These 5 tips are for a person interested in beginning photography. They are simply starting points, I shall be posting later with other tips to move your photography forward.
1) Don’t run out and buy, buy, buy equipment. Instead buy yourself a nice digital SLR, buy a good lens(preferably something good with low light like the Nikon 50mm f1.8 or equivelant model for camera brand)
2) Stop, enjoy the scenery around you. When you shoot, do so with thought, do so with a composed shot in mind. Pay attention to the background, pay attention to your composition, pay attention to your subject.
3) Lighting equipment is something you grow into, making wise investments from the beginning can save you thousands in the long run. Don’t just buy a strobe set from Ebay because it is cheap, buy something that will age with you, that has attachments and accesories. It is better to use one quality light, than 3 junk lights, because when push comes to shove, you want to be able to count on your equipment. I recommend starting off with a reflector or 3 and a good holding arm, then slowly build from there.
4) Study other people’s images, not to rip off their idea, but to study and learn their tricks. Learn to study images and tell how they are lit, how they composed it, why they did something.
5) Join a few social networking sites for photographers(and there are tons), read and do not be afraid to ask a question as you need. Buy books about photography and read. Search terms for better definitions.
This photograph by Conceptually Black was created at the Detroit Erotic Art Collaborative.
