# How did you learn...



## Artograph (Aug 15, 2008)

How did _you _learn photography...??  

Self taught....college....unversity...apprentice???


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## DeadEye (Aug 15, 2008)

1987 till  2006  self learned film on a pentax, 2006 to date here on digi. This forum rocks with lots of info and helpfull folks:thumbup:


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## manaheim (Aug 15, 2008)

"Self taught" which boils down to taking pictures, asking for feedback on them, researching various topics, etc.  This is not a past tense thing... I'm always learning and suspect I always will be.

I have learned a lot from the folks on this forum.


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## icassell (Aug 15, 2008)

manaheim said:


> "Self taught" which boils down to taking pictures, asking for feedback on them, researching various topics, etc.  This is not a past tense thing... I'm always learning and suspect I always will be.
> 
> I have learned a lot from the folks on this forum.



Ditto!


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## Josh66 (Aug 15, 2008)

Trial & Error...lol


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## icassell (Aug 15, 2008)

O|||||||O said:


> Trial & Error...lol



Oh yeah ... lots of error here ... and my family considers the whole hobby a trial ...


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## Overread (Aug 15, 2008)

Started - December 07
Really started like a manick - christmas day - arrival of sigma 70-300mm

Self taught all the way - much of it being through forums with feedback on photos as well as just reading through posts that caught my eye - a lot of tips picked up this way.
TPF and other like forums are fantastic resources - offering up free comments, advice and ideas - something very hard to find locally!

so I have not even been shooting a year and as far as I have reached today I know there is still a very very long road to walk!


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## roadkill (Aug 15, 2008)

Started with a pinhole camera in cub souts and went from there


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## PhotographyIsConfusing (Aug 15, 2008)

I've gone to photography class but... I've learned more from the internet then my teacher.


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## manaheim (Aug 15, 2008)

icassell said:


> Oh yeah ... lots of error here ... and my family considers the whole hobby a trial ...


 


Gee, I have noooooo idea what you're talking about.


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## Phranquey (Aug 15, 2008)

Self taught & apprenticed...sort of.

Started off borrowing my uncle's camera at about 14 years old. My parents bought me my first camera for my 15th (Minolta X-370), and I started shooting for the high school yearbook & newspaper. The yearbook teacher was the Art teacher and a semi-pro photographer, my HS guidance counselor was also a pro photographer, and taught a 2 student-per-semester Photojournalism class, which counted toward English credit, and the pro photographer who did class, group, & senior pics also took me under his wing.


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## bellacat (Aug 17, 2008)

i learned the basics of manual mode and such in college. It was all film so that is all i knew. then i went digital and there was so much more to learn. slong with it came lots of trial and error


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## doenoe (Aug 17, 2008)

i learned pretty much everything here on TPF


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## Chris of Arabia (Aug 17, 2008)

Pretty much entirely self taught. First camera was a Christmas present at the age of 6 - sh!t, that was 40 years ago. A s/h 127 format Kodak Brownie, I reckon it may have had two rolls of film through it. Most of what I've learned came from magazines, books, and the back of a pack of ID11. Since the dawn of digital, I learned most from the Open University T189 short course: The photography side of things provided nothing, the Photoshop side opened up a whole new world.


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## ukreal1 (Aug 17, 2008)

self taught also. started with a Nikon FM in the late '80s, my dad always had photo books and used to buy second hand cameras and go and shoot all the characters down Portobello rd in London with his Nikons and Rolliflexes. I just kind of followed suit. Then he came to visit me in the states in '06 with the Nikon D70. I got hold of it and was hooked again (I had gone mostly point and shoot digital for a while!)...


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## Sandspur (Aug 17, 2008)

Originally, self-taught.  Back when I first became interested and had a real 35mm camera to work with (purchased in an Army PX  in Viet Nam, March 1968), i read an article that said, basically, "Here's how to learn photography:  Use a notebook and write down everything about each shot - lighting, time of day, film used, shutter speed, aperture. Then look at the prints and compare them to your notes."

So that's what I did.  I bought a bunch of Tri-X and started shooting. It really was a great way to learn. (Obviously, those were the days before auto focus, and auto everything else. Even before film cannisters had ISO/ASA code printed on them!)

If motion was blurred I looked at my notes and said "Ah! 1/60th second was too slow to stop the action of a kid going by on a bike."  If shadows were a problem I could see what kind of lighting I'd used.  If DOF was too little or too much, I knew why, because I knew what aperture I'd used.

I continued to learn over many years, and the equipment kept changing and - in some cases - getting better (certainly, more complex).

Of course, these days it's not necessary to take notes.  We have metadata!

i've taken classes.  I've even taught Photoshop in a University art department.  And most of my work these days is teaching the basics of digital photography and Photoshop - mostly to beginners - through private tutoring and workshops I conduct.

But through it all I've learned one thing:  In order to be a "good" photographer, one MUST keep learning!


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## brookie418 (Aug 20, 2008)

I am so glad to see so many here were self-taught! I bought my camera back in February and haven't taken any classes.  I was afraid all my questions on here looked ridiculous to the real pros!! haha!!


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## DanielJay (Aug 20, 2008)

I was taught a little by my Uncle who does photography for a living. We shot the local sports and things like that. Then I moved away to college and did not have a camera until I just graduated. So it is a mix between self-taught and instructional from my Uncle.


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## Silverpenguin (Aug 20, 2008)

manaheim said:


> "Self taught" which boils down to taking pictures, asking for feedback on them, researching various topics, etc.  This is not a past tense thing... I'm always learning and suspect I always will be.
> 
> I have learned a lot from the folks on this forum.


Same here, take shots, get feedback and use the net a LOT to research things!

There's always something new to learn and thats half the fun


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## SWGPhotographer (Aug 30, 2008)

I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography, but have learned a great deal just by reading books, the internet  and through trial & error over the years.
Recently, Ive been thinking about taking David Zisers Digital Master class/workshop  (anyone know if it is any good)?


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## photogoddess (Sep 1, 2008)

Basic b&w class in high school, the rest... self taught via trial and error.


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## red1013 (Sep 1, 2008)

I did alot of reading of books, magazines, and the internet. Not only shooting but using photoshop. I've always had an eye for photos but the more I shoot the better my images look. I've become pretty profecient in both.


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## AussieDee (Sep 2, 2008)

In Self-training since Sept. 07. LOVE this forum.
Tons of bookmarked websites.
Still using a bloody p&s!!


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## tirediron (Sep 2, 2008)

Started out in high school 25ish years ago, a bit of formal coursing, LOTS of trial and error, LOTS of reading and researching... several years of understudying (can't reall call it an apprenticeship) with a very skilled photographer friend of mine on everything from 8x10 view camera to a 500cm outfit, Rollei TLR, and lots of 35mm... Here I am in 2008 still learning. Agree with the others; this is board is a great tool!


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## Kstrong (Sep 2, 2008)

I started out back in grade 11 (little over a year ago now) with my Fujifilm S700. Just went around and took pictures of everything, then learned about all the fun you can have with the manual settings. Used that camera until it was time for my first DSLR, which I got maybe 2 months ago. 

But I learned everything by trail and error. I also used help from a few photo forums like this, with the C&C (which is a huge help! thanks guys!)

I am now trying to decide if it is really worth my time and money to take a photography course at a local community college.


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## vidish (Sep 6, 2008)

Started at 13 years old.  Self-taught.  Lots of research and reading and practicing.


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## PhotosByAndy (Sep 7, 2008)

I started out as self-taught.  I was taught studio lighting basics by the owner of the studio that hired me and I have continued to learn more by attending workshops both associated with the PPA and non-affiliated workshops such as Supershoots.  I continue to learn every time I press the shutter release.


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## KD5NRH (Sep 7, 2008)

Took lots of bad pictures, and some good ones. Looked at what I did on the good ones, and made a point of doing that more often.  Bought books and, more recently, spent lots of time on the web finding new ways to take the good ones.


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## redtippmann (Sep 7, 2008)

I started the beginning of this year and have been self taught. Hope to go into Ohio State Universities Photography program.


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## Vdubradio (Sep 9, 2008)

Well my parents swear i started when i was 4, i always had a camera in my hand and even if it didnt have film in it i would act like im taking pictures, well once high school came I started getting into it. And now thoroughly enjoy photography and jump at any chance i have to do it or learn something new. the key to photography ive found, is that you dont really "need" to go to school. I have a couple friends who went to SCAD and RISD for photography and they only take like 1 actually photography class a symesster. plus everything they are learning now ive known for years, and where they only really shoot for work in class. I shoot all the time and enjoy it immensly.


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## Lyncca (Sep 9, 2008)

I'm completely self taught from online resources and books. 
I'm continually learning, I've only been at it 9 mths so far...


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