These days everyone has a camera in their pocket, so ‘taking’ pictures, without really thinking about it, is something most people do regularly.
But if you’re reading this post we presume you want to take your photography to another level, so this article is about making the move from taking snaps, to being a ‘photographer’.
And while ‘serious’ photographers can spend a fortune, starting out doesn’t need to be expensive, and can be a great creative outlet that can bring you years of fun.
So how do you go about getting started?
1: Move from Taking Photos to Making Them
The first step to becoming a ‘photographer’ has nothing to do with gear or experience, or ‘mastering’ the art. It’s a simple change of attitude, of intent - from simply taking photos to making them.
Rather than just snapping away, it’s slowing down, planning photo shoots, taking time to find compositions and create images - consciously creating art with your eye and your camera.
And don’t worry if you don’t capture great photos when you start out, like any new hobby it takes time to learn. Set small, achievable goals that help you to improve. It’s a process and you will keep improving the more you do it.
2: Don’t Worry About Equipment
When you’re starting out don’t worry about equipment - start with your smartphone, or (if you can) borrow gear from a friend or family member. Then as you get into the hobby move up to second hand gear from Facebook, Trademe, or the second hand section of photographic stores.
Ultimately, starting out, you don’t need fancy (and expensive) gear - you need good, simple equipment that you can easily learn to use and master. With some careful shopping you can get a good, second hand DSLR (a digital camera that will take different lenses) and a kit lens for as little as a couple of hundred dollars.
In comparison, a new enthusiast kit that could easily cost between $5000 and $10000.
Remember, a professional photographer will take better photos with a cheap second hand camera, than a newby with fancy professional gear. Ultimately what matters is the creativity of the photographer, not the gear they use - so start out cheap, and build from there.
3: Learn to Know Your Camera
Having the latest and greatest gear won't help, if you don’t know how to use it.
All modern cameras will deliver a well-exposed photograph, even if you use them in Auto mode. But there’s more to photography than Auto. The camera settings that you choose to use have a huge impact on your photos - that goes beyond the proper exposure.
As you get to know your camera you will become comfortable with exposure, focus and metering modes, white balance, file format, and many other buttons and settings. As you progress you’ll move into manual modes (believe me this isway overrated), and the goal ultimately is that the camera simply becomes a tool, an extension of your creativity.
4: Learn to See Things Differently
Photography is all about light, it's even in the name - photography literally means light drawing.
So one of the most crucial factors that can make or break a good photo is light, or more importantly, how you, the photographer sees the light in the composition. How you light your images, such as making the choice between using diffused sunlight or existing indoor lighting, will completely change the tone of your image.
Likewise, how you compose your image - what you choose to include (or exclude) and your point of view on the subject, and the story you tell will all make a difference to the story you final image tells.
5: Experiment with Different Types of Photography
You may have decided to give photography a go with a certain subject matter in mind, such as your family, but your interests may shift with more experience. When you start turning your camera toward different and challenging subjects, you’ll stretch your creative muscles, as well as build your photographic skills and begin to develop a portfolio that you can be proud of.
Whatever it is that made you want to get into photography, hang on to it and use it as your inspiration to grow and follow your newfound passion.
6: Practise, Practise, and then Practise Some More
The best way to get into photography is by taking photos, looking at the results, and striving to improve.
But often when you start out, you’re flexing a creative muscle that you may not have used much in the past and you don’t really know what you’re doing. People often experience a creative block when they start, but if this happens to you, don’t worry because it’s normal.
As you learn more about the craft of photography it naturally becomes harder as you try to remember all the things you’ve read and learnt about. But try not to overthink things, or you’ll end up doing nothing. Instead remember the fun that photography can be and remember there’s nothing wrong with making mistakes - that’s the only way to learn.
7: Get inspired by Others
One of the best ways to get your creative juices flowing and broaden your horizons is to look at the work and interact with other photographers.
Whether it’s following and getting inspired by photographers on Instagram, or other photo sharing sites, or using Pinterest to curate images for a particular project, the internet has opened up a massive resource of inspiration that's just a click away.
As you’re learning, finding a photograph you enjoy and trying to recreate it can be a great way to grow.
Learn From Famous Photographers
While you can explore social media to find photographs that inspire you, don’t forget about established photographers of past eras. As you learn about photographers of the past try to look at as many of their images as possible, and see which ones speak to you and why. As you look at this work you’ll start to better understand techniques and artistic style, and to develop your own ways of looking at the world.
Join a Photography Community and Attend Workshops
A lot of types of photography can be isolating so finding a community to share your work and passions with can be critical to staying with photography over time. Joining a local camera club, or online photography group (like Photography4 Fun) can help keep you inspired as well as grow in the photographic art.
At the same time, rather than ‘investing’ in gear, one of the best ways to improve your photography is to join photography workshops or tutorials. In workshops you can quickly learn a wide variety of photographic skills from understanding camera settings or composition, to more advanced techniques or photo editing.
Workshops are a great option for getting a proper and comprehensive education in photography.
And if you're interested in getting new experiences and hanging out with other photographers, learning new things and making great images check out or upcoming events below:
8: Master the Art of Editing
After a day out taking photos, it can be tempting to simply post photos straight from camera. But like any art form, photography is a form of personal expression, and editing your images can be part of that expression.
Editing can be as simple as adding a filter to an instagram post, or applying a preset to change the style of an image. Or you may put more time into fine-tuning the image by adjusting image properties like hues, tones, and colours, or going further still to retouch, cut out, or manipulate images to produce something completely different from the original. But to do all that, you’ll need good image editing software.
There is a wide range of editing software available, with Adobe’s Photoshop and Lightroom being amongst the most popular, however they are by no means the only option, nor might they be the best for what you need. Other options include Affinity Photo, Capture One, and Luminar amongst others.
Whatever you approach photography, some basic editing skills are a good idea and online platforms like Skillshare or Udemy have plenty of courses on how to use your editing software of choice.
Some Final Words About Getting into Photography
Photography is popular for a reason. Whether it’s a means of self expression, as a way to capture memories, or as an escape from everyday life, starting in photography is as simple as picking up a camera.
While the learning curve can be steep, depending on what you want to achieve, try not to feel discouraged as you progress and grow in the art. Instead of focusing on capturing ‘perfect’ images simply enjoy the journey - the joy of holding a camera in your hand and seeing the world around you differently.
The more you practise, the easier photography will become.
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