Wait! Where’s My Parachute?

You have a new camera, or a camera that’s been on the shelf, and you haven’t started using it...yet.

Why not?

Does it feel like you are jumping off without a parachute or safety net? This is a very common feeling!

All those technical terms in that 150+ page manual with the tiny pictures full of data you don’t need can feel like information overload! Where do you start?

First of all, if you only listen to camera manufacturers and camera pros, they are all going to make you feel like you need to keep investing in more lenses, better lenses, bigger camera bodies, more megapixels to get better at photography. That is how manufacturers make more money or pros make themselves sleep better at night after investing in $4,000 lenses. Guess what, all that gear comes with even more instruction manuals. That won’t help you. Until you are at pro level and have some experience, you do not need to get pro gear. What you need to do is ---- JUMP!

In order to jump in and get started, it helps to figure out what’s been holding you back.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself. Are you worried you will mess up the camera and never get the settings back to normal? Has someone told you that your kit lens won’t do the job? Do you find yourself constantly comparing your photos to photos you see online? Do you lack “ideas” of what to shoot or have trouble making your “vision” a reality?

If you answered “yes” to any of those questions then you are facing one or more of the four very common issues that I would consider photography dream “crushers” or stumbling blocks (settings/gear, editing, composition/lighting, motivation). Once you know what your stumbling blocks are you can work to overcome them.

While we can’t resolve all of them in this blog post, I am here to tell you a few things to keep in mind when you take up photography as a hobby, or otherwise. If this advice doesn’t sound realistic to you, then check out the photos below each section. They are numbered and captioned to demonstrate each of the concepts discussed.

Settings / Getting the Most Out of Your Gear:
1. It’s okay to use Auto Mode. In our previous blog post we discussed not feeling pressured to use Manual Mode and went into some detail on camera modes that you can easily try.

2. You can’t “break” the settings on your camera. There is a reset to factory option in your camera menu and if you click here you can download our troubleshooting guide (scroll down to cheat sheets section) for when your camera is “acting up.”

3. You don’t need expensive gear to get fun photos. The best camera is the one you have in your hands, whatever that might be, even a smartphone! Our Buy Camera Gear page includes recommendations for inexpensive equipment and a lens guide by price point. However, you don’t need anything other than a smartphone, bridge camera, or entry level DSLR with kit lens to get some great images and more importantly, learn the craft. Towards the end of this blog post there is a link to our Best Settings Cheat Sheets on Etsy which gives you basic starting points for a variety of shooting scenarios (use coupon FOCUS20 for a limited time to get 20% off).

1. Taken with a point-and-shoot Polaroid in Auto mode by my daughter when she was age 10.

2. You cannot "break" it; all cameras have a reset.

3. Dandelion using my kit lens and $10 extension tubes from Fotodiox.

Editing / Getting Images that Pop:
4. Never, ever, ever compare your photos to other people’s photos online. Most of those photos have been edited to perfection. Your sunset photo isn’t going to look that bold right out of the camera in RAW (info on RAW versus JPEG). Let’s face it, we can tell when someone has saturated a sunset and we know it didn’t look like that in real life, or if it did look that way to our eyes, we still know the camera didn’t capture all of it so perfectly.

5. It’s okay to use presets until you get good at making your own. Here’s are a few resources for free presets you can download.

6. It’s okay to use tutorials to show you editing tricks and it’s also okay to not edit photos at all. All photographers will not have access to editing software. Photos can be left natural! Or use a very basic editing program, even an app on your phone, many of which are free (check out our videos on Best Apps for Editing and Graphic Design on our YouTube Channel - scroll down to the video links).

4. Editing makes this photograph (courtesy of Pixabay.com) look so much more vivid.

5. The right side of this image was tweaked using an ON1 preset called "Grandma's Lemonade."

6. This is a photo from my cellphone and has not been edited.

Composition / Lighting:
7. Every shot does not have to be something spectacular. Most people do not have the budget or time to travel to exotic locations. The most exciting place I visited recently was my backyard. Try our around-the-house Scavenger Hunt (scroll down to the video section) to get some practice with composition.

8. Get outside your comfort zone and try new things. Work on your areas of weakness. Even though those photos might be truly awful now, they will get better as you learn and improve (see our blog post on Composition Basics or try out our Text Message Composition class for only $5 at Arist.co)

7. Cute leopard frog that was out in my backyard. Always have your camera handy!

8. First attempt at a moon photo using a new telephoto lens. Is it as good as the photos on Instagram? No, but you learn by doing and you don't learn if you don't try!

Motivation / Getting Ideas and Getting Started:
9. Some days the ideas will flow, but when they don’t, look for inspiration everywhere and anywhere. What we normally look at as boring or mundane can actually be the source of new inspiration. If you sign up for our email list you can access our first Boredom Busters Photography Guide for free and get updates when we add new ones. If the pop-up doesn’t generate in about 20 seconds, just email us to ask for your copy!

10. Keep it simple silly. Create a doable goal and don’t beat yourself up if you don’t meet that goal. Some people try setting a goal of one photo a day. Others may find one photo a week to be a better fit.

11. Build “photography time” into your schedule. If your schedule is already full, where can you shave some time for even ten minutes of photo taking? Remember that very few prize winning photos are taken from a sitting position on your couch.

12. Repeats are okay. If you run out of ideas there is no reason why you can’t photograph some of the same subjects again. Different times of day or year and different lighting or backgrounds will result in new images even with the same subject matter.

Hopefully this blog post will inspire you to determine what's been holding you back (if anything) and get you to jump into your photography with new vim and vigor! And as promised, if you keep scrolling down, you will find the Best Settings Cheat Sheets.

9. Everyday objects are fun to photograph. This spoon is on scrapbook paper that looks like water drops!

11. No prize winning photo from my couch, but there are some peaceful moments!

10. A student's first attempt at water blur using long shutter speeds. Set goals to practice new techniques!

12. My favorite tree -- located near my house -- images taken at all different seasons, sides, and times of day.

Basic Settings Cheat Sheets - this link will take you our Etsy sales page. Use coupon FOCUS20 for 20% off for a limited time. Then download your copy instantly!

If after you have used our settings cheat sheets or other resources and have found they have value, we hope you might consider helping support FocusEd Camera through "Buy Me A Coffee." Thanks!  www.buymeacoffee.com/focusedcamera