Were you taught or did you teach yourself?

[eggchaser1987]

Thinking about getting into photography a bit more now. Recently been made redundant so never know how far I may go, I have noticed a few people on my fb page starting there own business doing it and the pictures they put up to promote there services aren't brilliant.

Hopefully I can manage a better photo than them. Anyway obviously I will need some kind of tutoring but did you do college\uni\online courses or did you entirely teach yourself from trial and error?

Thanks all.

[DibblyDobbler]

Want to make a small fortune from photography? Start with a large fortune

[DibblyDobbler]

I just bumble along and pick up the odd thing when needed - I think most on here are the same (ie not formally taught)

[kman]

Not formerly taught, but I do spend time looking at techniques and ideas from peers and pick up little things from there.

[LongQ]

DibblyDobbler said:

Want to make a small fortune from photography? Start with a large fortune

Ah yes.

So much stuff on eBay these days all claimed to be 'hardly ever used' and looking like that is indeed true.

I have never seen so many ads from people claiming they are just selling or have just sold all their kit so the last few ancillary pieces can now go. Pros (claimed) as well as enthusiasts and not a few of the Pro's suggesting they have 'retired'. (Though that seemed more prevalent a year or two back - presumably most of them did in fact retire.)


That is not to say, OP, that you should not give it a go if you wish to but if you are planning to make a living from it you need to know how you are going to do that. The mystique of modern photography mostly disappeared shortly after digital devices become affordable. Film's death spiral became fully evident in about 2007, give or take a year. Even the traditional Photography markets - like weddings - are succumbing to low margin work compared to the potential that they once offered. "I could do that with my point and shoot" sets a tone for expectations - along with 'social media' quality standards.

Of course after the event the happy couple then spend days collecting all the shots that their friends took on their pocket cameras and phones mixing those up with the 'official' images.

It's the same with other traditional subject matter.

Don't let that put you off if you want to try it but do go into it with your eyes wide open and a proposition that is unique enough to give you something to work with in terms of differentiation from the rest.

[RobDickinson]

I've never had any formal training or education in photography.

Just picked it up along the way

[eggchaser1987]

Thanks for that all. Just looks like I will get out and start shooting, see what I can come up with.

LongQ I have to admit it was a bit tongue in cheek about giving it a go, think I will need a bit more time and practise before I do anyway.

Hopefully shall update this with some of my photos and advice can be given.

Thanks again all.

[LongQ]

eggchaser1987 said:

LongQ I have to admit it was a bit tongue in cheek about giving it a go, think I will need a bit more time and practise before I do anyway.

Well, you may as well. It beats hanging around slot machine arcades in city centres - although the cash outflow is often thought to be much the same ...

Actually I reckon that if you have special aptitude it will probably surface quite early - quite a good thing as it would allow you to budget accordingly.

[covboy]

All self taught, but as mentioned above – follow the examples of more experienced guys.

The advantage these days in the digital age is you can afford to make a LOT more mistakes and try a lot of different things without the inherent costs of the old (film) way.

[RobDickinson]

I spent a lot of time learning. Learning something that really, fundamentally, isnt that hard.

Make full use of books, the internet and people (here, facebook etc).

Not sure exactly what you want to shoot but theres usually a handful of tips that will give you a quantum leap kind of head start.

[cteagles]

Self taught, in the process of backing it up with a Uni degree in Photography (One year to go!)

With or without the degree The way you learn photography is by doing it, looking at what you've done, asking advice and trying to improve on your last attempt. And repeat. The PH forums can give you plenty of feedback and advice along the way. Good luck!

[markmullen]

The basics of aperture, shutter speed and ISO my dad, a former commercial photographer, instilled in me when I was young. Beyond that I am self taught, though I did work in a commercial studio when I was younger, so picked a lot up from there, mainly the value of light, which has very much stayed with me.

Beyond that it has been a case of going out and practicing.