[Members] Club outings

[Mike Bailey]

Good morning all,

I understand that attachments don't always come through on our club server
so Im embedding the information I sent below:

 

 

Improve your photography skills over the summer

The idea is that it is often when you put yourself into a situation
specifically for photography that you are forced to practice the theory that
you know and you see your photography improve.

The assignments identified are all different types of photography or places
to take photos - weddings, road trips, sporting events, festivals, portrait
sessions, concerts, trips to the zoo etc.

A set of 'assignments' lead to a lot of photographic growth.

In these challenges try to only shoot in one particular way for a period of
time (like a weekend challenge when you have time to experiment .

These challenges all relate to your camera and limiting yourself in some way
to either switch off some element of the automated aspects of your camera,
limiting yourself to really hone a skill or to practice some kind of
technique.

While this isn't really a natural way to shoot - I find that focusing in on
one particular aspect or skill in photography at a time can really help to
see improvements in that period of time which means when you next need that
skill you're all ready to go!

Here's a few suggestions based upon weekend challanges and having fun:

1.	The one focal length/lens weekend - either choose a single prime
lens or a focal length at one end of a zoom and only shoot at that focal
length for a whole weekend (choose one you don't naturally shoot in a lot).
This teaches you a lot about that focal length and makes you think about
your composition of your shots.
2.	The one aperture weekend - this can be hard if you shoot a wide
range of subjects  but choose an aperture and try to stick to it for a
period of time. To do this you'll find it easier if you shoot in Aperture
Priority Mode- you'll also probably find it best to choose either to shoot
at one end of the aperture spectrum. This will teach you a lot about depth
of field and get you thinking also about how to balance shutter speeds and
ISO to get well exposed images.
3.	The one shutter speed weekend - similarly to the aperture challenge
this can be challenging but spending some time either looking to capture
subjects with long or very fast shutter speeds will teach you a lot. To do
this shoot in  Shutter Priority Mode.
4.	Manual Exposure Mode Weekend - if you don't venture into fully
manual shooting that much set yourself a challenge to shoot in manual mode
for a weekend. This is perhaps the best way possible to teach yourself about
exposure!
5.	Manual Focusing Weekend - similarly if you rely upon your camera to
always focus for you in Auto focus - switch to a weekend of just shooting
with manual focus. This will break you out of your laziness and help you to
really think about focal points.
6.	Learn to see Weekend - Go to one of your favorite spots nearby.
Could be your own back yard or garden. Pace out a 10 ft square area. Start
to look for interesting things to photograph. Before you snap the shutter
look even closer. Try some really close up/macro shots that fill the frame.
Play with your aperture and see what happens. Have fun looking for things
you pass by all the time that are right in front of you.
7.	Compositional Rules - pick a 'rule' like the "Rule of Thirds" and
try to adhere to it in every shot you take over a weekend. Alternatively
choose to break the rule as much as possible but still end up with
ascetically pleasing shots.
8.	Explore a Technique - spend a weekend really honing your skills in a
particular shooting technique. For example you might like to spend time
working on using Fill Flash in your shots - or  Zoom Blur  or Panning, etc
9.	Lighting Technique - similarly set yourself the challenge to
practice your skills with a particular lighting. It might be Natural Light
or Window Light, one light portrait setups, Silhouettes , etc
10.	Recreate someone else's work - one last one. Choose an image each
week from a photographer that you admire and he set out to recreate it or
something similar. You might find it useful to analyse the work of others
and to then try to recreate those shots - in doing you may learn from trying
a few times and seeing what you have to do to correct it. he learns a lot.

There are of course many more - please suggest your favourite
challenges/assignments in the comments section below!





 

 

 

Mike Bailey

705-325-4061

A Shoebox of Memories

ashoeboxofmemories.com