Fundamentals of photography

[danlindberg]

Thanks again for all tips. Very helpful!

I admit that in the longer perspective I would prefer to work with more advanced photographers where we do not talk about the very basics, but instead concentrate on compositional vision and finding balance in the image. What to include and exclude, using existing light to your advantage and just simply 'see' possibilities.

But! For twenty years I have been working alone and I am self taught so I do not have the natural flow of explaining methods and concepts, I must find that 'groove' somehow. So, starting with beginners I believe is not at all wrong from my position. Teaching is completely different from shooting and the very last thing I want is somebody feeling it was a waste of time and money being with me......

 

[jlm]

in my opinion, a workshop is not the best place to teach fundamentals. certainly a few technical questions can be answered, but if i attended a Dan Lindberg workshop, it would be for a very different reason, and I would be annoyed if i had to listen to fundamental instructions, especially those that can be picked up from many, many books.

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Wow right up my alley here. My first and most important thing to do is get to know each persons needs and there level of experience. Everyone is different so I find this the most important aspect of teaching. From there I will work on each needs and what they are trying to accomplish. I'm very hands on so really hard to put this down on paper as almost all of it is instinct. For some its understanding the gear but for almost everyone it's how to get great images. That takes more effort on my end and I'm constantly standing over folks shoulders. I must drive them nuts but I just become part of them and explore with them how to get it done. As a Pro that is my daily job is to figure out how to get it on the sensor. That is really what I teach. It's really all field work to me that works for them the best. Bottom line they go home with great images and when done they have a much better grasp on how to accomplish that. I'm more about composition and lighting plus subject matter. I try real hard to stay away from them getting postcard images but real art.

I have a lot of students on this forum that have turned into great artist. I hope I share with some of them that accomplishment. For me its all about giving back what I learned. It's really why I'm here to start with and why I'm a part of this.

 

[Shashin]

Thanks again for all tips. Very helpful!

I admit that in the longer perspective I would prefer to work with more advanced photographers where we do not talk about the very basics, but instead concentrate on compositional vision and finding balance in the image. What to include and exclude, using existing light to your advantage and just simply 'see' possibilities.

But we tend to learn the technical with the creative. At a certain point, we become self learning. Just as I imagine you did. The only way to get higher level groups would require a portfolio to be accepted and with places like Flickr, that becomes easy. That way you can filter the applicants.

It might be a good thing to see if you can do some research in what motivates people to take a workshop and what the background of the workshop participant is.

 

[jsf]

I have taught off and on for nearly 40 years. People take these type of classes for a variety of reasons and each one has, usually, a vague goal. Better, in some form or another is the stated goal, but, again usually, the one thing lacking is the discipline to practice a lot. I teach more basic fundamentals or fine art photography rather than specialized since most people are not that interested in the more minute details of lighting for instance. There are people of course who want specialized knowledge but they are a smaller population. I enjoy teaching fundamentals, however. One of my assignments is to only use back light or cross light. It forces people to be conscious of light. I find that once they really are starting to see light, it gets easier to teach them about exposure and composition. People generally buy much more sophisticated cameras than their skill level. But partially that is because sophisticated cameras are ubiquitous. Even my IPhone is technologically advanced. A $100 point and shoot is a marvel considering the last 50 years of photography.
The K1000 was what I reccomended to people just starting out, it was a value for the money.
I make the whole experience fun, entertaining, funny, I have found that people will play harder than they will work, so we play quite a lot. Joe

 

[Ben Rubinstein]

I'm not sure I'd bother Dan. I teach a beginners photography class at a local art college. I can't do the basics in an hour. I do it in three 3 hours sessions. I'd concentrate perhaps on teaching light and composition and leave them to work out the basics another time, light and composition are the base common denominator of any kind of imagery regardless of skill set.

 

[MILESF]

Dan,

I've done a number of workshops over the last few years. I have learned a huge amount and been to some great locations. One conclusion that I am coming to is that some pro's (the majority) who I will call 'Tour Leaders' are less interested/skilled in teaching and more interested in taking people to iconic locations from which they will leave with some good or even great images. Big names help sell these tours but add considerably to the costs. This can be time well spent but tuition is unlikely to be a priority. Some, the minority, are 'teachers' as well as photographers - interested in teaching, passing on their knowledge and having their customers leave as better photographers. I'm generalising and there's no right or wrong. There's room for both approaches but I think both workshops organizers and participants perhaps need to be clearer up front what they are offering and signing up for.

This is not at all a comment on your approach or frustrations but more my reflection on a number of trips I have done. A tour to some of the locations you have captured in Sweden and a workshop on getting the best out of a technical camera would be very attractive propositions but from my own experience I am not sure they are easily combined into one event.

Miles

 

[rayyen]

Dan,

I share your feeling, specially when I saw the kind of cameras my students brought to my workshop.

But I guess your workshop objective is clear, "landscape". So they should some how know why sign up your classes, and they all want to learn some technique to take good pictures

I focus technique in 2 areas:
- knowing your camera (because many of my student don't really know how to use them apart from A-mode)
- photographer's own technique (those old school very basic photography knowledge)

I normally spent 1.5hr to cover each of the above area.
During the session, I'll let them play my toys on table, my new canon 1DX, my old canon A1, old mechanical Leica SLR, Rolleiflex, Hasselblad, old mechanic Leica M, and filters, etc. I also show them print out of my photos. It will be helpful if they can see how mechanic camera works to learn how to use their DSLR better.

Only until they finish the 3hr basic, then I'll go outdoor with them.

Powerpoint is helpful and I prepare powerpoint covering those basic concepts by myself.

Cheers,

Ray

 

[fotografz]

I cannot echo the "Time-Life" book recommendation enough.

The concepts of how a camera actually works are actually quite abstract when you do not understand them. Once you "get it," it all seems so obvious and simple ... but IMO, in order to be an effective teacher, you have to remember back when you didn't understand it yourself.

As a photography novice, I vividly recall reading the Time-Life section that showed how the lens was like a water faucet, only it controlled the flow of light. Wham! I got it immediately.

I also think it is extremely important to establish this fundamental understanding or the student merely ends up parroting what you do, then forgetting it by the time they get home ... having never really learned how to make images other than what the automation of their do-it-all cameras will spit out.

It is up to the instructor to make the fundamentals interesting and fun. A water faucet from Home Depot and a lens as props would go a long way to help them get it ... and so on.

On a related note:

My original reason for learning photography wasn't to make photographs. As a young Art Director, I was all shot in the bum with my own talent at creating visual advertising concepts ... but had not yet learned that there were physical limits to actually executing those visual ideas. One day I swaggered into a commercial studio demanding an 8X10 fisheye Ektachrome, my over-confident bluster was met by spontaneous laughter from the crew. The long suffering old photographer took me aside and kindly explained how huge such a lens would be, but he could rent one for his Hasselblad that'd work just fine. I vowed to learn about photography after that.

Later, as a seasoned AD, few photographers could BS me. Then as a Creative Director I always urged young ADs to learn about photography, and not just about pretty pictures. I also strongly suggested that the local Art College make it mandatory that Art Direction majors take a basic photography course.

Good luck ... I envy your fortitude in doing this worthwhile and potentially rewarding venture. I have taught many novices that assisted me on weddings, and some have gone on to great success.

- Marc

 

[danlindberg]

I'm happy I started this thread. Excellent input from everyone!

You know what....I had a friend in the car yesterday on a two hour drive that had nothing to do with photography and he suddenly asks a photography related question. I explained slowly, he asks more and deeper, I explain further and suddenly I realise - I'm teaching! I like it, I enjoy it!

What I need know is a structured method of teaching depending on level of the participants and hours and more hours of actually doing it!

There are many of your replies here that I am going to consider and use. I really want to thank you for that

@Marc, I think you and I have one thing in common and that is that I also have worked parallel to photography as an AD, in my case a couple of decades. I am certain that has influenced my photography in that I 'see' images in a graphical manner. I often think in cover shots and full spread ads when composing....