I bought a Nikon D5000 about a year ago as it was on offer with 2kit lenses. I love the camera and now love photography.
Problem is im not too good a spotting a decent composition or it takes me a while to get the image right - too dark, blurry etc etc. All the usual begineer mistakes i
It seems you're having problems with both parts of photography, the craft and the art. We all do. As an engineer for 35 years but left brain, I picked up the craft part fairly easy while I'm constantly struggling with the artistic side of it. If I don't watch it, my photography is too sterile. Fortunately, my gal and daughters are artists and try to teach me.
Left brainers always think about taking a course as the solution. Lazy ones want it spoon fed rather than a book or website. I'm that way most of the time. I prefer a video tutorial over print, but unfortunately, much of this is not available the way you want it.
I usually mention the craft side. That part is learning light, your gear and processing. You need to previsualize the image then make that happen by really understanding exposure and the craft. You might wish to Google
The Zone System and really learn the parts that apply today to digital photography. If you do that, nothing else is needed at all.
For the art side, let me suggest getting some books on composition to start with and learn things like the Golden Mean or Rule of Thirds. That works good for us left brainers. The problem is that it's not the way an artist thinks. It's good to learn as a start though. I started my training in art over the last 15 or so years from my Jan and my daughters, two of which have fine art degrees. Also my daughter in law who makes a great living managing artist's coops. So, I'm going to make some suggestions based on the training they've attempted to apply to me. You might absorb it better. I’m still trying.
Try to do as much of this as possible over time:
- Take an art course at the college level
- Take an illustration course
- Take Art History at the college level
- Learn to paint
- Learn sculpture
- Go to museums
- Got to art shows including sidewalk exhibits
- Go to galleries whenever you see them
- Find a display of good sculpture and spend some time there
- Make some artist friends and take them for coffee. Get into the culture
- Show your photos to artists, not photographers and not online
- Ask for help from your artist friends. Note the words they use and look them up
- Don't let them poo-poo your composition knowledge though. It's still good for you and me, like the rule of thirds. They will teach when and how to break it
- Really look at old paintings and framed art. Figure it out. Look at the light
- Take a studio lighting course. Study professional lighting
- Attend the opera
- Attend the ballet
- Attend the symphony
- Listen to types of music you don't normally listen to
- Maybe learn to play a new instrument
- Sing and dance
- Don't worry; be happy
- Be a passionate photographer and learn the skills
- Be super nice to people
- Get a pet and take care of it
Try to previsualize the scenes around you as blobs of light of varying brightness and color as well as shape. Think about how those blobs fit together in a pleasing way. Learn to keep it as simple as possibly. Some of those blobs are fragile and some are moving.
Don't try to capture an image. You can't Xerox life, especially nature. Life is a 4 dimensional event moving through time. Your camera can't record that. You create 2 dimensional slices of that. It wasn't that way and can't be. Ansel Adams said, "You don't
take a picture. You
make a picture." To make a picture, you have to visualize what you want. Trusting to luck usually doesn't work.
Most of all, have fun on the path.
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Cheers, Craig
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