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What was your biggest learning curve when it came to learnng photography?


CarolineJensen

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Post-processing to achieve a filmic look. I'm an engineer and arts is my weakest skill. I like how some images look like they came out of a movie, and I do have an idea how I want to get my images to look like in the end. But nothing registers in my head how this is achieved and how to read images "artistically".

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  • 2 weeks later...

Post-processing to achieve a filmic look. I'm an engineer and arts is my weakest skill. I like how some images look like they came out of a movie, and I do have an idea how I want to get my images to look like in the end. But nothing registers in my head how this is achieved and how to read images "artistically".

One of my favorite tips is to pull movie stills into Photoshop and analyze the colors. It is a more precise way to 'get under the hood' of the color grading and handling of highlights and shadows. 

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One of my favorite tips is to pull movie stills into Photoshop and analyze the colors. It is a more precise way to 'get under the hood' of the color grading and handling of highlights and shadows. 

I do that from time-to-time but I feel there is a key information I'm missing. I believe I need someone familiar with film color grading to explain what each element was done to a scene and why. And I don't mean what emotions to stir, I got that.

I also sometimes wish I don't need to go to photoshop to do so, but lightroom is limited. If only capture one would have subject masking as good or better than photoshop. That would be the jackpot for editing.

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For me, I think it is focusing and lighting and how so many different components(shutter speed, aperture, distance, ISO, etc.) require adjustments to get the right exposure.

For the longest time, I always thought I caught the perfect shot via the EVF or mini screen only to find out its all blurred because the darn AF focused on something else. Lots of missed moments because of that.

Also Post-Processing. I can't figure out how to make my photos look magical 😞 I understand the slider bars in LR, but I feel like I'm missing something.

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  • 4 weeks later...

When I learned the learning curve was quite steep as compared to today.  I started shooting professionally in 1985 when I was in college.  We had to know how to shoot, crop, edit, process film, make prints, scan, caption, etc...  It's so much easier now with AF, auto exposure, Sony's sensors, and everything being edited on computers.  

Initially, you learn how to really use lenses, you learn about how to operate the camera and control exposure, then composition, the entire electronic editing process, and post processing.  Simple things I take for granted as a longtime pro are lens selection, exposure, AF, keeping my backgrounds clean, and the like.

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Exposure was a big of a learning curve at first - realizing that Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO all work cohesively and changing one affects the others. Understanding Auto focus too... if I got a sharp photo of something moving, I was excited because I had no idea what I did to achieve it. 
But for me, it was more on the creative side. I realized I could take photos pretty easily and it took me years to come to grips with the fact that very little matters (at least for me) on the technical and what I put in front of the camera was more important. I had it the other way around at first 🙂

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Understanding aperture. My first camera was a shutter priority Canon AE-1 in 1979 and I think the concept of using a fast shutter speed for fast subjects is more straightforward than depth of field. To me playing with aperture is the more artistic side of exposure, not to downplay what can be done with shutter speed. All of this was compounded by not getting instant feedback on my shots and having to wait a week or more for my film to be developed. 

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On 5/4/2023 at 9:55 AM, pm-r said:

We had to know how to shoot, crop, edit, process film, make prints, scan, caption, etc...  It's so much easier now with AF, auto exposure, Sony's sensors, and everything being edited on computers.

For a long time I would advise folks to start out with a fully manual film camera to really learn the basics of exposure instead of something fancier with automatic modes. I really think that helped the fundamentals sink in. Almost too bad that isn't a realistic option these days.

I definitely don't miss the days of having to rush in from a game to soup film and still hit deadline though. Being able to edit from the camera well is much nicer!

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Visualizing and utilizing studio strobes was a skill I did not invest enough time and effort into early on.  I learned studio techniques using continuous lighting.  That was fine for a fixed studio location, but severely limited location lighting options.  I got a crash course in strobes from a generous mentor I assisted.  Strobes are invaluable tools in many situations.  The latest TTL radio triggering tools have made strobes more accessible and somewhat more plug-and-play.  The foundation of strobe knowledge I got many years ago is as relevant today as ever. 

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  • 1 month later...

Decision making and anticipation of potential upcoming shots. When I started sports photography I had a bad habit of always following the action, no matter what. For example, I would take a low percentage action shot, because it was action, and end up with a back, no ball in frame, or an umpire/player moving into my frame. I learned to stop forcing the shot and take what the game is giving me in my current position. Took a while to break that habit, what a difference it made. 

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