'teaching' photography to a friend

[jonasv]

Good morning,

a friend asked me to learn her the basics of (b&w) photography and help her choosing a camera.

I think I'll start by explaining her some of the technical aspects about the camera and photography (exposure: the relation between shutterspeed, aperture and film sensitivity, but also exposure range; focus; depth of field; focal length; but also primes vs zoom lenses, fast vs slow lenses, autofocus vs manual focus; ...).
Next the photograph itself: rule of thirds and composition in general, the importance of light, visualising a shot, contrast, the importance of light, the importance of light, ... With some hints like not having trees grow out of people's heads etc. I don't really want to 'teach' this part like the technical parts, rather I'll try to show a lot of examples and let her discover it for herself...
Lastly I think I'll explain her the difference between different types of cameras (SLR, rangefinder, and TLR). Not only the technical differences but also the difference in use, where each camera excels etc. I'd let her borrow one or two, give her a few rolls of film, and when she's shot these develop them together. Afterwards she's hopefully made up her mind on what type of camera she wants and I'd help her picking one...


Is there anything else I should do or explain, or is this too complicated already? She's really smart so I don't want to dumbify the technical aspects too much, I think she can grasp it all at once and while it may be a bit boring I do believe it's necessary to get all that from the beginning.

Please share any good weblinks on the basics of photography if you have them! Any other tips, hints?

Thanks!

 

[ghost]

talk about the types of cameras first, then exposure, then look at pictures. be sure to show her lee friedlander's work early on, just to mess with her mind.

 

[rover]

I always look at photography as being a very easy technical thing. Once you get past the perception that it is confusing, the factors of exposure are just simple, sensitivity of medium, time and amount of light. That can be explained with the help of a camera, old manual SLR or RF so I may suggest you tackle the types of equipment as part of explaining exposure. By showing they all work more or less the same may take away more intimidation about "pro" gear v "amateur" gear.......

A simple text may help. I re read this very often, it is very basic and very good.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/03...102-8710997-0021767?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

The first half covers basic photography, the second darkroom skills.

Good luck.

 

[clarence]

I believe that we shouldn't overwhelm an absolute beginner with explaining the different types of cameras. In my college photographic society, the basic lessons are more or less structured like this:

The 3 Factors of Exposure (shutter speed, aperture, ISO/film speed)
Shutter Speed and Movement
Depth-Of-Field
Focal Length

Anything beyond that is quite gear-dependent, in my opinion. We see what students are interested in and we answer their questions relating to how to achieve certain photographic effects or what sort of camera they might need.

Clarence

 

[methinks]

When I was just getting in to photography I learnt mainly through google searches and a friend who was already into photography, butI wanted to check I hadn't "missed" anything in the basic run through though so I bought this book:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0340869860/202-3131069-3023864?v=glance&n=266239

Very clear, very simple, explains a lot and doesn't really narrow down to any particular field. I recommend it! Apparently it's part of a huge selection of "Teach Yourself xxxx" books which are written by people in the corresponding field...

 

[jonasv]

Thanks for the suggestions so far! Clarence, you're probably right that I should start of with the mere basics, but there's one thing: she's soon leaving for a year of Erasmus (foreign student exchange) so I'm going to try and teach her as much as possible in a very short time... She needs to buy a camera within ten days or so, so I think she should have a basic idea of what different types of cameras are for, so she can make up her mind herself, instead of me pushing my own ideas...

thanks!

 

[willie_901]

Good morning,


Next the photograph itself: rule of thirds and composition in general, the importance of light, visualising a shot, contrast, the importance of light, the importance of light, ... With some hints like not having trees grow out of people's heads etc. I don't really want to 'teach' this part like the technical parts, rather I'll try to show a lot of examples and let her discover it for herself...


Is there anything else I should do or explain, or is this too complicated already? She's really smart so I don't want to dumbify the technical aspects too much, I think she can grasp it all at once and while it may be a bit boring I do believe it's necessary to get all that from the beginning.

I think you should leave the composition part almost entirely to her. In fact, I don't think composition can be taught. All I would do is discuss perspective and how DOF is a compositional tool.

In a time where most people just want to select a menu icon and hold a LCD in front of their face, I find it encourageing that she wants to learn photography and not just how to operate a a menu system.

willie

 

[oftheherd]

Nice of you to take this on. You have recieved some good advice so far. However, in 10 days or so, she probably doesn't the time to really learn, that is, retain much. Besides what you will try to teach her, you might want to consider giving her a book such as The Joy of Photography, or other good beginners book, which she can read at her leisure and as she can absorb the ideas/concepts.

 

[clarence]

Thanks for the suggestions so far! Clarence, you're probably right that I should start of with the mere basics, but there's one thing: she's soon leaving for a year of Erasmus (foreign student exchange) so I'm going to try and teach her as much as possible in a very short time... She needs to buy a camera within ten days or so, so I think she should have a basic idea of what different types of cameras are for, so she can make up her mind herself, instead of me pushing my own ideas...

thanks!

Good point, there. If I were in a similar position I'd recommend a cheap SLR with a zoom lens. If she doesn't like it she could always get another camera without losing much money. IMHO, it's quite difficult to explain the differences between cameras unless you try them out yourself. But if you could let her try all the different cameras in your collection in ten days, why not!

Clarence