looking for a photography primer

[freakboy]

Hey there,

I'm new here and new to photography. I was hoping that someone could point me in the direction of a photography primer. I have purchased the G2 shortcourse and am waiting for it to arrive. If anyone knows of any quality books, or other resources I can read to understand how to properly shoot a photo, I'm all ears.

Thanks

Patrick

[Pekka]

Hi,

There's a lots of material like http://www.nyip.com/ and
http://www.gophotographer.com/photography.htm on the net. Use search engines for more sites. Most of it is technical, there not much out there about composition, finding things to shoot, finding your own style etc.

To me, there is no direct answer to "how to properly shoot a photo".

Learning technical stuff takes about 1% of the whole learning curve. P mode can do wonders, too :)

Most important parts of photography happens outside of the camera, in our head, and in our environment. Timing is everything. Paying attention to the background is often more important than paying attention to the subject.

Play mind games: imagine a photo on a wall, a photo that would please your aesthetic eye and that has other stuff there that would make it important to you. Make no limits to your imagination. Like "a seagull standing on a 'beware of airplanes' sign looking up to a jumbojet taking off". Then just try to catch it. Remember it. If you keep those images in your mind they will guide your "taste" of what's cool and what's not and help you in finding your own artistic identity and personal style.

See what others have done and what could be improved and try to figure why something looks good and why something looks plain bad.

Of course the approach you should take depends on what is you goal - if you just want to make nice family albums you don't need any art metaphysics classes and excellent composition skills - what you would need then is great social skills and ability to make subjects feel comfortable with the camera in order to get good shots.

Learn from your mistakes and try again. Try again. Try it out. Examine bad photos - what went wrong? Ask questions.

Don't shoot if you don't feel like it. I'm pleased if I get one wonderful photo a week, and sometimes I don't shoot for weeks. Don't put artifical pressures on you - when you have an internal "need" to photograph you will get better photos.

Post some photos here if you have questions - people here are helpful but it's always easier to talk with example photos.

Cheers,

Pekka

[bfaust]

Join a local camera club. Check the net, most cvamera clubs have a web site.

[freakboy]

Thanks for the info !

Patrick

[Gibbs]

You may also find some inspiration at

http://www.photocourse.com

Worth a read to get hold of some of the basics.

[R2-G2]

A G2 gives you considerable manual control over the camera's functions -- chances are you are intersted in exploiting those (if not right away, then eventually). Since the G2 is much more than a point-and-shoot camera, you have a lot of options open to you in terms of technique and there's a wealth of information out there that you can take advantage of to help you along your way.

In addition to any online investigating, definitely check your local library and chain bookstores (like Barnes & Noble, Borders, etc.) for books on Photography.

I personally think it's important to take an hour here and there and just BROWSE. You can't "browse" books online, so you just have to get your butt to the bookstore or library and do it there.

I have found help in the Time Life series, books and leaflets by Kodak, et. al., as well as books written by specific photographers about the basics as well as their own techniques. Take the time to browse, find what works for you. Look at as many resources as you can.

IMHO, the best publications explain "basics" but encourage you to "see" in your own way. They may explain what techniques are involved in taking what is "traditionally" considered a "good" photo, but will also remind you that there are exceptions to every rule. The very best books will stress that working methods and style are very personal things. Here, you can learn from others' examples, but ultimately have to carve your own path, so to speak.

A cautionary note: You may run into what you feel is "outdated" info, or info that may not seem to "apply" to digital photograpy (even in books about digital photography). Some info doesn't carry into a digital world, yet some "terms" will be used similarly in the conventional and digital darkrooms: "dodging" and "burning", for example (respecitively, deliberately lightening or darkening parts of an image). Take what you need and leave the rest. Be assured that you are never wasting your time -- digital photography owes a lot to conventional photography.

Even if some of these books seem advanced, always allow yourself the privilege of looking at them at least for the sake of inspiration. For me, inspiration is a great part of why I take pictures. See if you can tell what inspires you in an appealing photograph -- is it the format (black+white, color), subject matter, composition (how elements are arranged in the frame), etc.? This kind of intuition can be as important as the ability to work the camera itself.

It takes time to absorb all this info -- allow yourself time to make a lot of "mistakes" while you become familiar with the camera, and don't ever be discouraged (hard to do in AUTO and P mode, because the camera takes really nice pictures on its own). Also, when it comes to "the basics", don't try to learn everything at once. Learn just a few things per day -- that's plenty. Pretty soon it adds up.

Bottom line, keep an open mind -- even a seemingly lousy book may have a couple tips worth remembering or an occasionally spectacular image that takes you to a new level of your own.

Good luck!