tdekany Loc: Oregon

Catch hell? I personally don’t want newcomers to be misled that a good photo depends on tech.

Photographer Jim Loc: Rio Vista, CA

“Variety” in one’s photography is probably a term that means different things to different photographers. I for one, might be thought to lack variety, in that I tend to focus on a few favorite subjects, and I purposely process my images with a certain look (style, if you will) in mind. However, I do understand, and agree with some of the points made by the OP.

Many photographers could benefit from learning to consciously “work the scene” more than they do currently. When I shoot, I often spend time in the beginning moving about, shooting different angles, elevations, cropping, etc. until I see something on my led screen that I think works the best. Then I set up my tripod and fine tune the composition. I purposefully try to avoid simply setting up my gear in the most convenient place, always at eye level height, and snapping away. I do believe that this approach pays off with better and more refined compositions in the long run. And I am one who believes that composition is the key to good photography.

As to use of different shooting modes, I certainly think that it is to any photographer’s benefit to be familiar with, and knowledgeable about such modes, as doing so increases one’s ability to better capture images under a wider variety of conditions.

As to WB, I find this to be more of a minor concern than others. That may be because my “style” involves a lot of manipulation of specific color saturations (as opposed to global saturation adjustments), so auto white balance is often sufficient for my needs. In some cases, I will set a custom white balance if I think it will be beneficial under the specific lighting conditions, but it is not a factor I pay attention to as much as other factors.

tdekany Loc: Oregon

mrpentaxk5ii

mrpentaxk5ii

Thanks for the reply, the only thing about white balance, auto work ok for most things but not all photographs, If you take photos indoors and change white balance settings to match the lighting then go and shoot outdoors and do not make any changes you can have a problem.

mrpentaxk5ii

So that is why so many of you tell new people to go Full Frame cameras....I have seen that advice given so many times on UHH.

tdekany Loc: Oregon

It is interesting, that the person, who started this thread about teaching other people is refusing to learn himself. If you are not open to ideas that don’t resonate with you, like not considering an iPhone a camera is ignorant. I bet that the 2 of us together using the most expansive gear available couldn’t take a picture that would match the winners with the iPhone.

Be careful in the photo gallery section. It isn’t reality.

tdekany Loc: Oregon

Lol! Do you see my gear list in my signature?

mrpentaxk5ii

tdekany Loc: Oregon

In order to take “better” pictures, do we not want amazing lighting, the right composition, and a subject matter that is going to impact you/people?

So tell me, could a person with an iPhone not do that?

So if people were told, who are new to photography, that they should learn about light, composition and subject matter first, wouldn’t that make sense?

Here you are telling people to get out of auto mode to get “better” photos. Most of them, who will read your thread are snapshot shooters. They have taken enough boring pictures, New or seasoned. How in the world going from Aperture mode to full manual mode is going to transform their snapshots into work of art?

Can you explain THAT to me?

Btw, is your blood type type 🅱️ ?

Joe Blow

If you want to communicate then learn how to write in proper English. That includes more paragraphs. A series of periods does not substitute for grammar in communication. Anyone that can't communicate can't teach.

White Balance is not some magical formula that a camera will adhere to. It is an estimation of the light source temperature. Not all anticipated light sources will produce at the expected temperature.

I don't shoot auto or manual. I am very comfortable shooting aperture or shutter priority. But, I can, and do, respect those who produce fantastic images. How they did it is to their credit. Whether they used a cell phone, P&S, bridge, APS-C, FF, or medium format is irrelevant. Whether it is SOOC or heavily edited is, again, irrelevant. It is the finished image that matters.

Where I come from, we have an old saying. "It is better to be thought a fool then open your mouth and remove all doubt."

G Brown Loc: Sunny Bognor Regis West Sussex UK

The trouble with photography is that there are many more kinds of photographer as there are makes of camera....and I include cell phones and drones etc,

To get people to enjoy 'taking pictures' right from the start 'Auto' works, as do Programme modes if used as directed. That is why they are fitted to most cameras. They can be an encouragement to use the camera OR the end all of learning photography.....some people love snaps (how many bought a polaroid and followed the instructions always) Some people are happy with this. Others aren't. one or the other is not WRONG.

Some want to create a 'style' or adapt their images and there is a whole host of advice in how to do this.
Others want to be in 'control' so use everything that the camera can do. Again there is advice on when and where to do this.

Then there are the 'techies' who want to talk the gobbldegook of Photography or post process everything into something else. Or advise you how to get the 'extra' that you need in a particular field or subject. That is great if you know the person you are talking with understands......!

The difficulty one has is in understanding who one is talking to in the forum.

'The main photography' section throws everyone in together and the conflicting 'level of advice' can be both daunting or enlightening depending upon 'where you are' in your 'photography'.

All advice is good ....just so long as you can 'link it' to what you need an answere to.

As to the quality of Photography and those that photograph.....why on earth should we feel pressured to 'judge'. We all started somewhere.....and we each end up 'somewhere else' as better or not. What is wrong with that!!! Is there going to be a special number stamped on our tombstone?

The other thing to note is that the questions people ask often reflects 'where on the journey they are'.
There is never a bad question.....it is just difficult to assess 'how to answere'.

Ease up on the criticism of poster and responders. Someone somewhere will read and 'get' the answere they are lookin for from everything posted here.

Even if its only
HAVE FUN!!!!!

neilds37 Loc: Port Angeles, WA

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Generally speaking, I'm satisfied with my shots. I dump the ones I don't like. I use Auto, Aperture, Shutter, and P - all the camera has to offer. I've even been known to use manual. I shoot raw just to give me an edge in processing, if I need it.

Georgews Loc: Wellington, New Zealand

As far as shooting modes go, when just looking around I leave the camera on "P for Professional" so I can get those grab shots. Once I have that in the bag I change to S, A or M depending on what I am shooting