You have just unwrapped your birthday present and it’s what you’ve always wanted: a camera! Quickly you charge the battery, load it into the camera and click the ‘on’ button. You look at the viewfinder only to see many strange and curious letters and icons. What now? The smart thing is to figure out how to learn photography!Let’s start with film photography since so few people know how to use film anymore. Film photographers first need to learn how to load the film properly and quickly. Asking someone who does film photography to mentor you is a great first step. Watching videos on YouTube or on tutorial websites is another place to learn the basics. Although it is important for ALL photographers to learn the basics of aperture, film speed, shutter speed, lighting and depth of field, it is more important for film photographers because they can’t erase their mistakes. It is more expensive for a film photographer to make a mistake than for a digital photographer. Another method how a person learns photography is to search for tutorials on the Internet. There is a lot of information out there on how to learn photography if one looks.Use Various Resources and ExperimentDigital photographers need to know how to learn photography also if they are to take great pictures. Because digital photographers can experiment much more than film photographers, they can learn how to manipulate their cameras more quickly and understand the effects of each button and mode. Digital photographers can find information on photography through books, internet tutorials, internet courses, on ground courses and through mentors. I found how to learn photography first through my digital camera’s manual, which was a great source of information on all of the modes and ways of dealing with lighting and resolution.Study Master Photographers and Their WorkWhen you are a bit more advanced and know your camera a little better, a great resource on how to learn photography is to study the master photographers of our time. Go to a book store or the library or the Internet and search for ‘Great Photographers’ and you will find many things to read by the best of the best. You can see how to learn photography on an advanced level by studying these photographs and studying how the photographer set their cameras and judged the lighting. Experiment. Try to duplicate some of their styles and some of their photos. By duplicating what they did, you can further understand how to use your camera and what to do in certain situations. You can also learn how to take pictures in various styles and genres. Mix it up and try various genres. You can become a photographer who knows how to take pictures in a variety of styles and this will give you the ‘Wow’ factor among your friends and family!If you do a little research, it is very easy to find a great number of resources on how to learn photography. Have a fun time learning!
Tag Archives: Photography
Saving Money Tips – Set an Entertainment Allowance
Don’t we all just love to be entertained? There is nothing nicer than looking forward to going to the opera or attending a musical performance. We live in exciting times, as there are so many functions for us to participate in, that it can be difficult choosing what to attend and it can certainly be hard containing our spending habits.A lot of entertainment can be quite expensive and most times we don’t realise how much a night out actually costs us. You not only have the cost of the event, but usually these sort of social outings cost us money in other ways such as taxis, drinks, clothes etc.The best way to control the money that you do spend on entertainment is to set yourself a quarterly / yearly entertainment allowance. Below are some clues to help you do this.1. Work out what you would like to do over the next quarter / year:
Visit galleries / exhibitions
Attend concerts / musical performances
Watch opera / ballet / dance
Attend pantomimes / theatre / shows / plays / musicals
Attend film festivals
Participate in balls / charity events
Go to circus shows / live performances / comedy shows
2. Estimate how much the tickets / entrance fares are going to cost you.3. Spend time working out the ‘hidden extras’ so you know the full cost of the function / event. There are often costs to consider such as:
Buying / hiring attire – formal / semi-formal outfits
Attending the hairdresser / make up artist
Paying for accommodation / flights
Hiring a car / paying for taxis / parking fees
Eating out / drinks
4. Tally up the whole cost of your entertainment. Look at your budget and ensure your quarterly / yearly entertainment allowance will fit in with your overall budget. Remember entertainment is a “want” and not a “need”. You have other priorities and financial commitments in your budget to allow you to meet your “needs”. These must be met before deciding where else you “want” to spend your money.5. If your quarterly / yearly entertainment allowance is above what you have available in your budget, look for some alternatives:
Buy a cheaper class of ticket e.g. B reserve instead of A reserve
Go to a matinee showing instead of a night showing
Find an outfit in your existing wardrobe instead of buying / hiring an outfit
Get a friend / family member to do your hair / make up
Eat before going out
Drink water / juice / soft drinks instead of alcohol
Attend events locally to save on airfares / accommodation / car hire
Drive to avoid taxi fares
Cut the number of events you expect to attend
Find a cheaper option e.g. go to a local theatre to see a show, rather than a big performance centre
6. Find a way of monitoring what you do spend over the quarter / year. Use a software programme to record all of your costs for entertainment throughout the quarter / year. The programme should record how much you have spent and how much you still have left to spend. This will ensure you stay within your proposed budget.Entertainment need to be looked upon as a treat. We have mentioned earlier that entertainment is a “want” and not a “need”. The functions and events you attend should be looked upon as special times in your life that you can really look forward to. If you don’t consider them as a specialty / treat, then attending such events will become the normal. You will think of these activities as “must haves” instead of “nice to haves”. You will expect to go to them on a regular basis and you will find you spend lots and lots of money satisfying your wishes.Your money can only go so far. I am sure there are a lot of important things in your life that you are trying to achieve. This might be something on your wish list to buy, a holiday you want to go on, someone you wish to help financially etc. So, see if you can make a bit of a sacrifice with what you spend on your entertainment and start limiting what you spend over a quarter / year. You don’t need to cut entertainment out completely. You still need to have fun and look forward to special times, but ensure you do so whilst giving yourself an opportunity to meet your other goals and wishes.