Photography Class Questionnaire

[Nancy and Georgia Brown]

Sigh, we have all finished yet another doodle calendar rush. We are all thinking "next year I'm going to get started earlier, I'm going to learn to use my camera. I'm going to have better pictures to enter."

While the idea is fresh, I'm open to starting a discussion or class on learning to take better pictures. Several have expressed interest in the idea. While many of you are so interested in learning photoshop to edit, I think it's best to start with a great image to begin with. A image can always be edited by many of the people here to make it better, but the best edit can't retake the picture for you if it's out of focus, or the lighting is poor.

There will be homework assignments and discussion involved. I know for myself watching a video of a new technique seems so educational, and then I try it out on my own and it's not that easy. I run into problems and I can't ask the video "what did I do wrong?" I want all of us to be able to answer that, and we can support each other by giving helpful tips. 

My idea, aside from teaching people to take better pictures, is to incorporated doodles as a constant in the assignments. We all have these lovely, albeit sometimes less than cooperative, doodles that should be earning their keep! Hopefully by next year we will have dozens of excellent pictures to choose from. 

Before I can plan anything I want to get more information. If you are interested please reply to this post and complete this questionnaire.

1. What kind of camera / lenses do you have?

2. What settings do you use for exposure and focus. Do you use your camera on automatic only?

3. Do you know how to read a histogram? (Do you know what it is?)

5. What software do you use to view / edit your photos?

6. What aspect of photography do you find most difficult?

7. What are you most interested in learning?

[Laurie, Wally & Charlotte]

My daughter just got married and we are in the process of moving, but life has settled down a bit and I'm really interested in participating.  

1) I use a Nikon D800 with 70-300, 24-70 and 50 mm lenses.

2) I usually shoot in manual with auto-focus, choosing between the various focal-point options on the camera. 

3) I hardly ever look at the histogram.

4) Flash photography is confusing for me. I do have a speedlight. I'd like to learn more about portraiture. 

5) I use Photos on my Mac, iPhoto and Aperture. I have an old version of Photoshop, but besides cloning, I really don't have a clue.

6) I'd like to learn about selecting new lenses and understanding how they can be used. I'd also like to know more about using my speedlight when setting my camera manually.  Additionally, I have a Sony Cyber-shot RX100, and am thinking about purchasing another small camera that will give me more options.  

Thanks, Nancy!

[Nancy and Georgia Brown]

If you are serious about photography, we need to focus on the big guy, meaning your nikon. The d800 is a really great camera. I think the smaller cameras are easy. And they can produce great photos. But because the sensors are smaller they seldom give the kind of control and malleability you can get with the files of a larger sensor. Most people focus on mega pixels. I focus on sensor size, and quality.

If you need advice on lenses, I can help. You have a good range. I can't tell the quality of your lenses from your post, but normally the more expensive the better. There is a reason for that. But choosing lenses depends a lot on what you like to photograph and your personal shooting style. 

I'm happy to hear you are shooting in manual mode. I am curious, if you seldom look at the histogram, what do you base your settings on? It's a question, not a criticism. 

Photos is a decent program. I used to use Aperture, but converted to Lightroom once it was obvious apple was not going to support it. I hope you are shooting raw.

Flash photography is a big subject. I think we need to get some of the basics down first.

Please review the materials for the first assignment on the histogram. Look forward to your participation.