How long does it take to learn photography?

Posted on: Tue May 7, 2013

The Mentored Project
© Andrew Newson

So I know what you’re thinking, years and years and years! Well you’d probably be right in some respects, but for a moment I want to talk about the technical side of photography, camera settings and such likes. So how long does it take to learn enough about your camera and software to start getting really fantastic results?

Firstly, it’s important to know that digital photography is a two step process. First you must know how to control your camera to achieve the results that you want, but you must also know it’s limitations! Step two is to use software (processing), to finish the job.

So there are some common issues that crop up when taking photos…

  • My photos are blurry
  • My photos are out of focus
  • My photos are too dark
  • My photos are too bright
  • Too much of the photo is in focus
  • Not enough of the photo is in focus

It’s really not that difficult to learn how to recognise and fix these things. All of these can and should be fixed in the camera, not afterwards in Photoshop! Most people can learn this in just a few hours.

Sometimes though the camera cannot capture the photograph quite as we saw it with our eyes. It’s no great surprise to know that clever as they are, they are no match for the lens and image sensor we have built in, our eyes and brains!

Here is definitely where we need to take advantage of step two, we need to know how to control the camera to get the best result first and then know what to do with software to get the photo looking like the scene we remember, or perhaps the creative idea we intended for that scene. For my money, Adobe Lightroom is your best option for processing and managing your digital photos. Just a few hours tuition will have you up and running.

I’m not suggesting you will have the whole art form mastered in as little as 6 hours, but that really could be enough to get you taking much better and more consistent photographs.

If you’re interested in a face-to-face 1-2-1 Photography Course or even a Skpe 1-2-1 Photography Course, then please get in touch.