Welcome to the first ever Photo Mommy Photography Friday! Or Photo Fridays if we want to keep it short. I’ll be attempting to release a new tip or trick for self taught photographers(mom togs I’m looking at you) ever other Friday. So without further ado, class is in session!
Today’s Session: Beauty. It’s in the Eye of the Beholder.
When I first started looking into photography, there were a million + one directions to go. There wasn’t a lot of self help out there at the time and most sources suggested taking a college course or pursuing a degree. But going back to school for photography a) wasn’t an option financially and b) wasn’t something that I was interested in. I just wanted to learn the basics to take better photos of my son, so I started digging online for them.
The first problem that I came across when trying to self teach myself photography 101, was that the sources weren’t very “new user” friendly. Most of them used unfamiliar words, that I didn’t understand yet, without explaining them. Shutter Speed, Aperture, ISO, Ai, Av, Manual Mode, The Rule of 3rds, Full Frame, Crop Sensor, the list goes on and on. Confusing terms that, when not explained, can leave you walking around in a circle just as lost as when you started. There would be talk of these scary looking programs like Lightroom and Creative Cloud, things I had no idea how to use or where I would even get them from. Here’s a picture of Lightroom(it’s an editing software):
The 2nd and biggest problem that I’ve found was that everyone claimed to have the “right” information, forgetting to mention that photography is subjective to the user. Photography is an ART and there are a so many different ways to do things, both within and outside the rules. Two photographers can teach the same subject in two completely different ways and they can still both be right!
For example. Picasso. I look at some of Picasso’s more abstract pantings and think to myself “Who let the five year old into the art gallery?” Obviously the majority of the Art Industry disagrees with me on this 😉 Most see his paintings as revolutionary forms of Art that are worth millions and obviously worth placing in museums. But I’m not a huge fan of his sharp jagged edges, warped portraits, and bold moody colors. I’m much more interested in Monet. His blurry pastel compilations remind me of dreams. Using a thousands of strokes to create a single hazy image is fascinating to me, and in my opinion his paintings are stunningly beautiful.
But does that mean that someone else’s opinion on Picasso’s art is wrong? Of course not! We just have differing styles and preferences.
Photography is the same. Each person will find their own preferences and “right and wrong” while learning photography. My suggestion is that you start with the basics and work your way up from there. Particularly while studying a photographer who’s style you love. If that’s me, great! Stick around! I have lots to say and I plan on opening up another Mom Tog class soon 🙂 If not, do some browsing to search for a Photographer who’s style you would love to learn more about. Happy Fri-yay!
-Jessica
