Welcome to The ShutterBug Corner

Model: Lacey Brown

Welcome to The ShutterBug Corner, I am John Steinman, your guide through the wonderful and fascinating world of photography. My goal is to help you learn and improve your photography. To keep things simple and fun, I mean to me that is what photography is, fun and exciting, and if you are here now then you must feel the same way. I have been taking pictures for more than 20 years (on and off). I do not claim to be an expert, but I have produced many wonderful images through the years. I by no means know all there is to know about photography, this is one art form that there is always room to learn new techniques. There are so many styles of photography that no one person can possible know all there is about all of them. But I am going to share with you what I do know.

 

The first thing I want to go over is camera choice... This is more for the beginner, but that is why I am here to help the beginner to the seasoned photographer. I have had many beginner photographers come to me and my wife (also a photographer) to shadow us on shoots to learn from us in real-life situations, and I have seen one common factor with the most of them. What is it they have in common? Their big, fancy, and very expensive cameras. We actually had one young lady show up with a $3000.00 camera. I was stunned when she told me that it was her first DSLR camera, and that  she was thinking (I repeat, THINKING) about taking photography in collage. I am not saying that she made a mistake, but she was shooting for the first hour in "Auto" mode. So basically she was using a $3000.00 point and shoot. So here is my advice, go out and purchase a entry level DSLR, such as a Canon Rebel or a Nikon 3100 or something on that order. The bigger cameras do have more features, higher pixels, and larger ISO settings, but they also have a bunch of extra features that you are paying big money for that a beginner is never going to use such as GPS and WiFi. Later I asked her why that camera? She said one reason was that it shot 1080p HD video. So then I asked, are you wanting to take pictures or film movies? Take pictures of course, she answered. Then why on earth would she base one of her purchasing decisions on it shooting HD video. My point is, you don't need a high dollar camera to start out. I have seen some great shots from people using point and shoot cameras, not that I recommend using one if you are seriously wanting to be a photographer. But, if you can capture good images with a point and shoot, then you have a photographer eye, and that is one of the most important things to have.

 

Now after you have purchased your new DSLR, or if you already have one, the next thing you need to do is learn what your camera can and can not do... Yep... that's right, read the manual. I know it seems like a boring task, but it is worth it. The new DSLRs (even the entry level) have so much more to offer than the old 35mm cameras that I started with. Once you have read the manual and have a good understanding of the camera, go try it out. Shoot anything and everything around your house, inside and out. Feel free to send me some of what you shoot to shutterbugcorner@gmail.com with My First Pics in the subject line. One more piece of advice, if you are going to take photography as a collage course, and your goal is to have your own studio in the future, make photography your minor and major in business. In the long run you will be glad that you did.

 

Next time we will get into more details on shooting.