Great advice. I will take it. Thanks
burkphoto wrote:
Among the cameras I started with is an Instamatic 104. I still have it in my collection, along with my first Argus, several other box cameras, and three of the original Polaroids. (I caught the photography bug when I was five, and never lost it.)
I hope I didn't seem to be making light of your first effort. That was not my intention.
EVERY first effort is a learning experience. I've learned that the more shocking it is, the more I learn from it! It's not always fun, but always, always, useful and memorable.
I have been behind the camera and in the lab enough to have seen a bit of everything. As an AV producer back in the 1980s, when corporate, computer-controlled slide shows were popular (and my job to produce), I photographed all sorts of setups, from machinery, to toys, to food, to flat art, and because I worked in a portrait lab, people.
I studied lighting from Dean Collins, a master who is no longer with us, but whose FineLight works are still relevant. Later, I helped transition a portrait lab from 100% optical processes to 100% digital processes, moving from film and optical printers to servers, Mac and PC networks, and laser printer mini-labs and inkjet printers.
If you dive into photography head first, it will be daunting. But if you learn to swim in it, it can be fun. I'm a training content developer now, and it's just one of the tools I use. But it's still my first love.
My best observation: If you concentrate on the principles, you will learn to make great images with any gear, and to appreciate whatever gear you have to work with. Good luck!
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