3 comments:

1. Nikki, 10. July 2010, 2:16
   

   the simple answer ‘Just do it’ and I’m not being sarcastic.

   I had a point and shoot camera and enjoyed taking pics. I joined a camera club/photography club where I learnt a lot. This is a good thing to do as people are there for a common reason and the more experienced are willing to help. this is also an anser to photo taking tips.

   As for camera gear, if you are serious about it a DSLR is the best way to go if you don’t have one already. the best way to do this and research them, stick to a budget then go and have a look. Some feel very different in your hands and either more or less comfortable. when reading the reviews you will come across a lot of the canon and nikon arguments that they are really the only cameras to buy. however this is not true. but again if you join a camera or photography club they can give you some great advice.

   another tip for taking photos is start out by taking of things that interest you it could be landscapes, trees, flowers, doors, buildings anything and practice.

   hope this helps

    
2. J.G. Coleman, 10. July 2010, 2:57
   

   The truth of the matter is that entire books have been written on the topic of how to get involved with photography. Here on Yahoo Answers, I can’t really cover nearly as much as a couple hundred written pages from a dedicated book on the topic. Perhaps some basic advice will do?

   First of all, if you want your skills as a photographer to improve, you’ve really got to get out there and take a whole lot of pictures. This piece of advice is pretty fundamental to improving one’s skills in any art: drawing, painting, writing, music. Nobody gets all that good unless they really put in an effort to “learn by doing” as often as possible. Every time you learn some new concept or get some good advice, put it to the test as soon as possible.

   Second, try to pay attention to the photography of others as often as you can. This, too, is a pretty basic piece of advice in any field of art. Many people ignore this crucial aspect of learning… others literally shy away from it in the belief that it will “dilute” their own personal style. The reality is that you will rarely find a skilled artist of any kind that can’t profess being influenced, or at least moved, by the work of many other artists in their field. By paying attention to the photography of others, you’ll find yourself developing a more refined taste for distinguishing good photography from relatively poor photography. You’ll also find that the creative concepts used in the photography of others will get your own creative juices flowing and help inspire your own unique ideas.

   My third piece of advice revolves around your choice of camera. Now, the fact of the matter is that most people that become very interested in pursuing photography yearn to own a DSLR. There’s no question that DSLRs allow the greatest range of creative flexibility. On the other hand, DSLRs don’t really come cheap unless you’re willing to try to buy them used on eBay… even then, they are still rather pricey when you factor in the cost of lenses. For me, having a DSLR was something I truly yearned for, while some others don’t feel so strongly about the issue. For instance, there are many “super zoom” cameras on the market now that don’t cost as much as a DSLR but still allow a fair range of flexibility not ordinarily available to the standard point-and-shoot camera. These are always an option if you feel that a DSLR is simply too large of an investment at this point, and many people report some nice results from Super-Zoom digital cameras.

    
3. David, 10. July 2010, 3:05
   

   The first answer, “Just Do It!” is actually more powerful than it may look at first glance. Like any art, you’ll get better with practice.

   However, one very CRUCIAL element is DISCERNMENT! You will get better by taking more photos, but you’ll never grow past a certain threshold if you don’t get some training. Posting your images on Flickr and having strangers give you “awards” and saying nice repetitive things about your photos feels good, but really doesn’t go very far toward helping you have a better understanding of what is and isn’t excellent photography.

   In order to better discern the mediocre from the stellar (and this implies a knowledge of why they are so), you need to study.

   If your local library has some photography DVD’s for loan, sign them out, watch and learn. The same goes for photography books – particularly those that deal with both the technique and composition elements.

   Join a local photography club.

   Enter photo contests (but ONLY those that are FREE to enter…avoid the ones that have a entry fee like the plague!!)

   Visit and learn from:

   http://www.FreePhotoCourse.com
   http://www.GeoffLawrence.com
   http://www.PhotographyCourse.net

   (There are many other photo training sites around, but with a lot of them, even though they say they’re free, you have to pay a registration or hefty tuition to get the best info. The ones above are actually free and quite good.)

   As far as camera recommendations, the advice above about a DSLR is also good, but make sure you want to stay with it before you dive into some big $. You’ll notice that all of my advice will cost you nothing. As you stated, you want to take this up as a hobby. That being the case, learning it should be free or next to free!

   Happy shooting future shutterbug!

    

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