question about photography

[AbbaRabbit]

Posted: 6/25/07 at 2:51pm

i have been looking into taking some photography classes at ccsu in the fall. all the classes requier you to have these old manual focus film cameras.
in high school, when i took journalism, we were told that most photoraphers now use digital cameras.

my question is, is it worth taking a class to learn how to use a camera that i may not use in the future, or was i misinformed in high school and i really would be using this type of camera.

[RobbO]

Posted: 6/25/07 at 2:54pm

you should learn with a manual camera so you can properly learn about lighting, composition, focus, speed, aperature, etc.

[AbbaRabbit]

Posted: 6/25/07 at 2:56pm

thank you :)

i love taking pictures, but i dont really know that much about photography as a science.

[RobbO]

Posted: 6/25/07 at 3:04pm

the class should really help you develop an "eye" for photos and learning the art/history/science of photography should help your craft, even if you end up never using an "old-time" camera ever again.

Updated On: 6/25/07 at 03:04 PM

[AbbaRabbit]

Posted: 6/25/07 at 3:05pm

that's good to know. thanks :)

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 6/25/07 at 3:06pm

And never take a picture of two guys kissing, especially if one is standing behind the other.

Updated On: 2/17/08 at 03:06 PM

[AbbaRabbit]

Posted: 6/25/07 at 3:18pm

lol

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 6/25/07 at 3:22pm

Also remember the 1/3rd rule for the horiozon, and NEVER place an object behind someone that 'cuts' through them.
I'm proud to say that a picture that I took made the cover for the yearbook, for my Junior High Graduation.


All I had to do was enter it under a fake name, since it was the late 70's and no one would have voted for a fag.

[AbbaRabbit]

Posted: 6/25/07 at 3:25pm

is the 1/3 rule where you imagine 3 lines deviding the picture and put the subject on one of those lines, instead of in the middle of the picture?

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 6/25/07 at 3:29pm

The horizon is at the 1/3rd point.

Teachers will grade you down if you put it in the middle of the picture.


Funny, my winning picture was the waves coming into Pismo Beach at sunset with a star filter on the lense. The picture was beautiful, but some moron decided to print it in the school colors, green and gold. A gold sunset with green waves is just nasty.

[AbbaRabbit]

Posted: 6/25/07 at 3:31pm

oh ok.

that does sound rather odd looking... green waves...

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 6/25/07 at 3:40pm

The green matched the year book teachers jacket, which was about 10 years behind, in fashion terms anyways.


What people forget is that a yearbook will be a memory FOREVER. Why do something 'fun' like print the picture in green and yellow, when in three years, you are going to say, "What was I thinking?"

[AbbaRabbit]

Posted: 6/25/07 at 3:42pm

i hate looking at my yearbook.
the yearbook club did this awful two page thing with all the yearbook staff. they photoshopped the pictures to make it look like they were all either sitting in trees or holding up letters to spell out "yearbook staff"

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 6/25/07 at 3:50pm

See,

In my day, we actually had to get IN the tree to get the picture.


You kids are missing out on so much.

[AbbaRabbit]

Posted: 6/25/07 at 3:53pm

lol...

actually one of my favorite self portraits i took, i'm in a tree...

[Jane2]

Posted: 6/25/07 at 4:34pm

Abba, take the course. It isn't really that difficult to develop and print your own photos. It's fun, actually! I hope you don't have to spend a great deal on an SLR, though.

And knowing all the technicalities makes it easier to understand what all the different settings on your digital are for.

[AbbaRabbit]

Posted: 6/25/07 at 4:35pm

thanks. i think i am going to take it.
i was going to look for a class on digital photography, but after hearing what everyone here had to say, i'm going to look into the regular photography classes.

[DBillyP]

Posted: 6/25/07 at 4:42pm

To take the "rule of thirds" discussion a bit further, the rule dictates that, by dividing a photo into thirds horizontally and vertically, you have four focal points where the lines intersect. The main subject(s) of your photo should fall at those points, or in the case of the horizon line, along one of the lines. Some digital cameras actually will show the grid in your viewfinder, and photo editing software will do the same.

There is a good explanation here:
Rule of Thirds

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 6/25/07 at 4:45pm

Thanks Billy,

I don't have the strength...

Alos, MAKE SURE YOU WASH YOU HANDS AFTER DOING DARKROOM WORK!

To this day, my yearbook teacher mentions me as an example of what NOT to do.

It was a huge crunch time and I spent all day in the darkroom. At one point I ate my lunch without washing my hands. I got so sick, if it wasn't for my teacher, in is tacky green suit, I would have died.

A yearbook isn't worth that.

[Jane2]

Posted: 6/25/07 at 4:46pm

Yes, my Sony has the grid.

Digital cameras take perfect photos practically by themselves, lol! I literally just point and shoot. I usually delete more than half the shots I take, but it isn't because of quality.

Digitals are amazing, but still take the course, Abba. I think it will bring about an increased interest in photography of all types.

[DBillyP]

Posted: 6/25/07 at 4:51pm

I agree with Jane. You, hopefully, will learn specific techniques in shooting and printing that will translate to better digital photography.

[HeidiPuck]

Posted: 6/25/07 at 6:13pm

This class will probably be a mixed bag. It's very important to learn technique, but unless you're going to move on to a digital SLR, you might end up frustrated when you want to do one thing and your camera wants to do something entirely different (very common with point and shoots).

The simple solution is to get the digital SLR if it's something you'll enjoy (c: (Be warned though, it's addicting!)