Amateur Photography

The problem with being an amateur

Being an amateur photographer like everything in life has its pitfalls and there are many of them. There are so many questions to be asked and so few to actually answer them. I guess it starts at the beginning, What camera should I buy? What lenses will I need? These are impossible questions to answer, there is so much choice out there, Crop Sensor Camera, Two Thirds Camera, Full frame camera and now Mirrorless! So which camera suits the beginner? My advice as an amateur would be to do your research, there is nothing wrong with an entry level crop sensor camera but one thing is for sure as your progress through your journey you will want to upgrade. In my opinion I think it wise when starting out to buy second hand and to create a budget and stick to it, if you fall in love with the wonderful art of photography, learn the skills, learn the basics and then worry about the gear.

So for the sake of this blog you’ve decided on a brand and you’ve found yourself a bargain camera body, what lenses should you buy, well you can’t go wrong with a standard kit lens 18-55mm and if it falls within your budget a 70-300mm, these lenses will pretty much enable you to shoot most things quite easily and to a decent standard.

Next puzzle is what kind of photography are you drawn too, is the excitement of street photography or the serenity of landscape, well only you can answer this one, I am certain as I did you will have a try at most things before settling on what makes you smile.

The real issue with being an amateur photographer is trying to evolve, you will take hundreds if not thousands of images and like most amateurs including myself you will post to Facebook and Instagram, you will get great feedback from friends and family and many likes but what do you actually get from feedback such as “nice shot” and ‘beautiful image” and what will you take from the likes, the answer is not a lot, it will serve as a confidence booster but it certainly will not allow you to evolve as a photographer, for that you need constructive criticism from someone that has been there and done that!

If I can offer any advice on this subject I would advise you to create your images for one reason and one reason only, “ to please yourself” and when you have succeeded in that, experiment with shutter speeds, focal lengths and the likes, but always to please yourself.

If you are like me you will crave acceptance from more proficient photographers but trust me it will not come, professionals are so bust creating their own images, travelling their own journeys they have little time for the amateur. Maybe consider joining a photography group but in truth these groups are often filled with people that consider themselves as professionals and yet may well actually have no better skill set than yourself but they will all too giving when it comes to distributing critique.

Its a problem and unfortunately not one that I have the answer too, you will have to find your own way through the minefield of photography but set yourself on your journey and see it through, one day something will just kick and you will begin to see yourself producing images you’ve only seen from the professionals.

Conclusion

We must continue in our pursuit of excellence, we must continue to get our there and create compositions and we must continue to share our images as often as we can and to as many social platforms as we can and never be afraid to ask for help, I recently spoke to a professional photographer subscribed to his personal group and asked for help, the information I received helped me tremendously, the key is to not give up, everyone was a beginner when they started. Stay focussed and stay hungry for success and success will come.