Hi everyone,

it's not a secret that 1x is an incredible community of talented photographers. It is a source of inspiration for many and the variety of techniques and topics is very vast. And so I've been wondering... where do all these photographers come from? Are you self-taught, have you taken courses, have you studied a degree? What's the background that got you guys here?

Good question Olga and interesting to know.

 

I think you will find the older photographers mostly self taught with more recent, receiving formal instructions of one kind or another.

 

I have been self taught and started early, both making images and developing/printing. Trial and error, reading magazines books and the occasional help from other photographer.

 

At some point everyone obtains some "formal" help, I suppose. In my case was learning to do internegatives, density and contrast masks for printing slides.

 

Today the internet is a vast source, excellent help, just need to be sure the help is good. Just as much incorrect information, one has to be careful.

 

al

I started photography from using digital camera. since day 1.

 

To train my eye, I have been reading magazines and internet article for a while. The first boost came from joining BPSOP classes, together with my friend, where the assignments trained my eye further to recognise elements of design. I got the foundation from there and ever since been improving by reading books and analyzing the works of great photographers. Getting a good books works wonders.

 

For using PS / LR, it been always learning from books borrowed from the library.

 

Yes, guessed at some point in time, i will go for another class but this time will be very focused on selected topic of interest.

 

:)

 

I still have to learn a lot, but this is how I learned what I have learned so far. :)

 

When I bought my first camera (DSLR) I decided to set it to Manual immediatly and leave it there no matter what, in order to learn how the camera works. I wanted to be able to choose every setting myself and to understand what I was doing.

 

I learned a lot by watching photographs and paintings.

Here on 1x I read a lot of comments in the Critique gallery, not only on my own images but also on others.

 

My mother is a painter, I think I learned a lot from her. She often has good tips about composition and lights and darks, if I ask her to take a look at a photo and she sees there's something wrong with the compo or light she will tell me. And she asks me too to look at her paintings and how I think about it. We discuss each other's work.

 

I also read and watched a lot of tutorials, on youtube for instance I learned how to work with photoshop.

 

Also I try to take a good look at colors I see, without a camera. I ask myself questions like, which colors do I really see? Which color has the shadowpart of the white door, and which color has the sunlit part? Which colors have the trees in the distance? And then you see the trees in the distance are purple for instance, and the shadows on the white door are different shades of blue, depending on the light. I think that might be helpful for editing images.

 

And I also imagine photographs without having a camera with me, just looking around and imagine a frame, ah, that would be a nice photo. At first I did this on purpose but now I do this unconsciously. But I think most you do that.

 

Thank you all for the insight. It was really interesting to read your answers.

 

Leonie, you are so lucky to have your mother as an art peer. Such luck and privilege. And yes, it shows in your works :)

 

Luke, I suppose reading does work wonders. You've got a very eclectic portfolio, looking forward to see your new works :)

 

Alfred, your bird pictures are simply amazing. Being an 'indoors' photographer, I greatly admire not only the technical skills but also the ability to find the 'right' picture.

 

Personally, I'm too lazy to do anything when it comes to learning. I haven't had any formal training and keep saying: yeah, one day, I'll take a course, learn how to use the programs and so on and so on. It just comes out as it does.

 

I believe it's always a combination. One has to see the right frame and mood but it's also necessary to know how to achieve the final result. Thank you all for answering :)

 

I myself would say im self-taught, even tough i have had basic training in photography.

 

Anyone can be taught how to use the tools, the rules and equipment, but I think the most important thing is to improve your "eye", on what is a superb photograph. I myself keep watchinging photograps and ponder on what makes it so beautiful or interesting.

 

I love Black & White, in my opinion, the luminance is more important than the colours, I think Black & white is more elegant.

 

When you know all the basics about lighting your pictures, finding beautiful compositions, using histogram, everything about optics and your equipment. Then you can truly start to improve as a photographer. If you have to ponder on the settings and what particular equipment to use, it will distract you from the main thing. Painting with light and making an esthetic experience for the viewer, deleting everything from the picture that could distract the viewer and brake the illusion.

 

When you don't have to think about the technical part of taking the photograph, and can focus entirely on "seeing" the light and the composition of the particular scene, it's so reliefing. You fing the lens and the settings intuitively..

Eetu described it perfectly.

 

Training the eye to see good composition and then learning to make good composition is the key skill of a photographer. This skill transcend any camera model he holds, making the camera just another tool.

 

Regardless of which camera model, they operates on the same principle of capturing light on a sensor thru a len.

And part of my journey is to master the tool enough so that good picture can be made. :)