# What was the one photography tip you learned after which you no longer felt like a beginner?



## textures4photoshop (Dec 20, 2017)

Hi guys,

I've written an article called "A Photographer Journey From Beginner to Pro. Rules and Tips From Pros" (don't want to post the link here since this is my first post on the forum).

I'm curious to find out what was for you the thing that you learned that made you say "From now on I'm not just playing with my DSLR".

For me it was finding about the ISO, Aperture and Shutter Speed triangle

Looking forwards for your feedback which might help me extend the article

Thanks!
John


----------



## john.margetts (Dec 20, 2017)

I had been a competent photographer for 35 years before I bought my first DSLR camera. My big learning was to find out what those four little levers on the front of my Agfa folding camera did. No instructions with the (then) forty year old camera and no one to ask.


----------



## textures4photoshop (Dec 20, 2017)

thank you for the feedback! 

and now you got me curious, I've recently picked up a couple of film cameras myself. what agfa camera model did you have and what did the levers do?


----------



## Destin (Dec 20, 2017)

There was no single tip that made me feel like I wasn’t a beginner anymore. 

Reaching the point of being able to consistently produce good photos in any light was when I was confident enough to no longer consider myself a beginner.


----------



## KmH (Dec 20, 2017)

Yep. It's a feeling that develops over time and really can't be boiled down to just 1 thing.
The length of that time frame is a function of how aggressively a new photographer pursues learning the art and craft of making photographs.


----------



## textures4photoshop (Dec 20, 2017)

I know that every photographer's journey is different, but I'm looking for "eureka" moments, tips/tricks that were eye-openers

Here's what I have so far:
A Photographer Journey From Beginner to Pro. Rules and Tips From Pros


----------



## snowbear (Dec 20, 2017)

When I discovered that "ASA" changed her name to "ISO".


----------



## textures4photoshop (Dec 20, 2017)

Haha 

but joking aside, it took me some digging on the internet to explore how to set my Sema 8M


----------



## Braineack (Dec 20, 2017)

Being able to consistently frame & focus with appropriate settings and technique.

If I look back at images I've taken from even 2010 my framing was bad (very close up of faces) and many were blurry because I just shot in A without any regard to what the camera was choosing.


----------



## Gary A. (Dec 20, 2017)

Fill the Frame.


----------



## textures4photoshop (Dec 20, 2017)

Braineack said:


> Being able to consistently frame & focus with appropriate settings and technique.
> 
> If I look back at images I've taken from even 2010 my framing was bad (very close up of faces) and many were blurry because I just shot in A without any regard to what the camera was choosing.



I also shoot almost exclusively in A - but that's Aperture priority, I think you meant A as in Auto

Framing is very important indeed, and a lot of beginner photographers don't realize that. Cutting parts of the subject is not really desirable.

Also, background is as important as the foreground, so you need to pay attention to both.

Thank you for your response


----------



## textures4photoshop (Dec 20, 2017)

Gary A. said:


> Fill the Frame.



Definitely a good one!

btw, love the photos on your website! Did you really take the photo of Gregory Peck?!?

Also, may I ask what film/camera you use?


----------



## textures4photoshop (Dec 20, 2017)

KmH said:


> Yep. It's a feeling that develops over time and really can't be boiled down to just 1 thing.
> The length of that time frame is a function of how aggressively a new photographer pursues learning the art and craft of making photographs.



A pro photographer told me that going out and shooting is the best photography class you can take


----------



## dunfly (Dec 20, 2017)

When you read a pro tip and think to yourself "well, heck, everyone knows that" and then read the comments and realize that "well, everyone doesn't know that".


----------



## Gary A. (Dec 20, 2017)

textures4photoshop said:


> Gary A. said:
> 
> 
> > Fill the Frame.
> ...


Yes those are mine.  I used to be a news photog during the film only days. Those old B&W's were all shot with Tri-X and various Nikons: F, FTn, FM, F2, F3 and an occasional photo with a Hasselblad.


----------



## textures4photoshop (Dec 20, 2017)

dunfly said:


> When you read a pro tip and think to yourself "well, heck, everyone knows that" and then read the comments and realize that "well, everyone doesn't know that".



you really hit the nail on the head there! while documenting for my article I did touch upon explaining ISO and how a higher ISO means more noise in the picture. That really started a debate between photographers and as it turns out, it's not as simple as that, and sometimes a higher ISO can actually mean less noise


----------



## Gary A. (Dec 20, 2017)

textures4photoshop said:


> KmH said:
> 
> 
> > Yep. It's a feeling that develops over time and really can't be boiled down to just 1 thing.
> ...


Yes.  I tell beginning photographers to:

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


----------



## Gary A. (Dec 20, 2017)

Shooting a ton needs to be tempered with savage self-critiquing. You have to be hard on yourself, lean heavily on the delete key, you can always do better. No one cares, except maybe your mother, what you went through to capture the image ... the only thing that matters is the final image.


----------



## tirediron (Dec 20, 2017)

textures4photoshop said:


> ...I've written an article called "A Photographer Journey From Beginner to Pro. Rules and Tips From Pros" (don't want to post the link here since this is my first post on the forum).


Thanks, and we appreciate your understanding.  You are however welcome to post the entire article in the "Articles of Interest" forum if you'd like.


----------



## textures4photoshop (Dec 20, 2017)

Gary A. said:


> textures4photoshop said:
> 
> 
> > Gary A. said:
> ...



That's super! I've only shot film using a Smena 8M and a Ricoh KR-10 which I bought 2 months ago. For BW I used the Fomapan, but I will for sure give the Tri-X a try

I can really tell from your photos that you know what you're doing. I would appreciate it a lot if you can take a look at the article in my signature and get your hones feedback regarding information accuracy and completeness (I know I can never be complete with such a vast domain)

thank you so much


----------



## weepete (Dec 20, 2017)

I think the biggest ting for me was framing. Pay attention to the edges and allow a bit of space around the subject!


----------



## Gary A. (Dec 20, 2017)

The problem with photography is one tends to speak in generalities and ignore all the exceptions.  I haven't read the article, yet ... but I find I have to provide alot of thought to qualifying what I post.

Please post your article.


----------



## Gary A. (Dec 20, 2017)

weepete said:


> I think the biggest ting for me was framing. Pay attention to the edges and allow a bit of space around the subject!


If that space is for cropping, I come from a different school.  In my prime, I shot full-frame ... as in ... no cropping. If the horizon was crooked or something skewed/needed cropping, I would dump the shot. I am trying to get back to that level of framing.


----------



## weepete (Dec 20, 2017)

Gary A. said:


> weepete said:
> 
> 
> > I think the biggest ting for me was framing. Pay attention to the edges and allow a bit of space around the subject!
> ...



Not for cropping mate, but it's about creating a deliberate composition in the frame particularly with landscape shots. If, for example, you have a shot with a big rock in the foreground that's being used as an anchor point cutting off the bottom of the rock makes the shot look careless, just giving it a little room and showing the bottom of it gives the entire image a more considered look. Same with buildings, if you include a couple of edges at the side of the frame rather than cut half way through a building it really does make the whole composition look more deliberate.

Admitedly as a photographer you need to decide where the edges lie, and invariably something will be cut off, but making it have minimal impact on the scene is the key.


----------



## ClickAddict (Dec 20, 2017)

tirediron said:


> textures4photoshop said:
> 
> 
> > ...I've written an article called "A Photographer Journey From Beginner to Pro. Rules and Tips From Pros" (don't want to post the link here since this is my first post on the forum).
> ...



Well considering the link is in his signature, he's already "posted" it here about 10 times.    Not sure what an extra one would hurt or not.


----------



## john.margetts (Dec 20, 2017)

textures4photoshop said:


> thank you for the feedback!
> 
> and now you got me curious, I've recently picked up a couple of film cameras myself. what agfa camera model did you have and what did the levers do?


It was a 1930s folding medium format camera. Lever 1 was aperture, lever two shutter speed, lever three shutter cocking  and lever four shutter release.


----------



## Braineack (Dec 20, 2017)

textures4photoshop said:


> Braineack said:
> 
> 
> > Being able to consistently frame & focus with appropriate settings and technique.
> ...



actually A an in aperture.  Camera would chose a silly shutter speed like 1/60sec when I'm at 200mm or something.   that just don't work.

mastering the camera as a tool first and foremost has helped me the most. That has allowed me to understand the situation, then apply any/all the artistry I want.


----------



## pjaye (Dec 20, 2017)

Braineack said:


> Being able to consistently frame & focus with appropriate settings and technique.
> 
> If I look back at images I've taken from even 2010 my framing was bad (very close up of faces) and many were blurry because I just shot in A without any regard to what the camera was choosing.



This was absolutely my moment too.


----------



## TamiAz (Dec 20, 2017)

When I could use off camera flash and take a decent picture.


----------



## jcdeboever (Dec 20, 2017)

So far it's developing film. Journaling the different effects that agitation, pushing, pulling, and temps. Really and eye opener when comparing them, seems like I am moving towards something as opposed to regressing.

Sent from my [device_name] using ThePhotoForum.com mobile app


----------



## Derrel (Dec 20, 2017)

textures4photoshop said:


> I know that every photographer's journey is different, but I'm looking for "eureka" moments, tips/tricks that were eye-openers
> 
> Here's what I have so far:
> A Photographer Journey From Beginner to Pro. Rules and Tips From Pros



Shooting 35mm rangefinder camera photos without the lens cap on was a biggie for me...just sayin...

Eric Clapton Forgets To Take The Lens Cap Off His Leica


----------



## Gary A. (Dec 21, 2017)

That was a well written article.  It left me wanting to read more and with greater depth. Thank you for sharing.


----------



## Derrel (Dec 21, 2017)

Gary A. said:


> That was a well written article.  It left me wanting to read more and with greater depth. Thank you for sharing.



Yes, not a lot of "depth" to the article, yet for many people, there are gems in its words. I thought this excerpted bit was solid advice for beginners who want to improve: 


"_It’s very important to know which shots to take and which shots not to take.

This sounds funny, but with this in mind you will give more thought and attention to each shot you take.

At the end of a long day of shooting you will thank yourself if you don’t have to browse through thousands of photos.

Most of the shots you will have to throw out. The photos you choose will reflect how good a photographer you are. So, the less photo you throw out, the better photographer you have become.

Post processing is another important aspect of pro photographers life.

My advice:

Take a look at Adobe_ _Lightroom and Photoshop and learn at least the basics of post processing if you are serious about becoming a pro photographer."_


----------



## Vtec44 (Dec 21, 2017)

Storytelling and tell it beautifully in just 1 frame.  The technical knowledge I've learned in photography is there to help me to be more proficient at storytelling.  That moment when I focused on the "story" everything else simply became tools that I use to tell the story.


----------



## snowbear (Dec 21, 2017)

Editing, meaning use the trash can.


Sent from my iPhone using ThePhotoForum.com mobile app


----------



## ceemac (Dec 21, 2017)

The big thing for me was not seeing dollar signs every time I clicked the shutter. Now I take lots of pictures and sometimes get a good one.


----------



## Cortian (Jan 1, 2018)

weepete said:


> ...
> If, for example, you have a shot with a big rock in the foreground that's being used as an anchor point cutting off the bottom of the rock makes the shot look careless, just giving it a little room and showing the bottom of it gives the entire image a more considered look.
> ...


I guess I've always thought of that as giving the subject or anchor a bit of "breathing room"


----------



## stk (Jan 2, 2018)

A kids nose cleans up way nicer in real life compared to in Photoshop.


----------



## chuasam (Jan 3, 2018)

I learned to light a scene instead of depending on natural/ambient light.


----------

