Hello, .
Frequently, we know more than we understand.
For example, I can look at the weather app on my phone and read the information stating that it's 34°, 84% relative humidity,
with a ten mph wind.
However, I only know what that means and feels like once I experience it by going outside. And, by going outside and experiencing the weather instead of reading about it, I now understand that 34°, 84% relative
humidity, with a ten mph wind, means it's cold and damp and the wind moving across my skin makes it feel colder.
If we want to understand photography, we've got to experience being a photographer while doing photography.
We can know what aperture (f-stop), shutter speed, and ISO are, and even know how to change them on our camera, and that's an excellent start when it comes to camera operation. Still, we
will only understand how to use these settings to create thoughtful, intentional compositions if we know how to operate them together and make pictures.
And unlike Jack, because
not only do we know, but we're also doing what we learned to make thoughtful, intentional pictures.
In today's Introduction To Photography class, I went over the homework assigned from last week's meeting to make sure everyone knew (knowing) what those settings are and how to change them in manual exposure mode (doing).
We then learned metering patterns and used the most precise one to measure light intensity to achieve a standard exposure and tone. There's that knowing and doing thing again.
From there, we started using aperture to control the depth of the field, shutter speed to control blur, and ISO to control light sensitivity.
We also learned about equivalent tonalities,
so we don't have to keep metering.
We first got to know and then started doing.
And in the knowing and doing came the understanding.
Is what we covered second nature and fluid yet? Not by a
long shot. But the knowing and doing are working together, so the understanding happens. Consistent studies and practice will provide a second nature and faster picture-making workflow.
What about knowing and understanding light and how
that drives our composition? That'll come with understanding camera operation and composition.
When I teach photography first, I make sure you know, and then I show you how to use what you learn to create intentional
pictures.
For example, after we learned the topics and practiced, everyone took about 20 minutes, walked around independently, and made pictures to practice what we covered. In other words, everyone did what they now knew
(learned).
When everyone returned, we reviewed the work, and since everyone knew what they were doing and understood why, I assigned homework, and we said goodbye until we meet again next week.
Remember, knowing and doing lead to understanding.
But we need a methodical way of studying (knowing) and practicing (doing) to understand how to create intentional, uniquely composed pictures.
That's where I come in if you need
some help.
The Introduction To Photography classes scheduled
for March are now open for registration. Other scheduled group classes are below.
