Learn Digital Photography – 5 Steps to Learning Photography

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Where do you start when you get your first digital camera? You will notice that the title is not 5 Keys to Learning DIGITAL Photography. The reason for this is that although we use digital cameras, we are learning photography and not digital photography.

I started my photographic learning journey 40 years ago in the world of film. But, although forty years later we use digital to record our images, we use the same principles of photography. The word digital is now used to differentiate between film and digital and I would suggest that in a few years time we will drop the word digital and just talk about photography. So here are some keys.

1. Keep an open mind

When you start your photographic journey it is essential that you maintain an open mind on all genres of photography. What appears to be something you dislike may open up another world to you if you were to take a step into it without preconceived ideas. Unless you already know each genre enough to make a decision, hold back before you decide as to what you want to focus on. I fell in love with close-up photography when I got my first film SLR nearly 30 years ago and haven’t looked back. I don’t really like landscape photography but have kept a sufficiently open mind and have found that there are times when it is quite enjoyable. Photography is a creative world and you need to allow your mind to think creatively to achieve some of the stunning images you potentially will shoot.

2. Find a mentor

Many years ago I learnt that a mentor can be a person who is close to you in location and allows you one on one time to learn directly from them. I also learned that this is not the only way and that distance did not limit this relationship, or, for that matter personal contact. It is possible to be mentored by someone through their articles, books or dvds. I have had that relationship with a renowned international photographer through his books and videos on Youtube. I have learned an incredible amount from him just by reading his books. I took an online course of his and learnt even more. A mentor is someone who knows a considerable amount more than you and can pass this on to you and foster growth in your photography.

3. Read

A simple word that needs no clarification. A few years back I became a prodigious reader of all things photographic. I would read everything and anything I could lay my hands on. I subscribed to electronic magazines, bought new and second hand paper magazines, new books, scoured second hand bookshops and visited as many libraries as I could. I searched the internet high and low for articles and information and printed out a pile of paper almost one metre high. I looked for any piece of information I could lay my hands on. Reading and rereading articles on aperture, shutter speed and depth of field until I grasped it perfectly. There is nothing that will substitute for reading in the learning process so do as much of it as you can.

4. Create a shooting plan

The old adage says, those who fail to plan, plan to fail. In order for you to create a learning photographic journey it is imperative that you plan to spend time taking images. There is no substitute for action. Unless you are actually taking photos there is no way you can learn just from books and videos. You have to get the camera to your eye and create photos. It’s from these you will see your inadequacies and mistakes and then learn to correct them. Regular time behind the camera in the field is the only way to learn.

5. Practise

As you learn a new technique or discover a method that helps you to take great images, you need to practise. Through repetition you learn to create and then recreate the images allowing them to become entrenched in your mind. Developing a photographic eye comes from lots of practise. Establishing pathways to your brain from your eye allows this to happen repeatedly. Unless you can repeat your successes that fantastic single image is more luck than skill.

Learning is a journey. It means taking the time, making the effort and practising your craft until you reach perfection. Allow yourself the time to learn digital photography and you won’t look back. Happy shooting!

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Source by Wayne G Turner