Are you self taught or have formal photography training?

12 years 1 month ago #200992 by John37
Currently enrolled at UYT (University of You Tube). :lol:

"The most endangered species? The honest man!"
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12 years 1 month ago #201168 by Wyrick Photography
Self taught, well my wife has been into photography for much longer and she has influenced my photography

Canon 5d Mark II • Canon 24-105mm F/4.0 • Canon 135mm F/2.0 • Canon 50mm F/1.8 • Tamron 28-75mm F/2.8 • Canon 580ex ii
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12 years 1 month ago #201174 by Kronisk
I have been taking photos in one form or another for most of my life, starting in the late 1980s with one of those cheap 35mm point and shoots. About six or seven months ago, I finally bit the bullet and bought my first DSLR. While I would love to be able to get some formal training (or find some textbooks that can substitute on one level), so far everything other than a few tips and suggestions has been self-taught. On one hand, it makes remembering what to do in some situations a lot easier. On the other, I am encountering a very frustrating glass ceiling when it comes to bringing myself up to the next level (wanting to get to semi-pro and up, namely).

Both approaches work wonderfully in my view.


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12 years 1 month ago #201290 by Photo Mojo
Self taught with the aid of many many books


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12 years 1 month ago #201396 by Sleven

John37 wrote: Currently enrolled at UYT (University of You Tube). :lol:


:rofl: Is UYT a credited school?


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12 years 1 month ago #201403 by Shanna-Marie
Self taught....no formal training but learning from the Pro's. :woohoo:

I believe that there is an explanation for everything, so, yes, I believe in miracles. ~Robert Brault

www.flickr.com/photos/shanna-m/

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12 years 1 month ago - 12 years 1 month ago #203212 by Henry Peach
I've been studying the visual arts all my life, both on my own and in various schools and colleges.

I got my first all manual 35mm SLR in my teens, and used it for years, although I wasn't very interested in photography as much as drawing, painting, print making (like lino block, screen printing, etc...), and ceramics. At some point in my early twenties I became obsessed with photography, and began taking college photography courses and attending workshops by professional photographers. Some instructors taught me a lot, and others not so much. These were all film only as digital was still a brand new technology. I did take one digital photography class in college, but it was so lame that I dropped it.

After college I went to work in a professional lab for several years. I probably learned more about photography when I was working there than at any other time. The owners and several employees were extremely knowledgeable, and I spent all day talking to pros, serious enthusiasts, and industry reps. Digital was still in it's early stages. We did a lot of film scanning, and that sort of hybrid work, but not many folks were using digital cameras yet. I had after hours access to the lab for doing my personal work, and I took advantage of that until I set up my own home darkroom. I stopped using 35mm film, and went to medium format and 4x5 film. To make it more affordable I learned to use vintage cameras, which i fell in love with, and continued to use until I went digital.

By the time I left the lab I was selling the occasional landscape print, and getting a few portrait and wedding jobs through word of mouth. I was hired to teach Basic Photography and BW Darkroom classes at the city arts center, and did that for a few years. Even though I was the instructor I did often learn from my students, and from repeating the basics over and over.

I quit my other jobs, and went full time as a wedding photographer in 2004. Doing it for a living forced me to learn faster than any other experience. It also drove me to first consider using digital because of client needs. I was very resistant at first, but soon realized most of the "facts" I thought I understood about digital were actually myths. :) I don't think of my digital photography education to be self taught, as I learned most of it online from people who I consider experts, but it was self directed. I haven't ever attended classes on digital (other than that one I mentioned above, which was worthless). I have attended a few workshops. like the film workshops some have taught me a lot, and others were disappointing and not very educational. When taking workshops and classes make sure you get a good teacher and that the level of the subject matter will challenge you. There's nothing worse than getting stuck in a class where many folks don't even understand computer or photography basics, and the instructor has to spend a lot of time on that stuff.
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12 years 1 month ago #203233 by Mr. Borg

Shanna-Marie wrote: Self taught....no formal training but learning from the Pro's. :woohoo:


Would the pros be us PT members? :)

And to answer the question, I am also self taught


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12 years 1 month ago #203455 by adivineeternity
A nice mix for me. I started with formal training as a film major in college, with a couple of added photography classes on the side. I also worked as a photographer at our on-campus newspaper for a period, which had a little more formal training, but I was mostly left to figure things out on my own. Now I sometimes just read and watch the occasional video. Mostly I just go out and shoot to my heart's content until I figure out what works best for me and I attempt to learn something from it.


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12 years 1 month ago #203690 by Wyrick Photography
Best advise I can give is read, read and continue to read photography books :thumbsup:

Canon 5d Mark II • Canon 24-105mm F/4.0 • Canon 135mm F/2.0 • Canon 50mm F/1.8 • Tamron 28-75mm F/2.8 • Canon 580ex ii
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12 years 3 weeks ago #205834 by CWphotos

Wyrick Photography wrote: Best advise I can give is read, read and continue to read photography books :thumbsup:

...and tear off strips of paper to mark all the pages with info that's helpful, so as to be able to re-read it! And re-read until you've practiced those aspects enough to have adopted them for your own. ;)

What you are is so loud, I can't hear a word you say!
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12 years 3 weeks ago #205936 by adivineeternity

CWphotos wrote:

Wyrick Photography wrote: Best advise I can give is read, read and continue to read photography books :thumbsup:

...and tear off strips of paper to mark all the pages with info that's helpful, so as to be able to re-read it! And re-read until you've practiced those aspects enough to have adopted them for your own. ;)


Admittedly wonderful and great advice for those who retain what they read to some degree. I don't. Most of what I know about photography, while I have read it some point (probably multiple times, actually), I know because I had a camera and whatever other equipment on hand to play with. I've read about depth of field, exposure, focus, etc. enough to make my eyes fall out and my brains rot, but I have learned those things by doing them, experimenting with techniques, and using my camera for many more hours than I've spent reading about them. I'm sure I'll read them again and again, too, but I'd like to add to this advice by saying that my best piece of advice, especially for those who are big time hands-on learners as I am, is to just get out there in an interesting area, stick your camera in full manual, and experiment.

Digital photography is lovely like this. As long as you have a nice size memory card, it's not costing you extra to try exposing the same image 27 different times.

Definitely still read books, though. Reading is never a bad idea unless you're literally going to be killed or something if you read. That's an unlikely scenario, though.


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12 years 3 weeks ago #205949 by bigbubbaG
I attend the school of hard knocks! Reading, trial & error. Mostly error, but it's fun!

Victory is won not in miles but inches. Win some, hold your ground, win some more.
---Louis L'amour

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12 years 3 weeks ago #206093 by ElSchultzy
Im self tought but have been mixing with many different shooters over the years and have even started clubs with my staff to get them interested.
Trial and error especially now that its cheap with no film. :P

ElSchultzy
Photography: My love affair with "Pachamama"

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12 years 3 weeks ago #206223 by Ohul8
I am learning through the wonderful world of the web. It's the cheapest form of education.


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