Photography is completely random for me. It’s rarely a planned event and more so something I do because I get the random urge to take pictures. My favorite type of photography is portraits. I enjoy taking pictures of people, my friends or strangers, it doesn't really matter to me. I also enjoy taking pictures of nature but that’s definitely more rare for me. Whenever I know I’m going someplace cool, aka anywhere that isn’t Norton, Massachusetts, I’ll take my camera with me. I have a professional Canon EOS T17 camera. As well as a tripod that I totally didn’t accidentally borrow from my high school. The tripod I tend to use whenever I want to have some motion blur in my photos, when the lighting is terrible and I need a longer exposure time, or whenever I’m taking self-portraits.
An essential part of photography is the mechanics. It is completely acceptable for a beginner to use the auto setting on a digital camera, but that also gives the user less control over how the photo turns out. There are three things a photographer needs to keep in mind: the ISO setting, aperture, and shutter speed. The ISO setting represents the sensitivity to light. The aperture is the opening in the lens that controls how much light enters the camera and hits the image sensor. The shutter speed determines the length of time a camera’s shutter remains open. As seen by the data table, the ISO setting affects how much noise, or discolored pixels, there is in a photo. The aperture affects the depth of field, which is the distance between the closest and furthest object and which of these objects are in focus. The shutter speed affects the motion blur, which intentionally blurs moving objects to show motion in a photo.
| Exposure | ||
|---|---|---|
| ISO | Aperature | Shutter Speed |
| Less Noise | Less Motion Blur | More Depth of Field |
| 100 | 1/1000 | f22 |
| 160 | 1/500 | f16 |
| 200 | 1/250 | f11 |
| 320 | 1/125 | f8 |
| 400 | 1/60 | f5.6 |
| 640 | 1/30 | f4 |
| 800 | 1/8 | f2.8 |
| 1000 | 1/4 | f2 |
| 1600 | 1/2 | f1.8 |
| 3200 | 1" | f1.4 |
| 6400 | 2" | ... |
| More Noise | More Motion Blur | Less Depth of Field |
Photography has had many different meanings for me over the years. I started taking photos with my family’s old camera when I was in 7th grade. Back then, it was honestly a way to get my parents to notice me. My brother was definitely the problem child as well as the art kid, so my parents tended to not pay attention to what I did unless it was absolutely amazing or terrible. They were really happy when I took up photography and I loved coming home and showing my mom my new photos. As the years passed however, photography turned into a real form of art for me. I enjoyed taking photos of what I viewed as beautiful, even when others didn’t see the same things I did. It also helped me come to terms with many of my insecurities. In my senior year of high school, I started taking self portraits, focusing mostly on the parts of myself that I didn’t like. This helped me to better come to terms with my body and ultimately made me more confident. Now, I just like to take photos of random people in cities, or buildings I think are cool. It’s mostly just a thing I do for fun.
Honestly, there isn't a way to really "get involved". This isn't a club or a sport. This is just something you do in your free time. If you want to pursue photography as a hobby, just take pictures wherever you go. You don't even need a professional camera, your phone will do. The more photos you take, the better they will get and the more of a habit you will create.
Workshops in New England
Elements of Design in Photography
Camera Recommendations for Beginners
How to get Started as a New Photographer