First Day of School

Greetings! I'm teacher, Brooke! Welcome to the first day of photo school! I have to first admit a few things. I have no degree in photography, I have no degree in teaching, I have no experience in teaching photography, and my experience in photography is only a few years old! If you are still interested in taking lessons from someone with such few qualifications...Welcome!

I have been very blessed to pick up a few tips along the way! I took private camera lessons from a professional photographer for 8 months. I would say that the bulk of my photography knowledge and "success", stems from three basic things:

1. Understanding how the camera works ;)
2. Focused Practice ;)
3. Look critically at others work.

Photo School will focus on these three basic areas. Let me explain each area briefly:

1. Understanding how the camera works: Our lessons will begin very basic, but our goal is to teach you how to shoot in "manual mode" on your camera. In order to do so there are some basic settings that you need to understand...their role and function, and how they work together. We will get here eventually!

2. Focused Practice: Every time we learn about a setting on the camera we will have homework assignments to practice. You'll never learn without applying! You have free reign on what the subject of your photography is, but the practice should be focused. The greatest aid in getting you familiar with your camera and improving your photo skills, is consistent practice. You need to be using your camera a minimum of once a week. A few times a week is even better.

3. Look critically at others work: I should also mention that you need to be critical of yourself. Critical: characterized by careful evaluation and judgment. It is not just pointing out the negative, but finding the positive. What did you or others do that you really liked? How did they accomplish that? What could be improved on?

I spend anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour a day looking at other photography blogs. It's a great source of inspiration, creativity, and evaluation. It's very helpful and "educational" to look at others works and ask yourself those aforementioned questions... "Why do I like this?" "How did they do that?" "How could I do something like that?"

All of our lessons will be focused on these areas. After you have completed the assigned homework, you will be required to post a few of your best shots on the site. We can then have comments from everyone and have a source of helpful feedback!

Thanks for attending class today! We will soon have our first assignment! Check back for details!