Beginners photography class?

[BLACKFINTURKEY]

Anyone know of a good class around San Antonio? I’ve been taking pictures for a while but just kinda guess at what I’m doing. I get some good ones here and there but I want to become more skilled.

Would any of y’all on here be willing to show me some stuff if there isn’t a decent class around?

[Spoken0313]

I know you probably prefer a physical class but there's a free class online called a year with my camera that's pretty informative and interactive for being online (Facebook as well as an app)

https://ayearwithmycamera.com/

[Casey]

Stanford professor's entire class.

https://sites.google.com/site/marclevoylectures/home

[Blackmouth]

Really good book to read and follow along is Understanding Exposure.

[HogCommander]

I'm self-taught and by no means an expert but here are a few things in the realm of Composition and Exposure that helped me a lot and that apply to lots of different types of photography.

Rule of Thirds - this one composition principle upped my "keeper" rate by probably 90%. Super easy to use and there are lots of articles on it. Once you know this principle, you'll see it everywhere (magazine photos, stock photos, paintings, portraits, etc).

Another one for composition is to get closer and fill up the frame. If you have a zoom lens, this is usually easier but you can always get physically closer.

Exposure is worth reading up on but here's a trick that's helped me. Point the camera up at blue sky and check your exposure. Blue sky (without the sun in the frame) will roughly approximate neutral gray in terms of finding good initial shutter speed and aperture settings.

Lighting makes a big difference. Early mornings and late evenings generally have most desirable lighting for photography. Worst time of the day is usually when the sun is bright and directly overhead (harsh light, dark shadows on people's faces, etc). Using built in or external flash as fill light helps a lot with this.

This time of year consider researching night photography techniques (startrails, light painting, etc). You will probably need a tripod and a camera that let's you control how long the shutter stays open but can do some cool stuff with sparklers, flashlights, swinging a string around with a light on it. Also very cool to tie steel wool on the end of a string, touch it with a 9V battery and start swinging it...just be sure to wear a hat and protect yourself from hot embers as the steel wool burns up.

Hope this helps a bit. Would love to take a class myself but there's a lot of great info out there for free.

[BLACKFINTURKEY]

Thanks for all the info I’ll be looking into this more.

My camera:
Cannon T5i EOS
EFS 18-135mm with image stabilizer
EFS 55-250mm with image stabilizer
EF 75-300mm no stabilizer

I understand rule of thirds and a few other very basic concepts.

I’m more trying to understand how to set the camera up to capture the best photo, and how to do it quickly. I’ll post some photos I’ve taken when I have the chance.

[Jspradley]

Originally Posted by Casey

Stanford professor's entire class.

https://sites.google.com/site/marclevoylectures/home

Oh wow, that's going on my play list!!!

If you are ever in Houston I'll be glad to meet up and go over the basics, I'm no expert artistic master or anything but I can certainly show you how to work your camera and get off that crappy Auto mode!

Tony and Chelsea Northrup's "Stunning Digital Photography" is a really good book as well

[Spartan22]

Originally Posted by Spoken0313

I know you probably prefer a physical class but there's a free class online called a year with my camera that's pretty informative and interactive for being online (Facebook as well as an app)

https://ayearwithmycamera.com/

I believe this is what my wife used and her picture skills increased greatly. Plus the editing part.

[Bill M]

Originally Posted by Blackmouth

Really good book to read and follow along is Understanding Exposure.

Totally agree with this. Brian Peterson's Understanding Exposure https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-Fourth-Photographs-Camera-ebook/dp/B0104EOJSK/ref=sr_1_1?hvadid=77859219573378&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c& hvqmt=e&keywords=bryan+peterson+photography&qid=15 66843487&s=gateway&sr=8-1]



Go sit with this book, your camera and it's manual everyday until you've gone through the book. Your cam manual is for reference. Classes can''t give you what getting out and shooting will. You will learn to ask "why" on shots that you aren't happy with and you will be able to understand why. Everyone's shooting style is different but the knowledge people use is the same. You learn your own tricks. Good luck.

[HouCav]

This is helpful stuff. Thanks for starting it OP and for the links and info to everyone else.

[pastorjim]

Mo-Ranch in Hunt does a photography weekend usually twice a year. It's good instruction and a beautiful place. You can get some fishing time in too. There's one coming up in October. https://www.moranch.org/attend-a-con...raphy-weekend/

[Rofd1374]

Originally Posted by BLACKFINTURKEY

Anyone know of a good class around San Antonio? I’ve been taking pictures for a while but just kinda guess at what I’m doing. I get some good ones here and there but I want to become more skilled.

Would any of y’all on here be willing to show me some stuff if there isn’t a decent class around?

YouTube YouTube YouTube . Take your camera and shoot atleast 10 Images a day . Force yourself to shoot in manual mode . I’m self taught still learning as well . It takes time but you can get better but must stick to it . Shoot 1st couple hours at sunup or last couple hours before sunset. High noon. Is your enemy. Feel free to shoot me questions anytime on my instagram at instagram.com/mcgrawimages

[BLACKFINTURKEY]

Thanks I always shoot on manual already, I think I’m on the right track but always looking to get better thanks for the tips.


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