So, you’ve got that amazing digital camera that looks soooo good and has such phenomenal potential to make images. BUT… when you pick it up it makes you confused and demands that you stare at the back screen punching little buttons madly or scrolling through menus to find your way. Then perhaps you just go for the BIG A (auto mode) and hope for the best.
A couple of weeks ago, I decided to accept a request for ‘1 on 1’ photography mentoring of aspiring photographer, Lorrie Fisher. I had been seeing her images on Instagram and it was clear to me that she has a strong artistic view, but like so many others did not yet have a handle on her camera technology.
So we met at my studio, then hopped in the car and went right to work. I chose the Paradise Valley which is one of my favorite spots to explore and find images. On the ride down I quickly took her through some basics of exposure, f stop, shutter speed, ISO while she looked through the manual for clues on how to control the beautiful little Canon! Fortunately, I just happened to have the identical camera that a friend had given me a few years back… with the camera manual that it came with. PHEW!!! It always helps to have a manual!
It was a brisk (freezing) and windy day in the Paradise Valley, like most days in the valley during winter months. We were well bundled as we began our hour of walking, exploring and photographing. Questions, answers, ponderings and pointing out, click click click all along the way! I rattled on, squeezing out everything that was going through my mind that might be helpful to Lorrie. I could tell things were beginning to gel and she was feeling more comfortable with her camera. Then when we were too cold to go further we high tailed it back to the car.
Attached are some of the images we took and by the looks of it, I think Lorrie captured some beautiful images along with gaining some new found mastery of her camera. Photography, like anything else, takes time and practice to learn to use your camera efficiently. I believe the challenge is to be able to work on both sides of your brain at once. Your high tech digital camera demands a lot from the analytical side, so it makes it difficult to maintain a high level of creativity in your captures. That’s why practice is so important. You have to develop good habits and then with some time you’ll get it in your fingers! THEN you can have more capacity for creativity.
So get that beautiful camera out of the bag, brush up on your manual and contact me when you are ready to make rapid progress with one on one photography mentoring. Happy hunting for those spectacular moments of beauty!
Nice work Lorrie Fisher!
a few of my grabs
