OH MY. photographic jargon.

Filed under:hznp.com — rose @ January 7, 2009 edit
  • i'm a beginner although i've been shooting for a bit of a while, i'd say.
    but the whole photographic jargon about strobe lighting/softboxes/types of lightbulbs/flash compensation confuse me. IMMENSELY.

    i'm more into landscape/architectural photography, but i see so many portraits on flickr so well done that i get a bit discouraged.
    i know i have a long way to go, but what's a great way to start learning about artificial lighting and capturing natural light? besides shooting as much as you can.

    :-P


  • A photography professor told me to only look at good photographs. So you have to learn from the better images. There are no short cuts. It takes time, practice, lots of mistakes and if possible someone with more experience to give you a helping hand.

    Start with one light. Buy an umbrella setup for a flash and start there. You can do some great simple stuff and get use to the quality of light differences with one light, the sun and a reflector. Remember, it is all about the quality of light. Learn to create hard light, soft light, softer light. Put the light stand in different places. Look at the images. See where shadows might need to get lifted and add a reflector. There is no hard rules to the look of an image (unless you are creating a specific image genre) so this is how you create your own style.

    After you get this combination well established you will naturally want to add more lights.


    David Myles Stam
    www.davidmylesphotography.com


  • something i am doing (as a total noob) i have a little notebook dedicated to "photography stuff". i note down ideas on stuff to shoot, but also, when i come across jargon, i just write it down quickly, and when i have a bit of time i just google it. that way most of the time, i dont only learn about that specific term, but also often run across websites that explain a whole lotta things about photography. then i end up reading article after article sometimes for 3-4 hours and feel a whole lot smarter afterwards.
    then, if i need clarification on something, i come here and search past threads. if nothing i post a question...

    in fact i do the same thing with a LOT of other things i dont understand. i learned to train my dogs (without any previous experience) entirely over the internet. living in a foreign country, i have to say i'd be royally screwed without the internet! lol


  • something i am doing (as a total noob) i have a little notebook dedicated to "photography stuff". i note down ideas on stuff to shoot, but also, when i come across jargon, i just write it down quickly, and when i have a bit of time i just google it. that way most of the time, i dont only learn about that specific term, but also often run across websites that explain a whole lotta things about photography. then i end up reading article after article sometimes for 3-4 hours and feel a whole lot smarter afterwards.
    then, if i need clarification on something, i come here and search past threads. if nothing i post a question...

    in fact i do the same thing with a LOT of other things i dont understand. i learned to train my dogs (without any previous experience) entirely over the internet. living in a foreign country, i have to say i'd be royally screwed without the internet! lol

    x2

    I thought I was the only one to do this :-P

    Since I only got into DSLRs within the last few months I've been overwhelmed with information. I work in IT so I spend a good portion of the day on the internet :lol: in turn, I have soooo much information gathered that I take notes and collect different printouts. Whenever I forget some of the less used techniques, I reference notes. It has helped me tremendously (and probably saved me many times from posting simple one answer questions on here). I would reccommend doing that along with tons of searching throughout the forums and google. You sure can learn alot with the internet.


  • Google is your friend. Hit a term, look it up. Initially you're going to spend a LOT of time reading, but we all go through it. Don't worry about it. It took me YEARS to get to a point where I could quickly remember that small number Fstops meant bigger aperatures. It's an odd hobby/profession for things like that.

    Don't get discouraged by better shots. Get inspired. Look at them, try to understand what they did, and why you like it. Try to replicate it. Try to expand beyond it. In time you'll find your own style and be able to replicate certain styles when needed or called for.

    Takes time... lots of time... lots of shots.

    Keep at it.


  • Hit your local library, there should be some good info, and remember, lighting theory is lighting theory. Film, digital, it's all the same. As well, look into joining a local camera club. Oh, and practice, practice, practice!


  • Google is your friend. Hit a term, look it up. Initially you're going to spend a LOT of time reading, but we all go through it. Don't worry about it. It took me YEARS to get to a point where I could quickly remember that small number Fstops meant bigger aperatures. It's an odd hobby/profession for things like that.

    Don't get discouraged by better shots. Get inspired. Look at them, try to understand what they did, and why you like it. Try to replicate it. Try to expand beyond it. In time you'll find your own style and be able to replicate certain styles when needed or called for.

    Takes time... lots of time... lots of shots.

    Keep at it.

    Just to add, I read alot of manaheim's posts. It might sound silly but I've learned quite a few small, simple techniques (and some advanced also) that really helped clarify things. When other people need feedback or just have simple questions, manaheim seems to have good responses that help me out too.

    So, thank you btw! :thumbup:







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