Starting from scratch

deadybai

Hi all,

I have literally no clue about the in's and out's of photography other than pressing a button on the camera and uploading onto the computer.

I'm just looking for general information on photography as its something I have always have had an interest in but never actually pursued. And I'm here today as I'm considering doing on online course on photography.

First of all, what camera would you recommend for a complete noob like myself? I've been using my phone throughout the years but I prefer the feel of an actual camera and obviously the quality is a lot better.

Another thing to ask is. Is photography a career or just a pastime? The reason I ask is because I'm trying to find something I like and make a living out of it. Sick and tired of hating the job I'm in and really want to drop all to pursue something like this.

So basically, I'm just looking for a bit of advice for someone who wants to take up photography. :P

Advice would be very much appreciated! Thank you

uck51js9zml2yt

A DSLR is the way to go on a camera. What type depends on your budget.
There is a thread in camera and accessories with a lot of advice.
Are you in Dublin? Find a local camera club. Many of them do beginner courses and are worth doing. There are clubs outside Dublin!

It can me both a career and a pastime. Depends on how God you are and the direction you want to take your life.
For me it's a pastime. I did a camera course and am part of a club(sporadically).

Tiriel

I highly recommend joining a club - there's a list of clubs here: http://irishphoto.ie/membership/member-clubs/

Don't run before you walk - there's a lot to consider. To jump into a career is a very costly thing to do, equipment is not cheap. Check out the sub-forum here, Cameras & Accessories - there is lots of advice on cameras and starting out.

Some of the clubs linked above do courses, including the club I'm a member of - Dublin Camera Club, although our Beginners course is now finished and next one isn't until September.

ScumLord

You can make a career out of photography but you'd have to work very, very hard, it's a very saturated market now thanks to how easy modern technology has made it. It's easy enough to become a photographer, it's also very easy to make a mess of someones big day or event and end up pissing people off with your inexperience. People's expectations are very high, especially when they've a camera on their phone that would match any a high priced DSLR from 10 years ago.


Actually learning all the features of a camera and how to use it properly is fairly straight forward. You'll get plenty of beginners guides that will walk you through how a camera works but you'll get to the end of a technical manual like that and be none the wiser on how to take a good photo.

You need to learn all sorts of artistic practices like composition, colour balance, basically what makes a picture pleasing. That's really the meat and potatoes of taking photos, the artistic side of it. That you can learn outside of taking photos and any camera would do, even your camera phone. Maybe spend some time researching that kind of stuff and see if it's what you want to do.

CabanSail

I would also suggest joining a local camera club. Do that before you go spending money on gear. You will get a better idea what you want to buy when you know a bit more. Often the best starting point is a compact camera which has manual modes and preferably RAW recoding. You also will need to get software to process the images.

If you are looking at learning this to make some money in the future I would suggest a course. Not one on Photography but rather on managing a small business. Most pro-photographers spend more time running their business than taking photographs. The more efficiently you can run that side the more successful you will become.

Cameraman

CabanSail wrote: »

I would also suggest joining a local camera club. Do that before you go spending money on gear. You will get a better idea what you want to buy when you know a bit more. Often the best starting point is a compact camera which has manual modes and preferably RAW recoding. You also will need to get software to process the images.

If you are looking at learning this to make some money in the future I would suggest a course. Not one on Photography but rather on managing a small business. Most pro-photographers spend more time running their business than taking photographs. The more efficiently you can run that side the more successful you will become.

As a professional photographer, I would echo what CabanSail says.
In addition, start as a part-timer - don't give up your day job straight away.

harr

I am an amateur for years and I would love to get into it professional as well...but the costs are so restricting for me..between getting a full frame camera and good lenses a decent pc with software and all the other bits and pieces....you definitely wouldn't see 7-8 grand disappearing..
I currently do a few family events and the very odd time maybe a favour for a friend....I love it as a hobby at the minute because I know I probably will never get to it as a pro.
As mentioned above join a camera club and do a hands on course rather than on line...don't spend to much starting off ,a decent second DSLR on adverts will get you started...
Practice as much as you can in every possible scenario...