How to Get Started in Photography: 4 Critical Steps
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Everyone here wanting ideas of how to get started in photography, raise your hands…
Out of the many photography essentials for beginners, there are 4 steps that seem important and that can help you as you get started.
Start Learning Now
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The first of our tips for beginner photographers is to gather up as much information as you can. I find that people really wanting to know how to get started in photography tend to be voracious readers on the subject.
I know I still eat up all sorts of websites, magazines, and books about photography, videography, camera gear, and tips and ideas from other photographers.
What types of things should you read about when wondering how to get started in photography? Actually, the sky’s the limit. Just being on this website, reading this very article about how to get started in photography is a fantastic start.
One of the things about reading about photography for beginners is that you don’t need to constrain your curiosity about any subject. If the marvelous photographic gear itself is what initially draws you in, keep on reading about that.
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Or, you might be drawn to the amazing art you see from other photographers or that you have done yourself with whatever type of camera you now have, perhaps a very high quality smartphone, that’s good, too.
The more you learn about the operations and features of photographic equipment, the more you also learn about the process of photography as art. The reverse is true as well. Reading how the art was created will provide you with more knowledge about the gear used.
So, the first of my beginner photography tips for how to get started in photography is something you’re already doing. Keep doing this, and also keep an open mind about photography as art and about photographic gear.
Chose a Nice Camera
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That initial step of how to get started in photography will really come in handy as you shop for a camera to allow your photography to grow.
A good camera kit is not cheap, and there are so many great options when looking at brands and models of digital cameras. So, how do you start to narrow it down?
Whenever I get asked by someone about what camera to get, I usually try to ask a few questions about what they want to do with photography. Some people simply want to get better photographs, others would probably really enjoy photography as a hobby, and some already know that they want to get serious.
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These are good things for you to decide before laying out the cash for a camera kit. Since most of you here to find out how to get started in photography as a hobby or more serious, let’s look at a few beginner photography tips for deciding on the gear to use.
A camera with interchangeable lenses is a good starting point. As a person learns more about the art and craft of photography, they will naturally want to increase their arsenal of tools for capturing their images and videos.
There’s a well known saying about it’s not the camera but the photographer that makes a photo, but the camera definitely is a part of what’s happening. No amount of gee whiz features will replace good old know how, but there are often some valuable advantages to having certain features.
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In addition to interchangeable lenses, having the capability to control settings manually is often valuable. A lot of variables go into a well made image, experimenting with manually setting these variables can often teach better than reading about it alone. It’s not just exposure, but depth of field, stopping or blurring action, and changes of perspective can be accessed with camera and lens controls.
Learning about the formats and types of cameras might cause some confusion, since there are a lot of choices. Which is why I recommend reading what others have to say about equipment options.
The three main formats dominating popular photography are Full Frame, APS-C, and MFT. The two main styles of cameras are single lens reflex or mirrorless. We have a lot of good information right on this website to help decipher all those factors.
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Try Out Everything
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Now that you have your camera and lens or lenses, you're thinking about what to photograph with them. There are so many genres in photography.
As you look at some of the articles and guides about photography, you will see an idea come up quite frequently about finding a niche and exploiting that. Which is primarily targeted at photographic business ideas. As you’re first learning how to get started in photography, you would be well served by trying out lots of styles and types of photography.
Maybe you first started thinking seriously of how to get started in photography because you wanted better pics of your family and friends. That’s a great motivator. So is going to a zoo to try out wildlife photography in a controlled setting.
Take your camera to a sporting event, look for interesting buildings, pretty flowers, inspiring natural scenes, or a beautiful sunset. Try it all out, you might find something you unexpectedly enjoy quite a bit.
Dive Into Post-Processing
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Capturing the image, taking the picture, is only the initial part of how to get started in photography. In order to be in control of the outcome of the final image, some post-processing is needed.
Capturing our image files as JPEGs means they can be viewed on almost any device with a viewscreen, they can also be printed from our computer, at a kiosk, or online. Interestingly, even though a photographer may not have to post-process a JPEG to use it in those ways, the image is still processed after the shutter is released.
With a straight out of the camera JPEG, the camera has done the processing. But we don’t have to settle for that as our final picture. We can use post-processing programs ranging from extremely sophisticated to simple in order to enhance our images. Even if all we want to do is crop to a different size, that’s a function of post-processing.
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With digital imaging, it is a lot more accessible to photographers to be able to work with the images captured after the fact than it ever was when photography was mostly film and paper. Instead of a darkroom and chemicals, all we need to do is sit down at a computer and we can adjust from the bare minimum cropping or enhancements all the way to extreme special effects.
We don’t have to get all the way into post-processing unless we want to try some more advanced methods and techniques, but the ability to understand and do some of the basics of post-processing is a critical step of how to get started in photography if we want to get serious about the art.
Resolve to Learn More
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As a bonus step of how to get started in photography, I like to recommend as beginner photography tips that not only should you definitely do step number one early on, but also keep on reading, watching, and learning all about photography, especially with what interests you the most.
Almost all advanced photographers and videographers that I know, professional or otherwise, continue to research, practice, and improve their art and craft. It’s as essential for advanced photographers to do this as it is for beginners learning how to get started in photography.
There are so many ways to enjoy this great pastime of photography, I know you’ll enjoy your journey. Use these four steps of how to get started in photography to begin your journey.