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How did you learn photography?


11 years 8 months ago #251020 by Julie Staas
I guess I should have asked this differently. I'm really fishing to know if there are any good workshops worth going to? Ideally something that cost less than $1000 max. I've done some Google searches and found plenty of workshops, but I want to know directly from the photographers what works and what doesn't.

I'm due for a vacation which is why I didn't put location. Well as long as it's in the states, I don't have the money for over seas travel right now. Plus my passport is expired :whistle:
Country Girl out for a stroll
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11 years 8 months ago #251026 by Josh Jofoto
Books, books and more books. I've been to some workshops, you know there are tons of workshops popping up all over the place. What area would you like to focus on?
Canon 7D | Canon EF-S 18-55 IS | Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 | Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 | Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 macro | CanonEF 17-40 f/4 L | 70-200 f/4 L | 580 EX II
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11 years 8 months ago - 11 years 8 months ago #251033 by McBeth Photography
Self taught, trial and error. The best thing to do is to get out there and shoot, lots of blogs and web surfing will help too. :)

I have never been to a workshop, not that I shouldn't go to a few, just haven't had the time!
It is what it is.
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11 years 8 months ago #251034 by J Butcher
:agree: self taught but I've been looking at some DVD courses to sharpen my skills. Workshops are a good idea but those are so periodic.
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11 years 8 months ago #251038 by Rob pix4u2
Self taught with lots of help from my Dad and Uncle. read lots of books and magazines over the years. Attended The Nikon School workshops and found them very helpful.
Remember to engage brain before putting mouth in gear
Rob Huelsman Sr.
My Facebook www.facebook.com/ImaginACTIONPhotography
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11 years 7 months ago #251141 by steelydan
Joined a local camera club and from there lots of reading and a hell of a lot of mistakes and deleted files alone the way.

Still deleting by the way, no -one knows it all, we are al still learning
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11 years 7 months ago #251154 by John Landolfi
It's difficult to make recommendations without seeing some of your work, and knowing what equipment and software you are comfortable with now. A workshop lasting a few hours can be useful if you are well past the basics, and its topic is something specific you want to learn. But, if you are starting from scratch, an actual course would serve better, and a virtual one would work as well as a physical classroom setting. You need time to absorb and digest the failry extensive information you need. Why not post some shots? :) :cheers:
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11 years 7 months ago #251176 by Joves
Like many of the others I am self taught, with some minor help from family. I have been shooting since I was 9 years old. My grandfather who gave me my first camera, an old 120, told me to keep notes on shots so I could learn from my mistakes. The beauty of digital is you can play with it and see the results instantly. That and now the cameras keep the notes for you in the EXIF Data. The only time I take notes now is if I am geotagging a location, then I note the photo numbers and the GPS data.
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11 years 7 months ago #251276 by effron
Don't spend cash on workshops now. Take some short drives, hand out in forums like this, post pics, leave and read feedback, and ASK questions. There are some very fine and experienced photographers here, and I've yet to see any refuse to help someone else. Get to wearing that camera out, bet you can't do it....... ;)
Why so serious?
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11 years 7 months ago #251277 by Moe
Self taught for me as well. Just getting out and spending time time with camera and books!
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11 years 7 months ago #251284 by rmeyer7
Self taught in the sense of not having formal education, but not in the sense that I figured everything out on my own. I haven't gone to any workshops, but much of what I've learned has come from reading -- whether books, blogs, online articles/how-to's, or just reading and learning from the critique and pointers people give on this forum. Of course the "self taught" part of that is that I have to go out and apply those things to get a real hands-on understanding of what they mean and how they work.

For me, video tips are especially helpful. I've learned a ton from Mark Wallace's and Bryan Peterson's videos, a lot of which get posted here but others you can find on Youtube or just by googling their names. The biggest factor, again, is to then take that information and put it into practice so that it becomes something you know by experience, not just by hearing someone explain it in a video.
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11 years 7 months ago #251366 by Henry Peach
Workshops are like classes; what you get out of they is going to depend mostly on the teacher. I've experienced excellent, mediocre, and poor instructors. Do some research on the instructor, and see if you can get some references from people who have taken the workshop/class in the past. Being a good photographer doesn't mean they are a good instructor. I actually found the portfolios of my best teachers kind of boring, but they taught me a lot. Once I paid a lot of money for a workshop by a guy who had an amazing portfolio, but in the end I wished I'd saved my money.
mattneedham.zenfolio.com
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11 years 7 months ago #251536 by Cathy Kadolph
Self taught and just getting out there and doing it for me. Oh and books. I do enjoy reading and have read a number of books on photography. I think that is very important.
"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once you grow up." Pablo Picasso
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11 years 7 months ago #251850 by JHoward
Books, friends and workshops
Canon 7D & 1D MK III, Canon 10-22mm, 16-35mm f2.8L II, 24-70mm f2.8L, 70-200mm f2.8L IS, 300mm f2.8L IS, 200mm f2L IS, 50mm f1.4, 50mm f1.2L, 85mm f1.
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