Challenges and skills for an amateur

[roogi]

I'm doing a 365 challenge at the moment to try and improve my photography and to learn how to use an SLR properly. Its going ok so far and I've already learnt a lot, but I've realised that having some challenges and goals would be really useful. I've started a list below, but would appreciate any suggestions for techniques to learn or new challenges.

- shoot using RAW
- understand how to process an image properly trying it out on RAW images
- enter a photo into a competition
- take more photos of people

I'm using a Canon 1000D and have limited myself to using the 50mm f1.8 lens so far.

Thanks

[itsnotarace]

Photography is all about manipulating light, you should be learning all about your camera's metering system and what kind of situations will arise where you will need to step in and over-ride it, or risk under / over exposure. Take the camera out of uber-noob mode (automatic) and put into semi-automatic (shutter or aperture priority) or fully manual and learn what happens when you meter from different objects and how it affects the exposure

[Simpo Two]

I think one of the hardest challenges is to take a photograph that you can hang on the wall and enjoy day after day, each time you look at it. I find that really hard - only one of my photos has made it to the wall of Bloke Hall and even that had to be pointed out to me by somebody else before I twigged.


Back to the question. I guess it's a probem you can attack from two sides. The scientific way is learning the capabilities of your camera, not least of which is 'RTM', then exposure as mentioned above, understanding aperture, shutter speed, focal length, depth of field and so on. Then go out and connect all this to what you see before you, using composition as the link. The arty (or lazy) way is to blunder out into the countryside, blaze away, see what you like and then try to deconstruct it to see how you did it.

[Bacardi]

Simpo Two said:

and even that had to be pointed out to me by somebody else before I twigged.

I was only joking, it's crap really. Honestly, you'll believe anything I say.

[Simpo Two]

Lunch is on you then!

[andy-xr]

I tried the limiting myself to a prime thing, it's something a lot of people suggest and for ages I just shot with primes because I believed that they were so much better than zooms. But it's whats right for the job really - challenge yourself to take a photo you're happy to have picked apart. Or one that makes you happy - they dont always have to be technically perfect, in some cases they're just good pictures. In my case it was a snap that I thought nothing of at the time, literally a month after I bought my camera and thats now hanging on 40x30 in my dining room courtesy of Tim Fluid Images

[tinman0]

Simpo Two said:

I think one of the hardest challenges is to take a photograph that you can hang on the wall

Exactly.

I've split my 365 into 3.

1. Good pictures when I've actually gone on a mission for, eg London Walk, Ace Cafe, etc. (usually my slr)
2. Good pictures from the day when I've had a couple of moments (usually taken with compact)
3. Crap pictures to fill in the 365. Even took one from the webcam of my Mac last week (blip mods had to date it for me), and last night was a "Oh crap, I've forgotten" so I took a picture of my bedside clock. It said 1144pm. If the device can capture an image, it's used.