lørdag den 5. marts 2011

First hurdle of photography

By Michael Munk


I don’t hesitate to make the assumption that most people have taking a picture at some point. Most in the occasion of a family get-together or the ordinary travel photography on holidays.
And on the other hand I guess many people at least once in their life have had this feeling:

“I wish I’d taken that picture!”

From my own experience I know that the following statement is often a common thought among people who has never had any interest in photography.

“I need really expensive gear to get those amazing pictures myself”

From my point of view this is only about 10% of the truth! Yes, I admit that some pictures can only be done with a DSLR camera and again some only with a special kind of lens. BUT I also know that all professional photographers can make extraordinary images with a point-and-shoot camera and a free version of a post-editing program. Why is that?

Because getting amazing images is mostly about opening your mind to creativity and practice your ability to think out-of-the-box  -  to realize the potential of every moment in any situation.

To trees holding hands at sunrise
© Copyright by MunkPhotography.com

Every beginning is difficult and it takes practice to develop! Just as well as sport, a new job and riding a bike does. It all takes time. And we all remember a time when a certain task seemed impossible, but we managed to learn it anyway.

All things are difficult before they become easy. Otherwise we would all be equally skilled!

Therefore do not expect National Geographic to ask for your photos to begin with and you will have smaller risk of disappointment. Because one of the worst motivation killers on the way to become a better photographer, is to compare your own work with all the professional images out there! Instead keep track of your own improvements.

Each time you take a photo, you will get a little bit better!

Digital photography of our time offers a very important feature – DELETE. This provides the opportunity to practice and explore the marvelous potential of modern cameras without consideration. Don´t be afraid to lie down, climb high, get close or step back and push the shutter button over and over again.

Yellow, black and blue
© Copyright by MunkPhotography.com


Another piece of advice when using a DSLR: Learn from it! Notice what setting it uses in different situations. Also force yourself to leave the Auto-mode and explore the way the camera acts in the Priority-modes. After a while this will lead you to exploring Manual-mode. I will do a more detailed article about using the different camera settings later on but here are some quick guidelines:

·         Shutter priority (“Tv” or “S” on the top dial): How does different shutter speeds change the result of my picture? How does the aperture (chosen by the camera) vary when I change the shutter speed?
1/4 sec.                        Low shutter speeds is useful in low light
1/80 sec.                      Medium shutter speeds is good for normal photos in reduced light conditions.
1/1000 sec.                  High shutter speeds is useful in freezing fast moving object (cars, animals)

·         Aperture priority (“Av” or “A” on the top dial): How does the shutter speed vary when I change the aperture. How does the depth of field (DOF) change at different apertures?
f/2.8                              Useful for low light and portrait
f/16                               Useful for landscape photos on a sunny day
f/22                               Only allows a small amount of light through the lens

·         Manual mode (“M” on the top dial): This is ultimate control of both shutter speed and aperture.


Always remember this


All the professionals have taking thousands and thousands of useless beginner photos!


All the pictures you see online and in magazines are those very few good images that have managed to get through the eye of the needle. You WILL get something close to that some day - soon...




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