Its really cool to think that you’ll start learning photography on your own, but the moment you venture into it, it can be discouraging to being with. One of the reasons for that would be the amount of information that you have to comprehend to even start thinking on the lines of your picture composition. And there are so many terms used like aperture, f-stop, exposure etc which can really be intimidating. Add to this is the eternal human nature of comparing with other photographers with the thought being in race. Though you know deep down that the others are better, its natural to start comparing. In fact its good to compare when its done for the right reasons. Say you take a shot of sunset and compare it with somebody’s else one to figure out what camera, settings etc was used and how the shot came out. So with this kind of comparison there is a very high probability that you’ll learn. So I wold definitely look at comparisons with those points in mind. Hey anything that gets me learning about photography is good 🙂
So here are some points that come to my mind that I should do while starting out (not in any particular order):
- Not a waste of time: If you are thinking that the amount of time you spend on photography is a waste of time, then you didn’t pick-up photography for the right reasons. Its never a waste of time and if it was, then you wouldn’t be doing it.
- Don’t compare your photos to others: Every moment that you capture is something you wanted it to be captured. When you are just starting out, don’t compare your photos with others and if you still do, then it has to be for learning new techniques
- Practice, Practice and Practice: It doesn’t get said often, but the more you take pictures the better you get at it. Compare the shots that you had taken a year ago to the ones shot recently and you’ll notice the difference.
- Learn the basics: Its so important to get the basis right. Some people have spent years trying to get their basics and if you ask they would modestly say they don’t know much. So keep revising the basics of digital photography and enjoy the learning process.
The list never ends, but I think thats more than enough for me to keep in mind 😉