Skateboard Forum

Questions & Concerns about Becoming a Photographer?

Im 14 & Hardcore Love Photography.
I really Like Snowboard,Skateboard ,Surf & Street Photography
I got into it around a year ago & I use my Old Family Olympus Fe-310.(Point & Shoot)
Its Pretty Shit. But i can get some good shots out of it.
I've Learnt everything i know about photography from the Internet, Forums etc..
But right now , I just seem to be Taking Photos. & Im not getting any Better. No Matter How many People i ask or Books i read or How many Forums i go to I can never quite understand The Things like ISO and Arpeture. & When it comes to taking photos Im Really Lost & Dont know what im doing or How to use the right settings.
Ive tried Apprenticships but no one accepts me & Ive tried my Local Newspaper Photographer aswell.

The only way to understand is to read about it and practise.

I would suggest, Get a good book on basic photography and your camera manual.
Sit down with both and your camera and then
1. read the manual and become familiar with where the controls are for shutter/aperture/iso etc

2. start going through the book and as you read sections practise what it says in the book.
So if you are on a chapter talking about the shutter and motion blur then practise what it says. Take pictures at different shutter speeds keeping all other controls the same and see what difference the various shutter speeds make (movement blur, exposure etc)
When you read about aperture - do the same, Changing the aperture but leaving the shutter alone and see what differences that makes.

Then start putting the two together so you get to know the relationship between shutter & aperture.

Basically, don't try to run before you can walk.

There is a lot to learn to be able to take technically good photographs, it takes time.

You could also attend a course on basic photography.

Photography is all about light. When you understand light and how the camera records it then you are half way there.

It doesn't take long to learn the basics of using an SLR however to use it well takes practise and knowledge of both the equipment and basic photography (light, colour, exposure, composition etc).

Have fun learning.

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