# Is it possible to learn on my own????



## cinphoto24 (Jun 18, 2011)

I'm new to photography... My father in law gave me his old Nikon D80. I tried to read the books on it and i'm trying to understand the whole ISO, shutter speed, lenses and all the goodies that go with photography.
I've been used to my little Canon snap and shoot ;( So now I'm lost!
Do most people take classes or do most people learn on their own. I thought this was going to be easy but it's not so much.  I can't even figure out why my pictures were coming out blurry or dark!!

Not sure what I should do... I'm ruining some good photo opportunities!


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## HikinMike (Jun 18, 2011)

cinphoto24 said:


> I'm new to photography... My father in law gave me his old Nikon D80. I tried to read the books on it and i'm trying to understand the whole ISO, shutter speed, lenses and all the goodies that go with photography.
> I've been used to my little Canon snap and shoot ;( So now I'm lost!
> Do most people take classes or do most people learn on their own. *I thought this was going to be easy but it's not so much.  I can't even figure out why my pictures were coming out blurry or dark!!
> *
> Not sure what I should do... I'm ruining some good photo opportunities!



Priceless! 

Seriously though, buy this book and read it.
Amazon.com: Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera (Updated Edition) (9780817463007): Bryan Peterson: Books


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## johnh2005 (Jun 18, 2011)

HikinMike said:


> cinphoto24 said:
> 
> 
> > I'm new to photography... My father in law gave me his old Nikon D80. I tried to read the books on it and i'm trying to understand the whole ISO, shutter speed, lenses and all the goodies that go with photography.
> ...



This +1.  Best book I have read so far on Photography and it was my first.  Very very easy to understand.  Take your camera, that book and your camera's owner's manual if you have one, go out back of your house and as the book talks about things pick up your camera and look at it, feel it, try the same things Bryan is talking about.  I think it will be very helpful for you.


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## Smitzel269 (Jun 18, 2011)

I plan on trying to learn by myself because I'm mostly going to do it as just a hobby, but I want to read books too and watch youtube videos and, of course, ask questions on here


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## rccena (Jun 18, 2011)

It IS possible to learn on your own. I did. Although, if you choose this route be advised that it will take a LOT longer. I learned by constantly asking questions...what does ISO mean... I would look it up in the manual & then on the internet, why is this blurry, or pixilated etc. It took me a good year to figure out how to make a nice exposure in Manual mode (although, I was working on a crap camera at the time & was only curious about photography). I am only now (after about 4 years) starting to feel like my photos reflect what I was attempting to capture... and I am still nowhere near where I would like to be. So the short answer is Yes you CAN learn on your own. BUT if you invest in education you will NOT regret it!


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## Bitter Jeweler (Jun 18, 2011)

I'd recommend finding a class from a photo club in your area, rather than schooling, to learn your camera and get the basics of exposure down. Or do a lot of reading on the Internet. For instance, do avsearch for "exposure" triangle and read several sites. Some may explain things in a manner that will click with you, while others may not.


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## Derrel (Jun 18, 2011)

Your local library has MANY books about photography. The Kodak corporation published many,many titles aimed at teaching people how to take photos. Photography's exposure basics have remained unchanged now that we are in the digital camera era. Flash photography techniques, composition, light and lighting, and "getting good pictures" are basically timeless, mostly unchanging endeavors. I'd suggest going to the library and looking through the photography how-to section. There will surely be a book or two or three that will be able to give you basically a short course in photography.


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## 480sparky (Jun 18, 2011)

Purty much ebbything I knows 'bout fotografficing I lurnt by meself..... un dat wuz a long time befour this innernets come along.


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## Terry Leach (Jun 18, 2011)

Being pretty new to photography myself ( about 2.5 years, I guess thats still considered new ) I would say that you have gotten some good advice. I have had photography classes and I can honestly say that, as much as they might teach you, it's still doesn't come close to what you will learn by doing. Trial and error. Buy the book, it'll be one of the best investments you'll make. I have an old copy of "Understanding Exposure" and can't tell you how many times I have read it picking up something different everything.


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## Oscar294 (Jun 18, 2011)

Hi I am also a newcomer to the DSLR scene. I am now retired (Engineer), living in Sydney, Australia. I have had a Canon PowerShot S50 for family snaps etc since 2003, and now with lots of free time I intend to learn the more finer points of digital photography. After reading through this forum I have just ordered the Bryan Petersen book mentioned above.  What I am really seeking is some guidance as to a suitable camera to purchase. I have a healthy budget so price is not a real issue, and having used a Canon camera for a few years have looked at a few of their DSLR units, including the 60d. I will welcome any assistance that is on offer, and I am very pleased that I happened across this site, already on my way to learning more about photography, and how to keep from under my partners feet!


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## Ballistics (Jun 18, 2011)

Youtube videos are a huge help. Between the photoshop tutorials and the endless vids on how to shoot any subject, you can easily teach yourself.


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## Kbarredo (Jun 19, 2011)

cinphoto24 said:


> I'm new to photography... My father in law gave me his old Nikon D80. I tried to read the books on it and i'm trying to understand the whole ISO, shutter speed, lenses and all the goodies that go with photography.
> I've been used to my little Canon snap and shoot ;( So now I'm lost!
> Do most people take classes or do most people learn on their own. I thought this was going to be easy but it's not so much.  I can't even figure out why my pictures were coming out blurry or dark!!
> 
> Not sure what I should do... I'm ruining some good photo opportunities!


Absolutely it is possible but you might grow slower than ones who get help from others. Learning alone you have to play the role as teacher and student. This slows things down a little.
People here are right the library and youtube are your friends. The problem with your situation is its hard to know what to study if you dont know what there is to study. I didnt know what a histogram was until i came on this thread.
You need to read up on the exposure triangle as well as read your manual. Your pictures are blurry because youre camera is focused on something else, shutter speed is too slow, lens is dirty, sensor has a smudge. Read up on the exposure triangle and you'll end up with one of those eureka moments. Also take constructive criticism and learn from it. You'll one day go back to your first picture and think wtf was I doing.


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## Robin Usagani (Jun 19, 2011)

Shoot and ask questions.  Thats what I did.


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## The_Traveler (Jun 19, 2011)

Schwettylens said:


> Shoot and ask questions.  Thats what I did.



yah and look how that turned out.



(just a joke, son. Couldn't resist}


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## Robin Usagani (Jun 19, 2011)

The_Traveler said:


> Schwettylens said:
> 
> 
> > Shoot and ask questions.  Thats what I did.
> ...



Now I am an award winning photographer ahhaahah  (awarded by my wife).


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## Kbarredo (Jun 19, 2011)

Schwettylens said:


> The_Traveler said:
> 
> 
> > Schwettylens said:
> ...


 awards from our wives are the best. They praise you as long as you don't BLOW your photoshoot JOB.


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## hayleyfraser24 (Jun 19, 2011)

Im also trying to teach myself and finding it difficult to grasp at times.. but there are loads of online tutorials and books to help, and I learn by "doing" so im always taking photos with my camera any chance I get, even taking photos in my garden of the same thing (like a flower) but using a different exposure every time to see the difference and what works and what doesent.  photography courses are expensive in scotland but I will be going to one when I can afford it as this is a passion for me but for now im getting advice from this forum... reading alot!... and shooting alot!  I have improved... but slowly! You cant hurry this kind of thing!


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## Patrice (Jun 19, 2011)

Derrel said:


> Your local library has MANY books about photography. The Kodak corporation published many,many titles aimed at teaching people how to take photos. Photography's exposure basics have remained unchanged now that we are in the digital camera era. Flash photography techniques, composition, light and lighting, and "getting good pictures" are basically timeless, mostly unchanging endeavors. I'd suggest going to the library and looking through the photography how-to section. There will surely be a book or two or three that will be able to give you basically a short course in photography.




Very good advice indeed. Those Kodak booklets were a good reference to a lot of starting photographers back in the stone age of slow film and expensive processing. As you say the techniques of photography have not changed and those older books are in every way still relevant. They can still be had real cheap at garage sales and second hand book sellers.

You do realize that what you propose does require a fair bit of work and commitment of time and resources. It also requires real reading, not just perusing forums for a quick answer, and critical self evaluation of progress made. In this age of folks (mostly the younger crowd) wanting instant gratification the required work to achieve quality self education is a tall order. Nothing wrong with forums, they can be a tremendous learning tool, but all too often a very simple question is asked that easily could have been answered fully and comprehensively with about five minutes of careful reading of the relevant material, instead of uncounted numbers of often times contradictory and incomplete responses. (rant over).


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## The_Traveler (Jun 19, 2011)

Patrice said:


> You do realize that what you propose does require a fair bit of work and commitment of time and resources. It also requires real reading, not just perusing forums for a quick answer, and critical self evaluation of progress made. In this age of folks (mostly the younger crowd) wanting instant gratification the required work to achieve quality self education is a tall order. *Nothing wrong with forums, they can be a tremendous learning tool, but all too often a very simple question is asked that easily could have been answered fully and comprehensively with about five minutes of careful reading of the relevant material, instead of uncounted numbers of often times contradictory and incomplete responses. (rant over).*



absolutely the truth and should be quoted to half the beginners asking questions


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## 480sparky (Jun 19, 2011)

Patrice said:


> *Nothing wrong with forums, they can be a  tremendous learning tool, but all too often a very simple question is  asked that easily could have been answered fully and comprehensively  with about five minutes of careful reading of the relevant material,  instead of uncounted numbers of often times contradictory and incomplete  responses.*





The_Traveler said:


> absolutely the truth and should be quoted to half the beginners asking questions



The above is hereby anointed with the Proper Title of _Patrice's Rule for Learning Basic Photography_.


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## pgriz (Jun 19, 2011)

Several observations:
1)  You don&#8217;t know what you don&#8217;t know.  So trying to learn about the things you THINK you don&#8217;t know often misses important stuff that you were not even aware of.  It helps to have external sources to tell you what you need to know about.  (example:  you can&#8217;t figure out why your shots either have blown highlights or black shadows.  The missing information may be &#8220;dynamic range&#8221;.)
2)  Ultimately, everyone learns on their own.  Until YOU make the links between the information being presented (whether in a class, a tutorial, an on-line forum, a book, or in a mentoring session), and the results you&#8217;re getting, it&#8217;s all a bunch of blah-blah hooey.  And that means that you have to try to apply what you&#8217;re learning until it starts to make sense, starts to click, starts to give you the results you&#8217;re going for.  
3)  Mastering the technical stuff doesn&#8217;t mean your photos will look good.  Photography is a member of the visual arts, and the visual arts have a very rich history of accumulated knowledge, conventions, customs, and techniques.  It&#8217;s all about the light.  And the light reveals textures, tones, colours, surfaces.  If light is yang, then shadow is ying, creating the stage for the light, working with the light to reveal and conceal.  We are blessed by having many rich sources of information and insight surrounding us, but we need to take the time to stop and study, whether it is an art class, or a show in a museum, or a product photograph.
4)  Timing is the difference between a joke that sparkles, and one that falls flat.  Photography also relies on timing to capture the &#8220;peak&#8221; moment.  But to capture the &#8220;moment&#8221; requires both anticipation and preparation, learning to see what is developing and anticipating the right moment to do the capture.  Timing requires practice &#8211; lots of it.  You can&#8217;t be fiddling with your camera controls when the &#8220;moment&#8221; happens.
5)  Learning doesn&#8217;t happen until there is a link between conception and reflection:  what was I trying to do, and how well did the results convey my intent?  Learning requires the suspension of ego.  Learning requires the deliberate acknowledgement of failure.  Learning requires admission that you can do much, much better.  It&#8217;s really hard to take a good picture when you&#8217;re busy patting yourself on the back.
6)  Learning requires experimentation.  Doing something the same way and expecting a different result is&#8230;. Well, you know.  Learning requires getting out of the comfort zone.  Learning requires making mistakes.  Lots of them.  Thankfully, with digital technology, these don&#8217;t cost you anything.  Good experimentation requires a purpose, a methodology, and a way to analyze the results.  Limit the number of variables, and concentrate on the key element or technique you&#8217;re trying to understand. 

Of course, the more you know, the more you realize there is to learn.


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## chaosrealm93 (Jun 19, 2011)

of course its possible to learn on your own.


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## KmH (Jun 19, 2011)

cinphoto24 said:


> Is it possible to learn on my own????


Sure!

I learned photography on my own 30 years ago, long before the internet really took off. I got most of my knowledge by borrowing books from the public library.

The key is motivation and an ability to assimilate technical information.


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## SoonerBJJ (Jun 19, 2011)

It is very much possible to learn on your own.  There are both technical and creative components to learning learning photography.  Learn the technical by reading and shooting.  Analyze your images and figure out where your technique went wrong.  Learn the creative by looking at what other successful photographers have done and learning basic rules of composition (and when it is appropriate to break them).  Analyze your own images and figure out where your creativity went wrong.

Study, practice and learn from your mistakes.


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## tron (Jun 19, 2011)

I learned everything I do (still learning) on my own. I never knew anyone else who was into photography, it probably took longer than if I had taken classes but I feel like photography is something you learn best hands on instead of in a book. 

With that said, google is your friend!!!  There's tons of great info on this site as well so don't hesitate to ask questions


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## Derrel (Jun 19, 2011)

pgriz said:


> Several observations:
> 1)  You don&#8217;t know what you don&#8217;t know.  So trying to learn about the things you THINK you don&#8217;t know often misses important stuff that you were not even aware of.  It helps to have external sources to tell you what you need to know about.  (example:  you can&#8217;t figure out why your shots either have blown highlights or black shadows.  The missing information may be &#8220;dynamic range&#8221;.)
> 2)  Ultimately, everyone learns on their own.  Until YOU make the links between the information being presented (whether in a class, a tutorial, an on-line forum, a book, or in a mentoring session), and the results you&#8217;re getting, it&#8217;s all a bunch of blah-blah hooey.  And that means that you have to try to apply what you&#8217;re learning until it starts to make sense, starts to click, starts to give you the results you&#8217;re going for.
> 3)  Mastering the technical stuff doesn&#8217;t mean your photos will look good.  Photography is a member of the visual arts, and the visual arts have a very rich history of accumulated knowledge, conventions, customs, and techniques.  It&#8217;s all about the light.  And the light reveals textures, tones, colours, surfaces.  If light is yang, then shadow is ying, creating the stage for the light, working with the light to reveal and conceal.  We are blessed by having many rich sources of information and insight surrounding us, but we need to take the time to stop and study, whether it is an art class, or a show in a museum, or a product photograph.
> ...



QFT.

QFT means "quoted for truth". This post by pgriz is filled with wisdom. It's hard to pick a most-valuable point from his list of six points, but #5 is very important. As is #1. And #3. Excellent post, pgriz!


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## pgriz (Jun 19, 2011)

Thanks Derrel - now you've got me blushing.:blushing:  Just trying to pass on things that I've had to learn the hard way.  eh, better late than never.


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## TCD photography (Jun 19, 2011)

Definitely possible.  I've been taking photos for about four years - still an amateur, but I know my way around a camera - and I completely self-taught, save for a high school digital photography class that basically told me everything I already knew by then (the only thing I got out of it was some tips on editing in Gimp), and a tutorial I found on a blog that helped me figure out how to set my camera correctly for shooting the moon.


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## Postman158 (Jun 19, 2011)

Yes, it is possible to learn on your own. I learned the very basics from reading books, and browsing the internet. Best of luck to you! It is well worth it.


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## The_Traveler (Jun 19, 2011)

Postman158 said:


> Yes, it is possible to learn on your own. *I learned the very basics from reading books, and browsing the internet*. Best of luck to you! It is well worth it.



But you weren't on your own; you had all those authors and writers along with you.


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## Tkot (Jun 19, 2011)

YouTube - &#x202a;Digital Photography 1 on 1: Episode 1&#x202c;&rlm;

Check out these videos, they've helped me a lot. I'm learning more from the videos than I would in a photography class, so yeah.

Best of luck!


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## Josh66 (Jun 19, 2011)

Sure it's possible to learn on your own - I did.

The internet in general is a great resource, as long as you know which questions to ask.


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