Not that I’m a beacon of knowledge or anything even close but I’ve been answering a lot of similar questions lately via email and blog comments so I thought I’d create a quick post and stick it into the sidebar. That way I have somewhere to refer peeps to who have wonderings. So if this bores you, skip the chatter and go straight to the photo at the end (there has to be a reward for reading this far, right?)
1. What camera do you have? I started in March, ’06 with a Rebel XT and upgraded in December, ’06 to the Canon 5d. Love it. Love it. Love it.
2. What lenses do you have/recommend? I have the kit lens that came with my Rebel but I honestly have no idea where it is. I think I shot with it for a month then stuck it in a drawer some place. I also have the 50mm/1.8 (although it’s out on loan), 50mm/1.4, and 85mm/1.8. I find myself exclusively shooting with the 50mm/1.4 these days but I think that’s just because it’s so cold and snowy here that I really can only shoot indoors. Once we’re out and about more in the spring and summer I’ll break out the 85 again. It just doesn’t give me enough room inside.
3. How did you learn photography? I’ve never taken a single photography class in my life. Not even in high school. I’ve learned everything I know from books, the internet, photography message boards (twopeasinabucket.com and ilovephotography.com being my two faves), and my mentor, Wendy Schulz. I started to get a little more serious when I first got my DSLR last year and that’s when I really delved into shutterspeed, aperture, iso, etc. Before that I did a lot of reading just on snapshot photography. If you’re looking for books to read then I recommend How to Photograph Your Life by Nick Kelsh if you have a point and shoot camera or Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson if you already have a DSLR.
4. Do you edit all of your photos? Yep, every. single. one. It’s an addiction. Once you see what good photoshopping skills can do to your photos it’s just so hard to go back. I proof with Photoshop CS2 right now but I had Elements 4.0 before that. I love CS2 but Elements was great too. If you’re looking to learn how to get the most out of your photos using an editing program then Scott Kelby has some great books.
5. Where can I see more of your work? Yeah right, no one has ever asked this!!! But I thought it would be a good way to plug my photography site that you can see here. I know, I know, I’m a big ol’ dork!
If I left something out, let me know. This is going to be my stand-by “go read this post” when people ask me questions so I want to make sure I didn’t miss anything!
Onto the pic that I promised. My camera and I are “on a break” so there’s nothing new. This is just a snap I got the other day when Daddy and Pi’Bears were wrestling around in the living room. Used my flash for this one. Don’t hate.
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