From the course: Introduction to Photography

Introduction

From the course: Introduction to Photography

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Introduction

- There's an old saw about how if you buy a camera you're a photographer, but if you buy a violin... You own a violin. These days it seems that everyone is a photographer. Or, at least, everyone has a camera. But is that really all it takes to be a photographer? If you've been frustrated by the quality of photographs, then you know the answer to that is "no". It takes more than just ownership of a camera to be a photographer in the true sense of the word. Fortunately, learning to be a photographer is easier today than it ever has been, because the camera can take care of many technical concerns for you. The automatic modes on today's cameras are fantastic photographic tools that give the beginning photographer the opportunity to start producing great images while they learn the technical and aesthetic basics of shooting. We're going to start this course by walking you through parts of your camera and discussing what makes one type of camera different from another. From there, we'll work through some basic configurations and make sure your camera is setup for successful shooting, and then we'll dive into the basics of exposure. You'll continue to use and develop these exposure skills throughout the rest of your photographic life. Theory gets tedious pretty quickly, so once your camera is configured, I'm going to ask you to get outside and complete some simple assignments. Through these exercises, you're going to learn about light meters, auto-focus, composition, portraiture, flash basics, and best shooting practices. Finally, we'll take a high-level look at post-production and outputs so that you can make intelligent choices about what kind of post-production software you need. This course is meant for the beginner who has no technical understanding of the process of taking pictures. The absolute beginner who's interested in getting serious about their photography. By the end of this course, you should understand the terminology and theory that will form the basis of all future, more advanced photographic study. The Lynda library is full of advanced study, so at the very end of this course, I'll outline a roadmap of Lynda courses for you. Work your way through these courses and you will gain a very thorough photographic education. You'll truly be able to call yourself a photographer. I can't help you with the violin, though.

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