The basics of photography

You can learn new things at any time in your life if you’re willing to be a beginner. Remember all experts was once a beginner just like you. (They were just stubborn enough to keep learning) So you’ve decided you want learn the basics of photography?

What is photography?

Photography is the art of capturing light with a camera, usually via a digital sensor or film, to create an image.

What is the purpose of photography? (ie, why do you want to take photos? )

There are two main types of photographers, those who want to create art using photography and those who want to document the world from their perspective.

Which type are you?

I’m sure you have many photography questions like;

• Where should you start?
• Which camera should you use?
• What is the best way to learn photography?

However, the most common question I get asked is what’s the best beginner camera for X photography. It continues to astound me that people thinking that your camera makes all the difference.

Picking the best camera for you

Realistically you have four options; film, DSLR, Mirrorless, or a smartphone.But I promise you the best camera is the one you have with you.You’re challenge is now getting to know your camera until you know what its missing. You should always out grow your gear and know exactly what you want your new piece of gear to be able to do before you go shopping. Why? Because we all have difference goals with our photography, and while I give a generic “canon rebels are great for beginners”, that won’t help you if you want to master macro photography. For most of you reading this, you’ll already have a fabulous camera on your phone, and you really should dismiss it as a camera. Check out Why your phones camera is so awesome if you don’t believe me.

Getting to know your camera

For those of you, who’ve already parted with a good chunk of money. It’s time to dust of your DSLR and find out exactly what it can do. However, it’s also very easy to get overwhelmed and frustrated. As boring as it sounds, get to know what you camera can and can’t do. Every camera is different, so keep a pdf version of the manual on your phone for quick reference. Don’t get disheartened by all the jargon and photography terms. Remember there’s always a simple explanation, you just need to find it.

So you’ve got a new camera… (or you’ve dusted it off and charged the battery at least) Now what?

Step 1: Learning to see aka Training your eye

There are two simple steps to achieve this:

• Experiment with different Basic Composition Rules until you find a few that you love and can’t imagine not using.
• The other is to decode what other photographers are doing, either way you’ll need to know the basic compositional techniques.

Step 2: Finding the right light

The basics of photography lighting is so much more than just being about to see the subject. It’s about understanding why light is important in photography and using the different types of light to emphasis your story and setting the tone / feeling of your photo.I personally recommend everyone starts with mastering natural light before moving onto artificial light.

Step 3: Learning the basic camera settings is important it’s not the whole thing.

Now you know the kind of shots you want to achieve you’ll need to master your camera settings so you can confidently conquer the photography triangle. Start with the different camera modes, aperture priority mode and depth of field (you really can’t beat a shallow depth) then move on to mastering shutter speeds. Finally, manual mode. 

Step 4: Editing

Yes, you need to learn this too. It’s not as complicated as people think it is and no there’s no single preset or filter that will do it for you. But once you’ve picked the best Photo Editors for you and learnt the only 5 must know editing settings for beginners. Learn the basics of photography editing and how to edit subtly. Subtlety is so important with editing. It’s about enhancing the image, expressing a feeling, point of view or story. Editing should be easy and it all starts with the right settings in camera.

How to learn photography basics?

It’s not youtube or winging it.

It’s far to easy to get lost in the sea of information out there, and when you’ve got different photographers telling you contradicting things who do you believe?

For my fellow bookworms out there you might want to check out my favourite best photography Books. I love a good challenge, and if you need to give yourself a push then a daily or weekly photo challenge can be great.

For those of you who already know that you’ll get overwhelmed with fitting it into your crazy manic life, then 1:1 coaching is a great alternative. The extra support and accountability will make sure you achieve your photography goal.

Summary: What are the basics of photography?

• Picking the best camera for beginners
• Training your eye to see
• Learning to read the light you have
• Picking a creative composition that helps tell your story
• Knowing which settings will help you portray it
• Editing in your style