The lessons I'm posting were done by John Setzler sixstring. He's a awesome photographer and taught me everything I know about photography. He gave me the following lessons to share here with others to help new photographers learn how to get started or even help if you feel you need to climb out of a slump. He has prints and a awesome gallery
Lesson
During my first year participating on the DPChallenge website, I have learned quite a bit. I look at things differently now. I see things that I didn’t see before. I have participated in a lot of discussions on the site and in chat that have helped me create a formula for improving my photography.
I have learned, through my own mistakes and others, that there are certain requirements involved in making great photographs. Learning to make great photos is a ‘from the ground up’ process just like anything else. Learning the basics first seems to be important. Once the basics are mastered, you can use that knowledge to expand your photography to higher levels of image quality and subjective excellence.
Lesson 1: Know Your Equipment
You have a camera. Do you know what it is capable of doing? How much experimentation have you done with it?
Read your camera’s manual from cover to cover. You need to be familiar with every function your camera offers. You need to know what the camera is capable of so that you can determine when to use certain features and how they will benefit your photos.
As you read your manual, if you stumble across a function or feature that you do not understand, it’s time to do some experimentation. Play around with the feature or function until you fully understand its purpose and how it affects your photos.
You should be familiar with every feature your camera offers. You should also understand what the purpose of each feature is. If you come across a feature or function that you don’t understand, you should ask for help. There are plenty of people on the site that will answer your questions.
Your camera manual will not explain much to you about photography in general. It will usually only give you a very minimal amount of information about the features of the camera. You will need to play around with the features to gain an understanding of what they actually do.
