Show Notes

I meet and talk with a lot of photographers. Those just starting their photo journey have so many questions it sometimes boils down to a very open-ended question: “Where do I start?” In this episode, I share 5 tips for the beginning photographer … and I think these are helpful for us “old souls” as well for mentoring and coaching those around us starting to explore this passion we share.

5 Tips For Beginning Photographers

1. Use the camera you have. The great photographers before us made compelling images with far less technically capable gear. Start with what you have - yes, a mobile phone counts! When your camera becomes a limiting factor to creating the images you want, then it’s time to buy new gear. Also, as a beginner, you may not know what types of photos you like to take. Gear needs differ depending on the subject.

2. Photograph lots of things. When you’re starting out, you might not know what subjects you like - or you like everything! Make lots of pictures, figure out what subjects you enjoy capturing. A “52 project” is a good idea early in photography. These projects give you some structure, yet also allow you to explore different areas of photography (and yourself).

3. Study and practice composition. The fundamentals do matter. Great photographs start with solid composition. There are plenty of free resources about photo composition. Several episodes of this podcast discuss composition as well. Pick a compositional principle and practice it. Take a photo a day for a week, and move on to the next principle.

4. Get familiar with basic post-processing, so you can capture in RAW. There are plenty of good, free mobile phone apps that let you control the basics of exposure, contrast, white balance, etc. For macOS users, Apple Photos is very capable software. Why care about post? Longer-term, when your skills grow, you’ll have rich RAW files and be able to do more with them.

5. Look at lots of photos and understand why you like certain ones. Images are everywhere and we consume tons of them every day. When a photo stops you, even for a moment, take a beat and understand why it made you look longer. Was it the subject? The color? The framing? The mood? The contrast? Make mental notes and incorporate those into your next set of photos.

A special, heartfelt thank you to Buzzsprout. The Stop Down Photography Podcast is hosted by Buzzsprout. Their service was the victim of a denial of service attack this past week. Their grace under pressure and clear communication to podcasters was nothing short of exemplary. I truly appreciate what you do - keep up the great work!

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