# 3 quick lines of advice



## chuasam (Apr 14, 2016)

If you could give 3 quick snippets of advice to new photographers,  what would they be? 
Mine are :
Don't be afraid to look silly while making your pictures. 
You can't take a picture with a camera you don't have with you. 
Find what you really love and connect with and photograph that.


----------



## jl1975 (Apr 14, 2016)

1.  For landscapes, when you think you have the shot, shoot a few more.  You'll be surprised how often another angle/vantage point works better
2. For those who shoot a lot of their own family, make sure to get some shots of yourself too (self timer or have someone take a shot for you)
3. Remove the lens cap


----------



## 480sparky (Apr 14, 2016)

1. If you cease to learn, you cease to live
2. Don't worry if someone else doesn't like your work... the issue is whether YOU like it.
3. The answer to _any_ question about photography is "Depends".


----------



## table1349 (Apr 14, 2016)

R.T.F.M.
R.T.F.M.
R.T.F.M.


----------



## robbins.photo (Apr 14, 2016)

Hmm.. Ok.

1. Technical competence will not produce a great photograph.  It is however nearly impossible to create one without it.

2. The minute you think you have nothing more to learn, sell your camera.

3. Shoot what you love

Sent from my N9518 using Tapatalk


----------



## jcdeboever (Apr 14, 2016)

1. Look
2. Walk slow
3. What's the story

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk


----------



## Gary A. (Apr 14, 2016)

1. Shoot;
2. Shoot again; and
3. At the end of the day when you think you're finished, shoot some more.


----------



## Watchful (Apr 14, 2016)

480sparky said:


> 1. If you cease to learn, you cease to live
> 2. Don't worry if someone else doesn't like your work... the issue is whether YOU like it.
> 3. The answer to _any_ question about photography is "Depends".


I thought 3 was the answer to 'what do old people smell like?' This is only a silly joke, if you are disgusted by it write to Johnny Carson, care of the cemetery. That's where I heard it.


----------



## gsgary (Apr 15, 2016)

Don't give up your day job

Don't eat yellow snow

Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk


----------



## 480sparky (Apr 15, 2016)

gsgary said:


> Don't give up your day job
> 
> Don't eat yellow snow
> 
> Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk



Learn to count.


----------



## Designer (Apr 15, 2016)

*study* (art)
*learn* (photography)
*practice* (what you've learned)


----------



## JacaRanda (Apr 15, 2016)

1) Use old cameras with old sensors to prove people wrong.
2) Buy old used gear.
3) Don't become a jerk because you have learned a few things about photography.


----------



## gsgary (Apr 15, 2016)

480sparky said:


> gsgary said:
> 
> 
> > Don't give up your day job
> ...


I couldn't think of a 3rd

Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk


----------



## KenC (Apr 15, 2016)

Speak glowingly of those greater than yourself, and heed well their advice, even though they be turkeys.

Know what to kiss, and when.

Consider that two wrongs never make a right, but that three do.

(bonus points for identifying the source)


----------



## 480sparky (Apr 15, 2016)

KenC said:


> .......two wrongs never make a right, but that three *lefts *do.
> ........



Fify.


----------



## snowbear (Apr 15, 2016)

1. Learn to look.
2. EVERY photograph is processed; don't get snobby.
3. Try something different; if it works, try it again.


----------



## chuasam (Apr 15, 2016)

JacaRanda said:


> 1) Use old cameras with old sensors to prove people wrong.
> 2) Buy old used gear.
> 3) Don't become a jerk because you have learned a few things about photography.


Why? 
I'd rather use a small new sensor instead. Old gear is heavy.


----------



## 480sparky (Apr 15, 2016)

Rule No 1:  Don't follow anything that says it's a rule.
Rule No 2: No poofsters!
Rule No 3: There will be no Rule No. 3.


----------



## sashbar (Apr 16, 2016)

1. Camera sees things differently
2. All you are photographing is light  
3. Learn to see the light


----------



## nerwin (Apr 16, 2016)

I want to add one thing that everyone seemed to have forgotten and that is *don't forget to have fun.*


----------



## 480sparky (Apr 16, 2016)

Read books, magazine articles and online turorials about a given subject.
Watch several YouTube vids about the same subject.
Go out and practice what you just learned.


----------



## PhotoriousMe (Apr 16, 2016)

1) Read your cameras manual, then read it again with camera in hand.
2) Keep your camera close.  If you don't have it with you you certainly will not capture that moment.
3) Join a photography forum like this one and don't be afraid to ask questions.


----------



## john.margetts (Apr 16, 2016)

1) throw the camera manual away unread. It will entice you to do worthless things.
2) take lots of photos with different settings and look at them repeatedly.
3)have fun. Yes, I know I am repeating Nerwin but it is important.


----------



## nerwin (Apr 16, 2016)

john.margetts said:


> 1) throw the camera manual away unread. It will entice you to do worthless things.
> 2) take lots of photos with different settings and look at them repeatedly.
> 3)have fun. Yes, I know I am repeating Nerwin but it is important.



I don't agree with throwing away the manual. Read it. Know it. I read mine front to back several times. No point in asking a billion questions on a photo forum when it's in the manual. There's a lot of settings I know that a lot of people don't know because they don't read the manual lol.


----------



## Watchful (Apr 16, 2016)

nerwin said:


> john.margetts said:
> 
> 
> > 1) throw the camera manual away unread. It will entice you to do worthless things.
> ...


Agree, read all manuals and decide what features you want to use and what you don't, but if you don't even know what a tool is capable of, you are misusing the tool.


----------



## john.margetts (Apr 17, 2016)

If you know how to set the aperture, shutter speed and ISO, the rest just gets in the way.


----------



## zombiesniper (Apr 17, 2016)

1. Enjoy your time behind the lens, it will make the end product more enjoyable, even if only for you.

2. Learn what you need to in order to operate the equipment you are using.

3. Bring a friend.


----------



## nerwin (Apr 17, 2016)

Watchful said:


> nerwin said:
> 
> 
> > john.margetts said:
> ...



And don't jump into a prosumer camera right off the bat. Get a entry level DSLR. That's why I had to sell my Aunts D7000 because she couldn't understand it..but she probably wouldn't understand a entry level model either. Lol.


----------



## The_Traveler (Apr 17, 2016)

480sparky said:


> Rule No 2: No poofsters!



poofsters?

closest I could find was _poofter_ which is a homophobic slur

*English[edit]*
*Noun[edit]*
_*poofter ‎(plural poofters)
*_

_*(Britain, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, pejorative, slang) A male homosexual, especially an effeminate one; a pansy.  [edit][/paste:font]
Poofter is nowadays one of the most pejorative words in Australian English, perhaps because of its use in the phrase poofter-bashing, which arose during the 1960s and 1970s during organised hate crimes against homosexuals across Australia and particularly in the Sydney district of King's Cross, a major centre of Sydney's gay social life.[1] Beyond its use as a anti-homosexual slur, it is also often aimed at males who do not conform to stereotypical ideals of masculinity in other ways, particularly in the fields of art or academia.*_


----------



## 480sparky (Apr 17, 2016)

The_Traveler said:


> 480sparky said:
> 
> 
> > Rule No 2: No poofsters!
> ...


----------



## The_Traveler (Apr 17, 2016)

Yup, a homophobic slur


----------



## sashbar (Apr 17, 2016)

john.margetts said:


> If you know how to set the aperture, shutter speed and ISO, the rest just gets in the way.



If you know how to set the aperture, shutter speed and ISO, you can start learning photography.


----------



## Watchful (Apr 17, 2016)

nerwin said:


> Watchful said:
> 
> 
> > nerwin said:
> ...



Some people are destined to be P&S photographers and that is completely acceptable, the world needs those as much and any type. Just like some people will be software user and some are software tinkerers. Some buy computers and live with it and some build their own. Some take the car to a mechanic and hope they didn't have a bad day and forget to tighten a bolt or 2, some do the work themselves and know for sure.

Personally, I do everything myself, including cutting my wife's hair...yeah, she was skeptical at first too.
I figure if a thing can be done, and I decide to commit to it, I can do it as well as another person can and be sure I get it the way I want it without spending 13 hours explaining what I want.
I hired a gardener once to give myself a break, and had to go out and stop him from doing things in a way I didn't want it done, I ended up showing him where to make each cut to ensure the regrowth would follow the planned direction for that branch and so forth.
It was a lot more work than doing it myself.
The Renaissance is not yet dead in my household, I am teaching the kids all my knowledge of how to learn and do things without fear, and then they can do anything too.


----------



## Watchful (Apr 17, 2016)

zombiesniper said:


> 1. Enjoy your time behind the lens, it will make the end product more enjoyable, even if only for you.
> 
> 2. Learn what you need to in order to operate the equipment you are using.
> 
> 3. _Bring a friend._


 (Someone to blame.  )


----------



## table1349 (Apr 17, 2016)

Watchful said:


> nerwin said:
> 
> 
> > Watchful said:
> ...









Well perhaps you should make your show more entertaining.


----------



## Peeb (Apr 17, 2016)

1. Be verbose.
2. Be complete.
3.


----------



## Watchful (Apr 17, 2016)

1. Get the facts first. Then you can distort them as you please.
2. Don't critisize the coffee, you may be old and weak yourself someday.
3. PLAN AHEA​d


----------



## DanOstergren (Apr 21, 2016)

1. Light is the single most important aspect of a photo, and the more you understand it, the better. 
2. Better gear does not make you a better photographer. 
3. Invest in lighting and retouching tutorials produced by highly skilled photographers, or watch creative live.


----------



## DanOstergren (Apr 21, 2016)

nerwin said:


> john.margetts said:
> 
> 
> > 1) throw the camera manual away unread. It will entice you to do worthless things.
> ...


I never read mine.


----------



## 480sparky (Apr 21, 2016)

Amateurs talk about gear.
Pros talk about technique. 
Artists talk about light.


----------



## Watchful (Apr 21, 2016)

480sparky said:


> Amateurs talk about gear.
> Pros talk about technique.
> Artists talk about light.


... And photographers talk about all three and add in composition.


----------



## chuasam (Apr 21, 2016)

480sparky said:


> Amateurs talk about gear.
> Pros talk about technique.
> Artists talk about light.


Pros talk about business opportunities and the competition. Artists talk about abstract concepts and ideas.


----------



## table1349 (Apr 21, 2016)

amateurs worry about equipment,
professionals worry about money,
masters worry about light,

I just take pictures... 
_- Vernon Trent_


----------



## table1349 (Apr 21, 2016)

Photography is all about light, composition and, most importantly, emotion.


----------



## s.smith (Apr 22, 2016)

thanks to all for sharing your experience....


----------



## Dave Colangelo (Apr 28, 2016)

1. It does not matter what camera you have it matters that you have a camera
2. Bad pictures always look better than a picture missed
3. Stop trying to emulate others, take pictures you think look good.


----------



## Watchful (Apr 28, 2016)

1. Don't sweat the small stuff.
2. Ignore the noise.
3. It's all small stuff.


----------



## MaxHartman (May 2, 2016)

1. Not everyone is going to agree with which shot is the best one, go with your instinct
2. Photograph things that inspire you and that you're interested in
3. Keep shooting, even when you think you've already captured the shot

These may seem like common sense but these become more and more relevant the more I shoot


----------



## weepete (May 2, 2016)

1. Make suure your shutter speed is fast enough.
2. Make sure your depth of field is deep enough
3. Make sure your ISO is high enough.

Everything else is just composition with a wee pinch of creativity.


----------



## Watchful (May 2, 2016)

weepete said:


> 1. Make suure your shutter speed is fast enough.
> 2. Make sure your depth of field is deep enough
> 3. Make sure your ISO is high enough.
> 
> Everything else is just composition with a wee pinch of creativity.


And make sure the lens cap is off.


----------



## table1349 (May 2, 2016)

Watchful said:


> weepete said:
> 
> 
> > 1. Make suure your shutter speed is fast enough.
> ...


----------

