most beneficial learning experience for your photography?

So, I watch youtube videos and read a lot but I'm wondering if someone has any type of subscription somewhere or paid videos that they have benefited from more than anything else?

What would you say is your Number 1 source of information as far as this realm is concerned?
Please do not say going out and shooting. This is Solely concerning Books/magazines/websit​es/Videos/Youtube channels etc.

I am mainly wanting to learn more about posing and general portrait work.

I am far beyond the basics and looking to learn advance knowledge that you typically have to pay for.

Thanks, ALL!

The most beneficial stuff I've ever read was a book about Canon flash photography, and Cambridge-In-Color's (website) pages about posing/lighting for portrait work.

Here is the book: https://www.amazon.com …on+flash+photog​raphy+book

I did read a good book about raw processing for B&W results. I can't find the book, or remember the title.

Coming to this forum back in 2003.

I'm still a dufous of a photographer, but here is where I learned to really use the camera, shooting in manual modes to my works advantage, etc.

Oh, yeah. I learn lots of stuff here, too! Huge apologies to the vast array of POTN members who have chimed in to help me, and to Pekka. (Jake, thanks for making me look like an idiot! Thanks, but I can do THAT myself. )

The most beneficial was posting my pictures and receiving solid critique.

There are 3 things that stand out:

1. Understanding Exposure - Bryan Peterson. This is for the basics. IMO, this book belongs on every photographer's shelf.

2. The Strobist Lighting 101. Very informative on how to use the basic currency of photographers - light. Must read: http://strobist.blogsp​ot.com/2006/03/lightin​g-101.html

3. This forum. I religiously click on the New Posts link on the top of the forum main page and look through all the photos posted. I see landscape photos, people photos, wildlife/bird photos, abstract photos, etc. etc. If I see something that catches my eye, I ask how it was taken. How was the lighting done, etc. I have honestly learned more from this site than from any book.

Read this book if you haven't..."Light Science and Magic." https://www.amazon.com …hotographic/dp/​0240812255

No amounts of top dollar gear could compensate for crappy lighting condition. With the right lighting condition, even kit lens can produce stunning photos. You would learn to stop chasing the next greatest gear.

Second, experiment with various raw editors. Not all of them are the same. I won't tell you what I use. I use CS6 for batch processing and localized editing. For the raw editor, I use something else. Learn about color balance. Very, very important. Difference between a great photo with good color cast vs a shot which looks like someone peed on it... is how your adjust your color balance....

There may be some blow back here but go to Creative Live and see if they offer things you're interested in. They can be watched free or paid for and they have specials. I like these classes because they usually show the shoot through the processing. I learned an AWFUL lot about ligthing and studio work from this venue.

FWIW

Heya,

I find most tutorials on YouTube are more advertisements than they are truly workshop. There are a few out there, but none of them are all encompassing and really just show casing equipment more than teaching. If you already know basics, you can learn from them quickly just seeing the stuff if you pay attention to placement and the way the equipment is being used. But I've yet to come across a workshop that was designed to just be a workshop and not sell something with it. But, I'm not a big youtuber, so maybe I missed some obvious good ones.

But that said, here's my experience so far (outside of simply doing it and learning from real world experience which is the #1 teacher so far for me):

1. This forum, the lighting forum specifically, is full of very welcoming and knowledgeable folks. I learned a ton about lighting from that group and now I'm giving back, so to speak, with anything that I've learned that has been a success.
2. The Strobist. It's a good starting point. The lighting forum pointed me there, I read it, then returned to the lighting forum with questions and examples, and learned much much more after understanding some basic stuff.
3. Right back to this forum, the lighting board. Other than that, google fu gives you simple diagrams for lighting patterns & names with positions so you can try different techniques, like short lighting, clam shell, etc.

The lighting forum board is mostly portrait photographers and/or still life (like product) photographers it seems. They're a great group that are willing to help. They walked me through my first speedlites, umbrellas, and through and past my portable 600ws strobe and 60" modifiers. Very welcoming group that you can learn from, give back to, and keep the cycle going.

If there's anything I've learned, the two biggest things (regarding the kind of portrait I do, which is mostly outdoor portrait in environment) is (1) get down to your elbows and (2) lighting (natural ambient, and equipment).

Very best,

Yousuf Karsh: A Biography In Images book.
And one from Jane Bown: Faces.

Both of them didn't used very complicated light setup.

There are so many sources for learning today that it can seriously boggle the mind.

As mentioned, YouTube, while a great source for learning, is also a great source for wasting time. You have to sift through the mud to find the gold but once found, they are invaluable.

For me, I love the workshops presented by Chase Jarvis' company, CreativeLive. If you can devote some time you can watch the initial webcast for free. Of course you will need to pay to download and watch later but some are well worth it.

Linda.com comes in a close second for me. Like CreativeLive, they offer some great video workshops.

That said, no book, video or live workshop will do anyone any good without getting out there and practicing the lessons.

When I started in "serious" photography (as opposed to using a simple Brownie camera and taking the film to a drugstore), I was in the US Army and stationed in England and then Germany. I read photo magazines a lot (especially Popular Photography), bugged the folks at the local camera stores, and had access to the on-base photo labs. I met folks on base who helped me get started as well. Then, there was a lot of experimentation that I got into between using my cameras and working on the photo lab. It all grew from those beginnings.

In the digital world, I still tend to use manual modes for the great majority of my camera and lighting control though I've given up with the wet lab stuff.

I still have all my photo lab equipment which I'm willing to part with. The local schools don't even want it these days, though.

1. This site
2. Trial and error
3. Books (Especially 'Understanding Exposure')

Really *learning* what the meter is telling you and how exposure relates to your images is the biggest thing to do to succeed. If you don't actually know 'what' the meter is telling you, you'll wind up having to second guess exposures, find a ton of variation in your exposures in any situation and generally have a tougher time of things.

TooManyShots wrote in post #18071580
Read this book if you haven't..."Light Science and Magic." https://www.amazon.com …hotographic/dp/​0240812255

No amounts of top dollar gear could compensate for crappy lighting condition. With the right lighting condition, even kit lens can produce stunning photos. You would learn to stop chasing the next greatest gear.

^^^

The big push to have a new look at light came by reading the book "The Hot Shoe Diary" by Joe McNally - lot's of pictures with the corresponding set-up. The man is obsessed about light - but what I like about it is his 'anything goes - as long as the result looks good'. In addition he's less focussed on perfect technique but more on the feel of the picture. I very much like that. His writing style is a kind of unique - but hey the focus are his pictures....