> On Mar 23, 2017, at 11:54 PM, Larry Colen <l...@red4est.com> wrote: > > > > John Sessoms wrote: > >> But that got me thinking overnight & I decided to submit a more general >> question to the group wisdom. >> >> Given a new photographer who already has a "pro-sumer" DSLR, what advice >> would you give him/her regarding BASIC kit? >> >> ... after I suggest a good, solid tripod. >> > > Watching the advice stream by, most of it is discussing what someone needs to > do to become the best possible photographer, without actually considering > what his goals are, or how much effort (never mind money) he wants to devote > to the pursuit, which is actually orthogonal to the OP question of their > basic (*) kit. > > Along that line, I'd suggest that he first go out and have fun playing with > his camera, figure out what he enjoys doing, what his goals as a photographer > are, and how much time, money and effort he wants to spend pursuing his goals. > > In the 80s-90s my mom, who told us that she couldn't even see through a > viewfinder when Dad and I had a darkroom before they divorced, got into > photography. She covered the walls with prints of rather mediocre cliche > photos, taken with minimal technical ability. However, she had a lot of fun, > and was very happy with her work. > > It is entirely possible that this fellow can have has much fun with the kit > he has and not investing the effort to achieve professional levels of > competence. > > -- > Larry Colen l...@red4est.com (postbox on min4est) http://red4est.com/lrc > >
Yes Larry, John’s question was about “basic kit” for a newbie. But there is an underlying presumption that the person in question may in fact use the kit and that it may become a hobby. I.e., something that is “...a regular activity that is done for enjoyment…” If this is to be a “regular activity” then the person in question needs several things besides a basic kit. Here then is my advice to him. a. Motivation. Why would you pick up the camera, much less step outside, much less walk/drive/fly someplace just to take pictures? Presumably because there is something satisfying and rewarding about capturing an image of a person/place/scene/object, a picture which becomes a representation of your own memory that can be not only revisited but also shared with others. But it is a big world with lots to see. As others have suggested, a good exercise easy in the process would be to look at photo books and websites and magazines, seeing which sort of images intrigue you for whatever reason. As you go off into that wide world with basic kit in hand, keep paying attention to what others are shooting. b. Knowledge. It helps to have an understanding of the basic controls on the camera and why they are there and how they make a difference in the image. Aperture, shutter speed, ISO. How these three variables interact and why you might want to make different tradeoffs when shooting a flower macro than you would shooting a seascape. And oh by the way it helps to know something about light and the way the light on a scene can vary moment to moment, hour to hour, day to day and how the quality of light affects the images. c. Understanding. You can read the manual, you can read or view basic instructional materials and quickly “know” about things like aperture, speed and ISO. But a deeper understanding takes practice and reflection. So, to summarize and also echo what many others have said: 1. RTFM. 2. Look at others’ work. 3. Spend a year or two taking pictures. 4. Look at others’ work, try to figure what you are missing. 5. Take a field workshop or two with competent professionals who shoot the sort of subject you are interested in. 6. Go shoot a bunch more. 7. Buy more lenses, maybe a new camera body. 8. Look for recommendations for a local psychotherapist who can treat cases of obsession stan -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
