Introduction

I don’t want to be that guy, but I typically am anyways. 

Assisting your parents with anything technology related teaches you the deeper meaning of patience. I’ll never forget the time my mom asked me to help troubleshoot something with her computer. I, being remote, needed to set some ground rules. Visibility was purely by communication. So,I said, “Now do exactly what I say, as I will be on my end following along. This way I’ll see what you see and can instruct accordingly.” You know, clear, concise communication along with reasoning to help solidify buy-in. I then said, “Make sure you do not push any buttons, click any links, don’t touch anything unless I tell you to.” Reinforcing the issue with repetition to drill home the weight of importance. 

You may think me a terrible, ungrateful son. However, after these stern warnings, we are 2 minutes into the process and I hear her describing something that did not align with what was showing on my screen. I asked the unfortunate question, “Did you click on something without me saying?” The response included more words than necessary. “Yes” would have sufficed. Time to start over.

Simple instructions are hard to come by.

That is typically because things are rarely that simple. I’ve dedicated my life to making things simpler for the sheer sake of my personal understanding. I know things can be complicated, but ultimately I want to boil it down into its most digestible elements and build up from there. Easier said than done, but having accomplished this on the front end enables me to quickly decide if the continued pursuit of knowledge is worthwhile. 

With photography, it started with some YouTube videos. Individuals far more knowledgeable than I put in the effort to create something I could understand. I am forever thankful for these individuals. Apart from these videos, I would consider myself a self-taught photographer. Knowing the struggles of seeing other photographers and wondering how I’m unable to mimic their simplest of images, I thought it worthwhile to spend some time putting into writing the fundamentals of learning photography. There were plenty of things that had to be figured out in the field, and far too many instances where the lesson was not learned until I uploaded my images to Lightroom. My hope would be to elevate some of that frustration and learning curve through this series.

As photography is a passion of mine, I also want to see those around me benefit from the enjoyment I experience each time I hear that shutter click. The following posts will range in topics from technical details such as what an aperture is and how it affects an image, how to navigate shutter speeds in certain environments, even higher level image composing such as understanding how to use light to your advantage. With the goal of sharing the basics of photography in its simple format, you all can start from the knowledge equal to a disposable camera to capturing beautifully crafted images in no time.

The camera is merely the medium used to capture the image.

While some flaunt the higher pixel counts and impressive features of some DSLR and Mirrorless cameras, ultimately the impressive technical advancements will not reflect in the overall quality of the image. 

We have all taken that photo with our cell phones that would suggest we never need to hold a DSLR in our hands. The picture is beautiful, why spend the time to learn an entirely new skillset and spend thousands on equipment? 

My argument would be that the image itself is not appealing because of the newest cell phones technical capabilities, but rather the direct reflection of what was desired to be captured and the reality of the outcome. You loved the image when taken on a phone, you’d still love it if it was taken on a Fisher Price point and shoot or a Nikon D850 with 85mm f1.4 lens. 

I believe anyone can be a photographer. 

It is a skill, sure. Some may even have a natural bent towards composition. However, anyone can learn the fundamentals of photography and then use these building blocks to bring about their own creative expression. Skills can be learned. My goal would never be to assist you in being the world's greatest photographer, as I don’t know if I truly understand what that means.

How can one be great at something that seems so relative? Photographers who have more talent in their left pinky toe can take a picture and my wife can look at it in distaste. While I can take a photo and strangers want a 24 x 36 inch print in their home. The goal, and my ultimate hope is that you can take these basics laid out before you and put them into practice in order to create images that you will enjoy.

The key word being you. 

If you are only taking photos that you believe others will enjoy, you will be miserable and never want to see a camera again. The purpose of photography, in my simple terms, is to capture what you enjoy. Do you enjoy trains? Take the picture of a train that you always desired to see. You’ll rarely ever see a train in my collections. Do you like dramatic cityscapes? Take the most dramatic cityscapes and cover your office walls with your prints. If your passion can be reflected in your photos, others will see it. Not everyone will like it, that is reality. However, those that enjoy similar pieces of art will be drawn in by your passion. And better yet, you will be happy with them and enjoy the fruits of your labor. If you can’t enjoy your own work, is it worth pursuing? Maybe, but you better be compensated fairly.

Learning this craft is both an ongoing adventure of fine tuning your perspective on your surroundings as well as understanding the limitations of the camera, then marrying the two to get the best outcome of capturing what you desire in an image. 

There are technically no right or wrongs here.

There is only better. You could improve in several facets of photography and of your photos. The photo isn’t wrong, the photo can be improved upon. I’ve taken thousands of photos that I wouldn’t intentionally share on the internet due to how badly they turned out. I look at them and think that this wasn’t even close to what I was imagining. The good news is that this is a perfect learning scenario. What don’t I like about the photo? What element needed to be adjusted? How would I have taken the same photo differently? What did I see initially that didn’t get represented in a way that I desired?

If you believe that you can reach a point in photography that is an ideal state in which no more improvement is needed, I’d like to propose that you stop reading. I know you made it to this point, however, I personally do not see value in the remainder of the content if you are more focused on an end goal than the process itself. Photography is about the journey more than achieving an end point. There is no I made it. 

Along the way you will take photos that are terrible. You will accidentally take great photos. The goal and the point of all of this is to enjoy photography. The process is not becoming a photographer, it begins with you being a photographer that is consistently improving at your craft. And when you see something that begs to be photographed, you have the vision of a desired end product, and you have the ability to produce it, that will pay off. That will be the satisfaction that drives you forward in your improvement. 

You become motivated by the images you take, knowing that you desired a particular outcome and saw it through to completion. Those become your wallpapers on all your devices. You will not only see beauty in your photography, but success.