advice You Would Give To Someone New To Photography!

My top advice would be (and I've only been shooting for one year so take it for what it's worth).


- Shoot everyday. Keep at least one image a day on your computer. I started a blog to help myself stay honest shooting everyday.


- Get tough skin. Throw your stuff out online for people to critique. People here are always happy to provide [constructive] feedback/tips. Other people will hate on you. Haters gonna hate, nothing you can do about them. My blog also helped me accomplish this. (And I picked up a hater along the way!)


- Dont worry about your gear quality. Get the best images you can with what you have. If you're restrained by what you have, upgrade.


- Don't try to learn every aspect at once. Take your time and experiment with only one variable. When I started one year ago, I was way overwhelmed with ISO, aperture, shutter speed, stops of light, etc. After shooting [almost] everyday for a year, it (mostly) makes sense haha :) Learn every aspect of your camera, lens, computer, editing software (if you get something like Photoshop CS4, don't bother learning every nook and cranny of it. You won't use everything in that program).


Wishing you the best in your photography pursuits!


If you need anything, we're here at the forum and always willing to help! (I owe a great deal of my knowledge to people on this site!)


-Rodger

Frick. Double post. My bad.

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Originally Posted by alexniedra

But the last thing new photographers need to hear is that they need pro lenses to take good pictures.

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You are totally right, I never thought about that aspect, it's fixed now [:P]


...what else did I say that makes no sense[:#]

My #1 advive for a beginner is toNOT buying anything else beside the camera and its kit lensbeforehe/she understands exposure andthe camera.

Here's my two cents.. :)


Be one with your camera - know everything about it - it's capabilities and limitations...


And shoot lots and lots - there's no "wrong way".. - be creative... and try to have fun..

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Originally Posted by Sinh Nhut Nguyen

My #1 advive for a beginner is toNOT buying anything else beside the camera and its kit lensbeforehe/she understands exposure andthe camera.
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Oops ...guess I should have asked this question earlier!

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Originally Posted by ddt0725

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Originally Posted by Sinh Nhut Nguyen

My #1 advive for a beginner is toNOT buying anything else beside the camera and its kit lensbeforehe/she understands exposure andthe camera.
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Oops ...guess I should have asked this question earlier!

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Don't worry about it. There are still things I don't understand about exposure and the camera and I've been doing this seriously for years now and have a bundle of lenses.


You will never stop learning - if you think you know it all, well, you're not paying attention! [;)]

I would advise you to think of photography as a print-making craft (even in this digital age). By this, I mean think less about what your subject is, and more about how the final print will look. Think abstractly about composition, tonalities, colors, etc. Notice how your eyes naturally move about the final print. Powerful images do not require powerful subjects. It is all just light. From your subject list, I would start with flowers (using your tripods), being the slowest moving of the list. Once you have mastered slow deliberate compositions of light with a static subject, your eye will know how to see the same opportunities with your swiftly moving grandkids.

I'm going to vary from the beaten path on this one...


Go shoot sports. Anything you can find will do, but high school baseball, softball and soccer make great starter sports. There are usually fewrestriction on access andtons of games on all nights of the week.


Shooting sports will force you to learn a lot about photography. The light will vary at each event forcing you to learn every facet of shutter speed, ISO and aperature. You'll have constant changes of composition and all kinds of interesting color and movement. You'll also learn to get images quickly and work in a noisy, crazy environment.


The upside is you can work on candid portraiture by shooting the band, drill team and cheerleaders as well.


I've always believed my wedding skills came from my sports work. If you can shoot a running back coming straight at you in crappy light with 3,000 kids clanging cow bells in the stands behind you, weddings will look tame in comparison.

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Originally Posted by Dallasphotog

I'm going to vary from the beaten path on this one...


Go shoot sports. Anything you can find will do, but high school baseball, softball and soccer make great starter sports. There are usually fewrestriction on access andtons of games on all nights of the week.


Shooting sports will force you to learn a lot about photography. The light will vary at each event forcing you to learn every facet of shutter speed, ISO and aperature. You'll have constant changes of composition and all kinds of interesting color and movement. You'll also learn to get images quickly and work in a noisy, crazy environment.


The upside is you can work on candid portraiture by shooting the band, drill team and cheerleaders as well.


I've always believed my wedding skills came from my sports work. If you can shoot a running back coming straight at you in crappy light with 3,000 kids clanging cow bells in the stands behind you, weddings will look tame in comparison.

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I like this advice.