Photography Break Through

doidinho wrote in post #5912991
One of them for me is that you really have to visualize your shots before you take them.

I fully agree...when I first started, it was spray and pray. Once I stopped, looked around and visualized what I wanted, my photography improved instantly. Once I know what I want, I use the tools I have to make it happen.

Adding to the whole light thing.. learning how the time of day makes a HUGE impact on your photos. If you try to shoot some portraits outside at noon in the bright sun you are going to get some nasty looking pictures. But if you move into the shade that can change everything. Then there is the warm glow in the evening... mmmm.!

i started dslr becos i had disappointments with my pns during a holiday. Bought my first - 400d and was learning stuff in av and tv mode. as a noob i couldnt get good indoor shots in low light and was glad with high iso. At this pt, i was hoping for 25600 iso. lol. Things really broke through with some simple effort. Went to the library and read a couple of books. Came to this forum and searched for common newbie questions. At the end, it really worked out for me. I invested in certain lens that was not v. right for my shooting style and i sold it. I rrealised a lot of my shot making are pretty decent and nice. Friends had gave positive comments and a couple want me to do wedding day shoots for them. I am really happy with this hobby!

Which prompted me to start this thread:
MOVE YOUR FEET! A <rant> of sorts.

Feel free to pass it on!

Like yogestee for me it came from slowing down and paying more attention to the edges and the break through for me was in a zone system class and working with large format which makes you SLOW DOWN by its very nature. I started really paying attention to everything in the frame even the edges. When it gets to be a habit when you go back to a smaller format it has become more second nature. One of my professors always said either everything in the frame is helping your photograph or it hurting it there is never any in between.

Also learning the zone system was a break through for me on understanding light and exposure.

Vacation wrote in post #5912443
What are some of the things that helped you put pecies of the puzzle together?

For me it was understanding that ISO, shutter speed, and apature all kind of fit together like a puzzle.

When you add or subract from one you usually have to adjust one or both of the others to get your correct exposure.

Usually?

For me it was pretty much the same as for the OP - turning the dial to 'M' and keeping it there until I knew exactly what I was doing and how that would affect my resulting images.

Needless to say, coming across this forum and reading up on a lot of great info helped reduce that learning curve immensely.

My dad was a photographer and he used to say "Look.. look ... look ...and don't press the button till you've decided what you want to say."

Getting my first job!!!!

Out of college, I thought I knew everything - until I got my first job. All through college we were taught to photograph during the "perfect time of day"....so thats what I did....and I had some great images to go along with it.

In my area we photograph mostly family portraits on the beach. The catch is is usually always large multi-generational families (15+ people) so you don't get the luxury of starting during the perfect time of day. If we did, we'd run out of light.

My break through was jumping head first into photographing on the beach in some of the harshest conditions, lighting situations, and dealing with 15+ people (most of them being the grandkids of the family). After surviving my first year, anything seems like a piece of cake...lol.

After a while it just simply clicked with me, why? Because I essentially started out in manual and just kept trying to learn.

It was at this point when I knew I got myself into one expensive hobby!

Volcanux wrote in post #5940932
After a while it just simply clicked with me, why? Because I essentially started out in manual and just kept trying to learn.

It was at this point when I knew I got myself into one expensive hobby!

lol +1