What I Would’ve Told Myself When I Was Younger Starting Out in Photography
The basics. I would’ve started by telling myself that, figuring that out, and understanding the camera. Figure out your craft, and don’t rely on the latest trends or crap like that; essential and straightforward. There is something to be said about simplicity, especially when starting out.
Do NOT by any means get caught up in being a gearhead! A camera, a 50mm lens, and a roll of film! That’s all you need to get started now. Stop belittling that exercise of taking photos of that round styrofoam ball in the light; IT IS AN IMPORTANT LESSON! That work light from Lumberjack is perfect for light; you’re just getting started; stop trying to look like a pro and be one by learning your camera and your craft; I cannot stress this enough!
Do NOT limit yourself to one thing. You’re just starting, so you won’t know immediately what you like and don’t like or what you’re good at and not good at! Experiment, try all sorts of photography you’ll never know until you try, always good advice that I got from my parents.
Shoot, shoot, shoot, when I was starting we shot with film so it took a bit more money to actually get film, then process it etc. I was lucky though I worked for a one hour shop and so I got film at a discount and expired film even cheaper and I was able to process my film in the darkroom we had. But I never stopped shooting.
Light, LEARN light and love it, it will be your greatest tool in your photography adventure! Master light, artificial, natural, flash or strobe or continuous light, learn it as if your life depends on it because your life as a photographer definitely depends on it!
Share what you’ve learned and learn from that person you’re sharing with, we all cannot possibly know and learn everything and perhaps someone has learned something that we haven’t or learned it in a way that makes sense to us, a give and take with like minded individuals is another awesome tool!
Patience, is key you will not get what you want immediately you will make mistakes, learn from those mistakes and move on, but always have patience, and when you have something worthy, create a portfolio of your best work!
Never stop learning, always be thirsty for more and keep moving, but always take care of yourself first, if you don’t you’ll wear down, get sick or get lazy and you’ll produce crap work!
These are just a few ideas that come to mind, BUT, if I could speak to my younger self again, enjoy it, the learning is part of that journey and its crazy but I miss that not knowing and the discovery of it all. You will have ups, you will have downs, sometimes more than the other, but remain humble and always keep going! This isn’t just advice for my younger self but I think great advice for anyone interested in starting out as a photographer!
Create images, create a story, show others how you see the world!
Happy Shooting!
