How long have most of you been at this?

[Anewman]

How long did it take you to become a proficient photographer? Did you improve mostly by trial and error or by a more traditional, textbook approach?

I will let you know when it happens.

But I do think I improve most by trial and error, mostly error. I have taken some certificate programs at 2 local JCs, but found them to be very basic.

 

[jann1033]

hmm husband's hobby is sketching...a couple $ for a pad of paper and a couple pencils ...looks like i need to direct him toward a more expensive hobby to justify my camera addiction
i waited till i could get a dslr when my slr started having problems rather than a p&s although i was originally going to get a s2 instead of a rebel xt...the couple p&s digitals i had seen before that were just such lousy image quality i knew i'd hate it and slow as could be. about a yr before i got mine, daughter had gotten a p&S that was slow but the iq was much better than they used to be which made me start to consider "digital".

 

[YesDear]

I have been doing photography since the early 1970's. I agree with most of the other comments that you are constantly learning. The photo math and non autofocus days were a different approach than the autofocus digital days.
You approached the process differently.

I am on my 6th Nikon. I have had a film F2 and FE and a digital 995, D70 and now a D200. I love my D200 because I can use my manual focus lenses from my F2 days. I also have the 18-200 lens for the D200 and love it as well.

I have always said I would far rather have a good eye for photography than an expensive camera. Some people just see things differently than others and they make better photographers. To me there is a difference between someone that takes a lot of pictures and a good photographer.

I was always taught in film, that a camera needed to be constantly fed with film to keep it and you happy. That is what I love about digital. Instant gratification. I think that will increase your learning curve because you can track and learn from your mistakes quickly and adapt. I shoot in Raw and fine Jpeg which takes large cards to keep up. I currently have 4 4gb card I carry with me most of the time.

It is not uncommon to take 1500 shots for a normal Disney trip. We go three to four times a year so many great chances like at F&G and Star Wars weekend to get unique shots. I also take a laptop and burn pictures daily to a DVD for storage.

There are many great technical and creative websites today for you to learn from. Depending on what you want to take, just google it and enjoy.

Whether it is a point and shoot or an expensive DSLR just continue to take pictures and enjoy!

 

[0bli0]

my father was a very passionate photographer. this rubbed off on all of us kids. i think it started when my little sister (CarolC) and i photographed 2 stuffed dogs on a 'camping trip' when we were little kids with a Kodak Brownie Hawkeye (mid 70's). i took one photography course in high school and have developed film off and on since then. i still develop film at home, but i don't enlarge. i shoot sports professionally and i generally have a camera with me wherever i go (i have both film and digital in my bag).

i reached a level of satisfaction when i had my first photo published in a local newspaper. since then i've had many photos in both local and international magazines. currently, i have photos up as part of exhibits in Finland and Spain and had 6 feature photos in a gallery in Hong Kong. recently, one of my photos was chosen for publication in the first POTN book.

so it's a level of satisfaction, but i would still say i'm a long way off from being truly proficient. i will say shooting tens of thousands of shots per year helps. if nothing else, i've learned not to strictly follow the rules, but do what results in what i like.

fwiw, i'm even further away from proficiency in my golf. but my little sis (CarolC) works for a major golf manufacturer and has helped me with the right tools (not that it's helped). skiing and paintball, on the otherhand, i'd call myself proficient -but i digress....

 

[jann1033]

my father was a very passionate photographer. this rubbed off on all of us kids. i think it started when my little sister (CarolC) and i photographed 2 stuffed dogs on a 'camping trip' when we were little kids with a Kodak Brownie Hawkeye (mid 70's). i took one photography course in high school and have developed film off and on since then. i still develop film at home, but i don't enlarge. i shoot sports professionally and i generally have a camera with me wherever i go (i have both film and digital in my bag).

i reached a level of satisfaction when i had my first photo published in a local newspaper. since then i've had many photos in both local and international magazines. currently, i have photos up as part of exhibits in Finland and Spain and had 6 feature photos in a gallery in Hong Kong. recently, one of my photos was chosen for publication in the first POTN book.

so it's a level of satisfaction, but i would still say i'm a long way off from being truly proficient. i will say shooting tens of thousands of shots per year helps. if nothing else, i've learned not to strictly follow the rules, but do what results in what i like.

fwiw, i'm even further away from proficiency in my golf. but my little sis (CarolC) works for a major golf manufacturer and has helped me with the right tools (not that it's helped). skiing and paintball, on the otherhand, i'd call myself proficient -but i digress....

I always wondered if you were pro or just really really really talented ( although i guess one doesn't preclude the other like i made that sound)
would you feel uncomfortable posting some of those ?(or maybe it's illegal or something if they have rights to them...)i'd just like to see them or if you have them on a site somewhere....Thanks

 

[MarkBarbieri]

I started shooting with a Minolta 7i back in the 80's. I trashed it (canoe mishap) and switched to waterproof P&S cameras for a few years. I switched back to SLRs with a Canon Rebel in the late 90's. I upgraded that to an Elan II. I switched to using DSLRs with the Canon D60 back in 2002 just before my second child was born.

Like almost everyone else here, I don't see myself as an expert. I consider myself reasonably competent. I am still at the stage where I think of all the things I could have done better when I review my work. I'll probably always be at that stage.

Photography is a moderately expensive hobby in monetary terms. The thing I loved about it is that it is a very inexpensive hobby in terms of time away from the family. I have lots of friends that play golf several times a month, losing five hours per outing of time they could be spending with their kids. I don't have that much time to spare, so I purposely chose hobbies that I could do with my family. When my kids get old enough and have enough interest, perhaps we'll start golfing. For now, we swim, we go to parks, we hike, we travel, and we play, and I bring my camera along and enjoy both the activities and recording those activities.

Another great thing about photography as a hobby is that it leaves with you something tangible. If you are into scrapbooking, woodworking, painting, etc, you know the feeling. Hobbies like soccer, golf, canoeing, and such are great fun, but when you come home, you have nothing to show for your effort.

I've learned photography every way that I can. I've taken seminars, read books, participated in photography clubs, gotten advice from friends, and watched instructional videos. Most of all, I've practiced and I've looked at my photos and thought about what I could have done better.

If you've read all of these threads with people protesting that they aren't "proficient" after years of shooting, you may get the impression that photography is hard. It isn't. Anyone can buy a camera and go out and get decent pictures in lots of situations. The cool thing about photography is that you start to see so many ways that you can improve. There are all sorts of new techniques to learn, new post-processing tricks, new gear, new subjects, etc. Last year, my goal was to focus on my digital processing techniques, so I learned a lot about using Photoshop and Lightroom to process my photos. This year, I'm trying to learn more about lighting by playing around with some flashes and reflectors. Next year, I think I'm going to get a tilt/shift lens to learn about that. There is always something new that can make you more capable and make your pictures better. As long as you know that there is so much that you don't know, it's hard to consider yourself proficient.

In addition to photography, I've recently been playing around with videography. I picked up a new camcorder recently and have been trying to become competent with it. There seems to be an ENORMOUS difference in the difficulty of shooting good video compared with shooting good photos. Maybe that's why you often see wonderful photos shot by one person but just about every video worth watching has a director, sound guys, lighting guys, a cameraman, etc. I've seen a lot of really good amateur photographs. I've seen very few amateur videos that I can stand to watch at all.

 

[Master Mason]

In addition to photography, I've recently been playing around with videography. I picked up a new camcorder recently and have been trying to become competent with it. There seems to be an ENORMOUS difference in the difficulty of shooting good video compared with shooting good photos. Maybe that's why you often see wonderful photos shot by one person but just about every video worth watching has a director, sound guys, lighting guys, a cameraman, etc. I've seen a lot of really good amateur photographs. I've seen very few amateur videos that I can stand to watch at all.

It is funny you mention that, I bought a camcorder about 5 years ago, you could count on one hand the number of times I have actually used it. It didn't work out as the training tool I thought it would be(for my son's pitching), and I just can't subject others or myself for that matter to watching video. I guess I was tramatized enough watching my grandma's home movies for one life time.

 

[photo_chick]

Photography is a moderately expensive hobby in monetary terms. The thing I loved about it is that it is a very inexpensive hobby in terms of time away from the family. I have lots of friends that play golf several times a month, losing five hours per outing of time they could be spending with their kids.

My DH takes ouroldest with him when he goes out, and they usually play with his Dad and brother. It is a family thing for them. DS will go when he is old enough! I enjoy that time to do my thing! But I have seen the guys who would not dream of taking a 6 year old to play golf. DH was playing at that age so he sees that DD can too.

In addition to photography, I've recently been playing around with videography. I picked up a new camcorder recently and have been trying to become competent with it. There seems to be an ENORMOUS difference in the difficulty of shooting good video compared with shooting good photos. Maybe that's why you often see wonderful photos shot by one person but just about every video worth watching has a director, sound guys, lighting guys, a cameraman, etc. I've seen a lot of really good amateur photographs. I've seen very few amateur videos that I can stand to watch at all.

This is why DH handles the video camera! If I do it the end results look like they were shot during an earth quake. I am more into video from the cinematography standpoint. I tell him what shots to get and DH does the work.