New to photography

Honestly, mess around and experiment with your gear a lot... take A LOT of photos.

Once you feel confident and have some that you like then start diving into tutorials and critiques of different photography. I feel like starting with 0 knowledge and teaching yourself is the best way to start to develop a unique style. Once you see things starting to take shape the way you want them to arm yourself with technical knowledge to make what you see in your mind a reality.

Rant aside practice makes perfect, also don't get bogged down by the camera buying process... just get something that can take pictures!

/hitsblunt

NightFantasiesHonestly, mess around and experiment with your gear a lot... take A LOT of photos.

Once you feel confident and have some that you like then start diving into tutorials and critiques of different photography. I feel like starting with 0 knowledge and teaching yourself is the best way to start to develop a unique style. Once you see things starting to take shape the way you want them to arm yourself with technical knowledge to make what you see in your mind a reality.

Rant aside practice makes perfect, also don't get bogged down by the camera buying process... just get something that can take pictures!

/hitsblunt

Thanks for the help! I will definitely experiment a lot and see what I like.

Shoot every chance you get and learn to make your camera your bitch.

If you're going to do some skiing photography, get a camera with good auto focus. Canon cameras do this well with their dual pixel auto focus. Some of the higher end Sony mirrorless cameras have great auto focus too.

JarvisIf you're going to do some skiing photography, get a camera with good auto focus. Canon cameras do this well with their dual pixel auto focus. Some of the higher end Sony mirrorless cameras have great auto focus too.

This.

Also start learning the basics and what all the technical jargon means (ISO, aperture, etc.). Some of it is redundant and obvious but it helps save a lot of time when you can show up somewhere and have an idea of settings you will need to adjust for your environment. YouTube is also a great place to find information, since lots of good photographers and videographers have well established channels now.

think like a photographer. always be thinking, even when you don't have your camera with you, what would make a good photo around me? remember that a good piece of art, including a photograph, tells a story. and a more niche tip, get a film camera. it forces you to learn how a camera works and how to manipulate that. dslrs have a lot of settings and whatnot that you barely will use, but you might get caught up in them. you can get one second hand for fair price, and it's not that hard to develop the film yourself.

^^^ this is a great idea. Just remember, film cameras are cheaper up front, in that you can get a second hand one for cheap, but it is more expensive in the long run. With more and more digital cameras being made, film will be used less, and therefore it will get more expensive as time goes on.

Hold it like how a gangster holds a gun for extra effect

shoot all day. edit all night. repeat

I agree you should get a film camera. If you live somewhere that you have access to a darkroom, learn to develop film and print as well, because it's mad fun and the whole medium will make more sense to you after shooting some film. It is possible to get expired film that's been frozen, or bulk film quite cheaply. I think at this point, film will actually become slightly more available since it is firmly a niche thing that people do specifically for its qualities. There are still many manufacturers cranking out film, many of them in Eastern Europe. Another reason it won't disappear any time soon is that it's more affordable to shoot medium and large format film (much higher resolution) than it is to shoot digital at a similar res.
If you do shoot some film, take notes with all of your settings for each photo. If you do that enough, knowing what settings you need to use for various lighting situations and subjects will become intuitive.
If you get a DSLR I recommend Nikon, only because they haven't changed their bayonet mount ever, and you can get really cheap old manual lenses that are great quality.
Try not to limit yourself to a specific subject. Shooting anything and everything will help you figure out what you are looking for in a photo outside of a particular subject: mood, composition, lighting, types of form, weight and line: I think this is how you start to develop a style.
Use different equipment too. If you use a film SLR, rangefinder, phone, DSLR, whatever else you can get your hands on, that's a good way to give yourself some limitations to work inside of, again helping you figure out what you fundamentally want in your images. Try making a camera obscura and/or pinhole camera. Simple cameras are good for gaining an understanding of what is actually happening inside the device, and it's pretty much free to make those things.
Do some drawing and/or painting regularly too, if you have time. This will make it easier for you to get in a "zone" for making images, and will sharpen your eye for composition, line and form.

**This post was edited on Sep 18th 2018 at 2:05:06am

Get the $10 a month Lightroom subscription and learn how to organize all your files early. I swear half of digital photography is keeping all your files organized. Used Canon DSLRs are a good bet with a lot of aftermarket lenses and gear. I really like my 7D. Once you get some gear, hang out in the terrain park and just photograph people. The most important thing to always know about photography is that camera's capture LIGHT not objects so learn to "see" light. You need to make it your mindset, every time you walk into a room, outside or go someplace as yourself:

Where source(s) are the light coming from? Natural or artificial?
Is the sun out or behind clouds?
What is the quality of light (warm or cold, soft or hard)
What shadows are from the light?
How much light is available?

Also, check out the B&H youtube lectures. There are some really good ones and will teach you almost everything you need to know.

SHOOT FILM

Seriously, shoot film. You will learn so much, so much faster, and have so much fun.

shoot every day.

shooting film helps but consistency helps more.

Firstly, ditto everything in this thread.


Secondly, check out this playlist of videos by The Art of Photography. He has an excellent, professional and clearly run channel that's made him one of my favorite Youtubers. Go through the basics so you have the skills to fulfill your artistic desires.

Thirdly, CHECK OUT EXCELLENT PHOTOGRAPHERS. You should look through Magnum Photographs, New York Times Lens, ski photographers, outdoor photographers and all other types of photography to see what you like. Take a look at a body of work, take notes of what compositions you like. Take note of concepts that you engage well with. Look at different genres of work to expand your artistic mind and to learn from the greats.

Keep posting on here as well! NS and M&A are great communities.

https://www.newschoolers.com/forum/thread/850602/My-camera-came-today


the way i learned was i shot on only manual, and figured out my mistakes and work from there. even when ur bored, try taking photos of seemingly boring things to spark ur creativity, and then take what you learn abt ur camera and angles and what you like to what you want to take photos of.