by photography on August 26, 2009
Wayne Turner posts:
When making the decision to learn photography or improve your existing skills, there is just so much material bombarding us making it difficult to know where to start. Where do you start and how do you get started.
My journey started many years ago, before the digital revolution when life was more structured, great material was available and the choices were limited. Now you can do a search on the internet and come up with a hundred sources. The unfortunate thing is that most of the material doesn’t offer you a preview and you can’t browse through it like a printed book or course. So where does one start? It’s essential when starting out on a photographic journey to get the basics right. Learning the fundamentals properly will prepare you for a bright and very fulfilling future in photography. Let’s take a look at a few important steps.
1. Find a practical ebook or course
Photography is a practical hobby and although theory is a part of it, one enjoys it by going out and doing. The operative word is doing. Any course must get you doing something from the very first chapter or if possible from the first paragraph. In teaching and training I have found it most effective to offer on the job mentoring while we are taking photos. With the instant feedback digital gives, it is the perfect way of teaching someone. That, of course, is great when dealing one on one with live people. Through a book or ecourse it may be a little more difficult but the author must get you shooting images immediately. The method I use in my books is to start people out shooting images and then afterwards giving them the criteria with which to evaluate their own images and improve them. Shoot, improve, shoot improve is the perfect way to learn because it’s practical. I cannot emphasise this point enough. A quick tip for looking at ebooks and courses, make sure that the author offers a money back guarantee. If the ebook or course doesn’t offer real practical advice you can get your money back. If they are not transferring their skills to you then the ebook isn’t worth it.
2. Start doing assignments or projects
The course or ebook you have decided upon should have practical assignments and projects or you have made a bad choice. I love acquiring knowledge through reading and research but after all these years it has done nothing to improve my photography without its practical application. So, start working through the assignments or projects carefully and try to apply the skills or techniques you are learning. Don’t proceed to the next chapter until you have mastered the lesson or skill. If you’ve bought a book that doesn’t have assignments then you need to create you own based on the material you are learning. Write it down so that you are clear as to what you should be doing then go out and shoot. You must have an end in mind and achieve a practical goal when your assignment is complete.
3. Use a journal
This is a photo journal and not a writing journal. You want track your progress and watch your learning journey develop. It can be a regular journal where you paste in your photos and make notes of location, date, time, the settings you used to take the image and how you felt. Or, you can maintain it on your computer. The key here is to watch your progress and see where you are improving and where you need to give more attention. Besides this, it’s a fun activity and a showcase of your photography. The key here is that it should help you keep focused and maintain your photographic journey. You are able to leave photography for a few weeks then pick it up again, revise and begin where you left off. It gives you structure to your learning and allows you to remember where you were last at and can continue on a logical course.
4. Teach someone else
This is where my photo journey took off like a rocket. As soon as I started teaching others I cemented the principles in my own mind and my own photography improved a hundredfold. I got together a group of friends for the purpose of enjoying my photo outings on the weekends. Because I was the most experienced they asked questions and I gave the answers. The ones I didn’t know I refreshed from my books and courses and the rest is history. Once you explain something to someone else you have to think about it more logically which often results in a better understanding on your own part.
5. Practise, practise, practise
The famous South African golfer and winner of many major international tournaments said, “the harder I practise the luckier I get.” You don’t think the master National Geographic photographers shot those fantastic magazine photos by chance do you? They come as a result of years of practise, trial and error. Go out and find your favourite subjects and practise shooting them from different angles, perspectives and viewpoints. It’s logical that if you shoot a subject in three different ways you won’t get the same results as if you did it in a hundred different ways.
Photography is a journey of discovery and learning. And, as you discover new things about your environment, subject or location and include them in your images you will start to improve at a rapid rate. These are just some of the principles that if applied correctly will help you learn photography like never before.
by photography on August 25, 2009
Wayne Turner posts:
It concerns me as a photographer when I see the numerous articles and ebooks about making cash from your camera. 8 Easy steps or 10 ways to turn those snapshots into cash. And, “Hi shutterbug here’s a foolproof way to turn those photos into dollars”. Or, earn $200-$400 per day from your camera. With all the resource boxes pointing to, you guessed it, books and cds that will help you make money from your camera or rather the authors make money from your purchase.
All of us who are photographers would love to make a regular income from the hobby or profession we love. None of us want to be told that it is difficult, it takes time and not many people make it. These dubious dealers give the impression that anyone can make money from their photos. Rubbish! If you take a look at the stock sites and see the quality of images for sale, you’ll realise that unless you are really talented you will never produce the quality that the buyers are looking for. Do yourself a favour. Do a search on the name of the ebook author who makes all of these claims using Google and then go to the major stock sites and do the same. Where are these authors making their money? From you! If it was so easy why don’t they have thousands of images on the stock sites? I rest my case.
Take a look at the guidelines for submission on the stock sites. Every last one of them requires a camera that takes a high resolution image. Some even state that they’ll only accept images taken on certain mid-range to high-end digital SLRs. Don’t even think that you will be able to compete with your compact camera. You stand no chance. Your images are just not big enough.
I have been on seminars given by successful stock photographers from the microstock sites and all them state that it is tough, demands long hours of work and takes a long time to make a reasonable income. Some never make it despite quality, dedication and a lot of effort. It is not a part-time money making machine as claimed by the ebook authors.
So what does it really take to make money from your camera, if it is at all possible for the amateur? You have to make a decision to dedicate yourself to your photography even if it is part-time. Carefully consider the following points:
1. Dedication to the art of photography
If you are not a dedicated photographer striving for excellence in your art there is no real money to be made. Sorry that’s the bottom line. There are so many talented artists producing high quality images that you do not stand a chance if you cannot compete in this field. You need to up your standards and create images that are very high quality.
2. Dedication to detail
Every detail in your image needs to be perfect. This is what the buyer is looking for. He doesn’t come along and say, “now which poor point-and-shooter can I help make money today”? When a buyer is planning to put a photo on a billboard every detail must be perfect. Examine your images and ask yourself, “Would I see this image in a magazine?”
3. Dedication to quality
99.9% of snapshots won’t make it past the stock site evaluators. Their standards are very high. Sharpness, great colours and perfect composition are just some of the factors you must take into consideration when planning to sell your images. You have to be a photographer, either a pro or dedicated amateur regularly looking at the quality of your images and pushing the limits. Look at the books and magazines and compare your photos. Do they compete? If the answer is yes then you are getting close. The ebooks say that there are millions of people looking for photos for the school and class assignments or projects who will buy your images. Get real! If they have the opportunity to buy an ordinary snapshot or a high quality image shot by a top photographer both selling for a dollar, which would they choose?
4. Dedication to discipline
Discipline is key to any hobby or vocation and especially so with photography. You need to be disciplined in your learning and improving your skills constantly. You need to be disciplined in your shooting and editing your images. And, you need to be disciplined in your submission of quality images to the stock libraries and photo sites. It’s a numbers game. The more quality content you have out in the market the more chance you have of buyers selecting your images. You cannot do it on a whim or when you feel motivated to do it. It is essential to have a commitment to the task and a disciplined overall process.
5. Dedicated to achieving results
If at first you don’t succeed try and try again. If at first you don’t get the results you desire don’t give up or try something else. Keep at it until you see results. It’s like the little green shoot popping its head above the soil or the tip of the iceberg. You are building the roots that will support the later growth of your business. If you don’t have a results driven motivation to see it to the end you will not achieve the success you set out to attain.
It’s a hard uphill road to success with photography. The photo world is competitive and saturated with good quality images. If you are to succeed you must break through the barrier from great to outstanding. You must stand head and shoulders above the rest in your quality and excellence.
by photography on August 24, 2009
Wayne Turner posts:
Do you see a future for digital photography? Quite a radical question in the feeding frenzy of digital camera marketing. To me digital photography is the best thing that has ever happened to photography. But, what is its future? A difficult question to answer and possibly a loaded one.
Film photography was always known as just ’photography’, never film photography. It was the standard. With the emergence of digital photography this standard has been challenged. My question is, “will digital photography become the standard or will it remain the ugly sister of photography”?
I think that it will always remain the ‘poor cousin’ of film photography unless two things happen:
1. All digital cameras need to develop to the point that they are equivalent in quality to that of the most basic film camera. They must eradicate the digital vs film debate. There must be no difference between the two formats. The most expensive digital cameras are getting close to that standard but the point and shoot models cannot compete with their film counterparts. I think that with the pace of development, despite an economic crisis, consumers are demanding that lower end cameras need to improve in quality. Although, true photography is all about the SLR and I think we are on the road to the quality needed to compete with film cameras.
2. There is a mindset change that quantity is better than quality. Thought that went into taking a photograph with film has all but disappeared. The speed with which digital images are taken degrades the results of good photography. This is evidenced by the quality of images submitted to competitions, placed on forums and displayed on blogs. If this mindset changes and we start putting more thought into photography it does bode well for digital as an art form.
How do we change this so that digital is synonymous with photography? I personally think that the key is education and learning. In the same way that digital photography has changed the face of photography digital has changed the face of publishing.
Great learning material is available in electronic form as free education or reasonably priced education. It is now cheap and easy to learn about photography and the techniques of improvement. It doesn’t take an expensive course or diploma to radically improve your images. It’s as simple as buying an ebook or an electronic course. Many have money back guarantees so the risk is minimal. Easy to find and easy to learn. The key is to learn photography and not just digital photography.
When film photography was born it was perceived as an art and much care was exercised in the execution. It was birthed in and developed with this mindset and, linked to the costs involved, remained mostly as an art form. Even the masses exercised care in its practise.
But, with digital photography it is very different. What it has done is make the art form cheaper, simpler and faster. Whenever you add these three factors to anything in life, it opens the door to loss off technique, lower quality and diminished value. This is seen by the billions of electronic images that remain on DVDs, hard drives and memory cards, unappreciated and valueless.
It’s in this world that the art of photography has to find its place and raise its head again from the chaos of digital. Digital is the best thing since sliced bread. The only question that now needs to be answered is will it rise to the occasion and become the new art form or will it be the vehicle that is responsible for the loss of a great art form?
Do you want to learn more about photography in a digital world? I’ve just completed a brand new e-course delivered by e-mail. Download it here for free: CLICK HERE. You can also learn to take perfect photos in 21 steps by taking a look at my new ebook 21 Steps 2 Perfect Photos. Wayne Turner has been teaching photography for 25 years and has written three books on photography.
by photography on August 24, 2009
Elwin Wallace posts:
ng>Lighting Techniques Strobes: A lot of people don’t know what strobes are. It’s basically just a giant external flash. It’s the same thing as a flash that you would have on a camera. Usually, they’re round and it has a little flashbulb that’s on it that’s in the round circle. And you can control these with an external flash sync cable and it syncs right up to your camera. They even have a wireless device that will actually trigger the external flash and trip when you hit your button to push down for when you want to take the picture. Strobes are used in the professional world that every photography studio uses. There’s all different kinds. There’s some basic ones; there’s some middle of the road; and there’s some high-end ones. In this case, you’re not going to need something that’s going to be that high-end. Defused light: You have different kinds of devices to create defused light. You have an umbrella. A lot of people have seen these. And there’s different ways to defuse the light. You can take the strobe and you can bounce it off of the umbrella and then shoot it back to your subject. That creates a nice soft light or you can turn the actual strobe around and shoot through the umbrella to your subject. That’s another way to create a nice soft light. My Favorite is the soft box, it’s basically a huge box just like it says and it has a white screen over it and you shoot right through it. And it usually gives a really nice light that wraps around your subject. Budget Lighting: You can create your own. I’ve seen this done–where you take some 2x4s and you nail them together and you take a white sheet and you stretch it over the 2x4s and then you shoot your strobe through it. And that creates your soft box. It’s basically the same thing. So those are some options for diffusing your light. Using window light can work really well, but you need a window in the room and if you’re traveling with this portable studio that I’m going to show you how to do, you might not have a window light in that room. But if you do, you just want to find a window nearest your subject and then bounce the light with a poster board on the other side or a sheet. Something white. So you can be creative with that. But something white to bounce that light from the other side. Because if you only have a window on one side of the room, then you’re going to want to fill in on the other side with a reflector or you might get lucky and have two windows on either side of the room. That would be your best scenario. And then natural light can be really, really nice. And that’s what window light is. It’s just a nice even light. If you’ve ever shot outdoors on an overcast day, you can see that the outside light is nice and even. So that’s window lighting. Outside Lighting: Basically, you’re just going to set everything up outside just like you would in a studio. Basically just set up your mini-studio outside. Use a poster board or a reflector to direct the light. Again, it’s almost what you see is what you get. So I would look and see where your best positioning is when you put a subject on the area where you’re going to be shooting and see if you see any shadows. And if you do, well you’ve have to move the subject because that’s the advantage with outside lighting. If you see a shadow, you get a shadow. It’s pretty easy to remove them with a few basic techniques. Just take a poster board or something white and reflect the light or bounce the light back in. If you have an external flash, you can use use a fill flash and that will fill in for shadows as well. Using your overcast skies to create a nice even soft light. Think of this as a giant soft box, so use it whenever possible. If you think it’s overcast and it looks gloomy, it’s usually your best light. Create a screen to defuse the sunlight. Now if you have a real bright sunny day and there’s no area where there’s shade, you can create a defused light source by taking the same idea I talked about with the defused light of creating your own. You can take some 2x4s and put them together or pieces of wood and stretch a piece of sheet over them. And you can either build a stand or you can have someone hold it over your subject and that creates a nice even light as well.
by photography on August 24, 2009
Rick Calligaris posts:
If you are like many, you have an interest in developing the background and skills necessary to enter the field of photography as career. And what a great career it can be. There is nothing more gratifying than creating a powerful image with your camera and a keen eye. Of course, in order to achieve your goal it is important that you get the right photographic education along with effective coaching and mentoring. With the right education, lots of hard work, and many hours of practice you will soon have the title of professional photographer.
Just like any school you will need to do your research to make sure that the photography school you select will best meet your individual needs. This article is intended to provide you several of the key areas that you should take into consideration as you begin to research good photography schools. After all it is your time and money so you owe it to yourself to make a well educated selection.
In choosing a photography school you should start by looking at the big picture. The selection of a photography school must be aligned with your specific career goals. As with any business field photography presents many opportunities in a wide range of categories. For example, you may have an interest in portrait photography, product advertising, or sports photography. At this point you may be focused more on the general aspects of photography and if so that is okay. But, if you have an area of interest it is worth your investment in time to determine the areas of specialization your short list of photography schools may have to offer. It would also be beneficial if your school of choice provides courses in general business in addition to the photography classes. This will aid you as you move from student to professional status.
I am sure you already know this but I will say it any way. Professional photography is more than point-and-shoot method for making a living. It requires an attention to detail and a wide range of skills including mathematics, business management, marketing and more. So make sure that the photography school you select can provide you the knowledge you need in the area of general business education too. Since many photographers eventually go into business on their own you will find these to be extremely valuable survival skills that will lend to your success.
It is always wise to inquire about the size of the class as well as the ratio of students to teacher. To many people in photography class can really be a hindrance toward proper learning. And it will also prohibit the instructor from providing effective hands-on supervision to each of the students.
Another skill area that should be considered is in the area of computers and you should determine if the photography school of choice provides learning in this area as well. A good photography school needs to have courses on basic computer use as well as more advance courses for those who have an interest in expanding their knowledge of digital photography as well as specialty software used for creating a digital darkroom. Since the field of photography is a very competitive it is imperative that you gain education and knowledge in this area as well.
Lastly, keep in mind that any education will have a price tag associated with it. So unless you just happen to have all of your photography education funding in hand it is worth while to determine if the schools provide scholarships or other forms of financial assistance for their students. Also keep in mind that you will more than likely need to invest in some of your own photography equipment. So I would recommend that you ask for a listing of equipment that the photography school offers to their students as well as a listing of equipment that you need to buy. This will aid you in determining the total cost of your education.
Hopefully, these recommendations will help you build your list of investigation questions so that you can make a wise and well educated decision. Choosing the right school is just as important as having a good view of where you want to go. And the right school is the best way to help you get there.
To Your Success as a Professional Photographer!
by photography on August 21, 2009
angelaamerson posts:
Photography is an art to be Photography Basics. In order to take the best pictures you can possible take you need to have some photography basics. If you follow the following photography tips and basics you should be taking wonderful pictures every time.
Aperture: The aperture sets the amount of light that reaches the film. In other words the aperture will only allow a certain amount of light to reach the film for the brightness of the photograph. Most cameras that are automatic will select this setting for you, but when learning photography basics if you can use manual settings to choose the aperture you will learn when flash is needed or when you need to have extra light in the room for the best quality picture.
ISO or Speed- This is the shutter speed. The shutter speed is determined by the amount of light as well as the film. In other words the larger the number the faster, and more sensitive the emulsion for the film. So a film that is ISO 100 is going to be slow, which produces a lesser picture than say ISO 400. ISO 400 is 4 times as fast.
These two terms will help you when you are studying photography basics. Next you need to learn how to hold the camera. The camera should be held steady so if you do not have a tripod you will need to hold the camera very tight against your eye and nose. The objective is to hold the camera as tight as possible to your face with your right hand with your index finger on the button, while your left hand is under the lens holding the entire camera steady. While these are just some of the basics of photography you will find many books or other types of publications on photography basics, including those used for photography classes.
by photography on August 21, 2009
Kimberly (kim) Slavicek posts:
Photography is an art form that can be easily learned. It is a skill that is capable of making something that appeals to your senses, but technical know-how will insure that the results you get are exactly what you want. Most people who simply take pictures and don’t understand the process end up with photos that are not clear and precise, are too dark, too light, etc.
Obviously if you are interested in learning photography as a hobby or profession, you want to take the best pictures possible. Even if you are just doing it for fun while on vacation, you want your images to be true to life in color and crystal clear. While much of this is learned just by trial and error, there are little things you can do that will help improve the results you get.
For example, some people think a flash will take care of everything, but this is not true. In order for the flash to produce the best light in the photo, you need to be within a certain range of the subject. If you are too far away, flash is not going to help all that much. Also, consider where the sun is if you are taking photos during the day. If it is behind your subject, you will not be able to see the details of a face as clearly, and the sun may cause a glare into your lens.
A steady hand is another plus when it comes to photography. It seems like the harder we try to be completely still, the harder it becomes. Try shooting your subject at an equal level, so that you are not trying to get an angle shot from above or below the subject. Fancy angles will come with time, but keeping things fairly basic is best when you first begin.
You also want to avoid a confusing and congested look when shooting photos. If you are at a park and there are dozens of people and all kinds of activity going on in the background, move to another location. You want as little distraction going on as possible behind your subject, so that they can be the focus of the picture. Having a mountain or the ocean in the background is idea, because you will have a solid color for the most part and no moving activity going on.
No matter the reason for doing it, photography is fun, especially when you see results that are pleasing. Keep practicing and you will gradually get better. Of course if you want to learn more now, there are plenty of books, courses and guides you can find online to speed things up!
by photography on August 20, 2009
Tedric Garrison posts:
When I went into the US Army to be all I could be, I went in as a US Army Photographer. During photographic training, I asked several times about making prints from slides. The close minded response was always, “That’s why we have negative film, soldier. Prints come from negatives and slides come from slides.”
I served 1 year in Korea. The second day I was there; my very first assignment was . . . you guessed it . . . 200 8×10 prints from existing slides. I tried to explain that the paper and chemicals for that did not even exist in the Army Supply system; but soon found it did exist
in the army Recreation Center. This is where I met Mr. Kim. He taught me how to make prints from slides. Since ours was a very small post, I went through all his chemicals and paper in a
very short amount of time. I had to find a bigger Recreation Center and fast, so I took the two hour bus ride to Soul.
Soul, Korea had twenty million people in it, twenty five years ago. Their recreation center was much bigger and had plenty of paper and chemicals; however they only had 1 more processing drum than our small recreation center. For those of you who don’t know, making prints from slides involves developing each print inside a light tight sealed drum. The process usually takes about 28 minutes per print. Now I had a whole new problem, I was physically running out of time to do that many prints, that’s when I met Mr. Lee.
Mr. Lee suggested I put two prints in each drum and develop 4 at a time. He explained that the paper has an emulsion side and a paper side. If the emulsion side touches anything else it will be ruined, however if you put paper side against paper side with the emulsion sides facing away from each other, you can indeed put two prints in each single print drum. This was a new photo tip to me at the time; emulsion to emulsion is a bad thing, but . . . backing to backing can actually be a great advantage and time saver. With Mr. Lee’s help I did manage to get my first project done just in the nick of time.
About a week later, I had to develop about 16 rolls of slide film in a very short amount of time. Again, I was faced with limitations of a very small recreation center. They only had 4 reels to develop the film on. I didn’t have the time to go to Soul, but thought about what I learned before. With a little bit of practice; I found I could also put two rolls of film on one reel and was finished within the allotted time.
I learned many things in Korea, but that process has stayed with me throughout my life.
First – I learned something new. (Prints from slides.)
Second – I learned how to improve the something new. (Two prints in one tank.)
Third – I learned how to adapt to something different. (Two rolls of film on one reel.)
To this day, I have NEVER seen a book or class that mentions developing two rolls of slide
film on one reel. It’s not easy. But it can be done.
The key to the learning process is very similar to learning photography in general.
First – You have to learn the basics. (Composition, Rule of Thirds, Etc.)
Second – You start to develop a style. (You start “Framing” your subject.)
Third – You take your work to the next level. (You realize that Framing and Rule of Thirds
can work on people shots too, not just nature.)
If most of your life you have taken Nature Shots, try shooting people. If your main source of income is wedding photography try shooting Nature. Apply all the tricks of the trade you have learned over the years in new and exciting ways. If you are used to taking portraits of adults try spending three hours with a two year old in the park.
A photo tip worth remembering is: to keep your work exciting and vibrant, you, the photographer have to be the same. Seeing things in new and exciting ways is a learned skill. Learning to see creatively is not something you only learn once and then you’re done. The truly great ones; those who will live on forever in the field of photography (Ansel Adams, Edward Weston and Imogene Cunningham come to mind), are those who continued to learn and then relearn their craft every day of their lives.
This is the challenge I give to my students. “Don’t just learn something once. Learn it again and again. Creativity does not always mean creating from scratch. It means taking something you’ve already learned and applying it again and again in a new and exciting ways.”
by photography on August 20, 2009
Andrew Goodall posts:
Beginners in digital photography around the world are eager to learn to take better photos with their digital cameras. Are the courses, workshops and ebooks on offer teaching what they need to know?
A few years ago, I wrote an ebook to teach beginners the basics of good photography. You know, aperture, shutter speed, depth of field, lighting, composition; the kind of things that are the stock-in-trade of any experienced phogographer. In recent times, I have been amazed at the increasing number of people eager to get their hands on this type of information.
With the internet seemingly taking over the world, and the explosion in availability of books, ebooks and courses on just about every subject, why is it so hard for a new photographer to find out how to use their camera? It’s a mystery for the modern age, but I think I may have found the answer.
If a person has a bad experience, especially if that experience cost them hard-earned dollars, they will tell others. And what they are telling me is that they are NOT HAPPY with most of the photography courses and guides on offer.
Many courses and workshops advertising ‘digital photography’ have little or nothing to do with actual photography. That’s right, you can sign up to learn the skills of better photography and not learn one thing about taking better photos.
Instead, what you get is a workshop on digital imaging, or photo editing. How to fix up your bad photos, how to superimpose rainbows and birds into your landscapes and how to remove freckles and pimples from your portraits. How to use software which, in many cases, the customer doesn’t have, doesn’t want and possibly can’t afford.
Are these useful skills? Of course they are, but they are not photography. At best, they are secondary skills that enhance the creative possibilities of photography, for people who choose to go down that path. This does not include everybody.
The result could be a generation of ‘photographers’ who know more about fixing up their mistakes on a computer than about taking good photos in the first place.
If a customer pays you to teach them photography, they have a right to expect that they will learn how to use a camera. If they want to learn about computer software, they will buy a different ebook, or sign up to a different course. If you take their money, then sit them in front of a computer for three days, you have not given them what they paid for. If your customer asks for their money back – so they should.
I could take a pessimistic view, and think that some photographers have become so lazy, so unskilled, that they really believe digital manipulation is more important to photography than skill with a camera. I prefer to think that the customers I have spoken to have just been the victims of misunderstandings and poorly worded advertising.
Whichever is the case, customers beware! Before you hand over your money, find out exactly what you are signing up for. If you want to learn to be a better photographer, make sure the course, workshop, or ebook is about using your camera, not just a computer. If software is a component of the course, terrific – you are getting a well rounded look at the world of photography. If it is the only component, shop around; there are still people out there who want to teach what you want to learn.
by photography on August 20, 2009
Kristine posts:
Different Ideas in Teaching Students to Bend their Creativity in Photography
Aside from the basic skills to be learned, photography classes need to build creativity for their students also; and finding means on how to broaden your students’ perspective and creative insights can be enhanced through interesting conceptual activities.
Creative concepts for photography are actually unlimited, but for a class, a step-by-step process is needed to slowly escalate into refining raw talent and skill.
1. Trash photography: To exercise creativity, instead of having students take pictures of normal and beautiful objects, you can enhance creativity by taking pictures of ordinary filthy subjects. By bringing out color and beauty into regular objects, you get students to expound on visual perspective produced into photo concepts.
2. Shadow photography: The concept of lighting and shading are important in producing good photos. By having your students capture shots of shadows clearly and with a good perspective makes them understand the very basics of correct lighting. Along the way, as students get to further practice on fully capturing good visual images that involve reflections. Such amateur photographers can have an easier time in taking shots of real objects under lighting.
3. Black and white concepts: You can teach students how to produce clear and vivid concepts with not much color. This gives students a better understanding of other photography color techniques and also lighting skills are enhanced.
4. On-the-spot pictures: You can also help out amateur students who wish to advance into careers in event or fashion photography through taking pictures on the spot. This activity can improve your skills in taking moving pictures and build concepts with fast thinking, which is needed in events and fashion shows.
Hands on activities that are more conceptual in nature are good exercises for photography skills to improve. Also, further advancing your photo activities into art pieces can be done through print materials like canvases and UPrinting is one example of a company that can produce such. With your students’ hard earned work, as a photography class teacher, you can reward them with such prints as a remembrance of their lessons with you.
