Some of you may know this, but you are an idiot. Don't worry though, I am too. In fact, every time you try out something new it should be expected that you will be a complete amateur. But why the name calling then you might ask? Well, I’ve been photographing for 5 years going on six, and let me tell you that I cringe thinking about my naivety. I refused to learn the basics and suffered. Then when I had a grip on the basics, I still refused to learn about my camera and editing and so on. Give or take I was trying to do the best I could; even now I still have the same equipment (Canon 5D mark III with a 24-70 mm and 70-200 mm lens) and I only really go the hang of it in the last few months despite using it for over a year.
So, what is this? This is idiot photography, hosted by me: a 21 year old “professional” photographer who could have made life much easier if I just understood things a bit better. I’m an idiot, and chances are you are struggling the same as I did, which makes you an idiot, but MY kind of idiot. We are all on the same boat, and trust me it’s a scenic ride so strap in and I’ll help you with over half a dozen of the most specific questions you probably asked google without an answer back.
The world of photography has mechanical, chemical, and digital routes, however most people prefer the digital route because of the simplicity and cost. This blog series will be teaching you the digital route of photography and a guide to the kinds of problems you will 90 percent run into. It’s not easy being a photographer with so many different people showing off their skills. Of course, I don’t have it all figured out either but I have years of experience to share and even skills I picked up on the job.
Here is my background: My name is Sam Chase; I began my photo journey with taking pictures of other people with a Canon T3 in high school and began a film photography class in my college my freshman year. I sucked. But my mindset changed after one photo of my group of friends. My professor praised it and I became more confident with photographing. My Junior year I accepted a job with my college to be one of the student-life photographers and learned very quickly I was not up to par. Learning in an environment that is sometimes extremely fast paced helped me take the initiative to learn what I needed in terms of editing and manual control and get photos that I am now proud of. On the side I work as a freelancer, and with the help of some very patient people I achieved a more comfortable position with my work and stopped considering myself an amateur.
Next week come back and watch me cover why your photos are shaky when taking night photos.
