Setting goals for the course

[Angela2932]

This weekend I got feedback from my tutor, Greg, on my initial 3 photos for the course. This is helping me think through some of my goals for this course (other than "learn everything", which I want to do!)

I think for me, 3 of my goals will be:

1.) Sharp focus. This seems like such an easy concept, but hard to implement! I'm not even really sure when a photo IS in sharp focus! Does anyone have any suggestions for really analyzing whether the focus is sharp in a photo? I know some of the tips to GET sharp focus involve shutter speed, tripods, using focal points. Any others?

2.) Learn to use the histogram. My photos tend to be dark. I don't think this is an exposure issue, but something more that I can improve in the processing.

3.) Composition. For me, this will be the underlying Big Kahuna in my photo-journey. . . seeing more creatively, and paying attention to what I want my underlying "story" to be, finding a way to communicate it.

Any hints in these areas?
What kind of goals have any of you set for yourselves?

[coffee]

I never really set goals when I did the course, but the goals you listed will certainly make you a better photographer when you meet them.

Keep in mind that everyone sees things differently. So a photo that looks in focus for one, might not for another. This also goes for exposure and composition as well.

Some goals you might set for yourself in this early stage is to make sure YOU like the photos you are taking, have fun, try to learn the basics, learn your camera (very important), and set time aside to shoot. Think about your shot before you take it.

I looked at you gallery and I love the "panning strangers" photo. Looks like you won't have any problem with the panning portion of the class. :)

[Angela2932]

Thanks, Joseph. I've really been thinking about what you said, "make sure YOU like the photos you are taking", because I could see how this could get lost in the shuffle of learning the nuts and bolts of photography. I think about some of my old, old photos--I know some much more now about photography than I did then, but it means a lot to me to have these photos now anyway!

[coffee]

Thanks, Joseph. I've really been thinking about what you said, "make sure YOU like the photos you are taking", because I could see how this could get lost in the shuffle of learning the nuts and bolts of photography. I think about some of my old, old photos--I know some much more now about photography than I did then, but it means a lot to me to have these photos now anyway!

Then you have the same feeling toward photography that I do. Some of my most cherrished photos aren't the best technically, or very good for that matter, but the feelings I get from them are something very special.

One recent example of this is I took a quick snapshot of my sisters dog many years ago. Technically it was bad shot. A few weeks ago they put Clara down. She was 10 years old, blind, and her system was shutting down. My 15 year old neice called me to tell me the news. She was very heart broken. I took that old bad photo of Clara, put it on a background of a water fall I did some months back, and gave it to her as a way to help with her grief. It was very sad to see her cry, but after the tears dried up, we were able to laugh about the silly things Clara used to do. This photo was very appropriate because Clara always thought she was much bigger than she really was. Note the collar.

This is the reason I never throw out any files, unless that are badly out of focus. I never thought I would ever use that shot for anything. As you can see, the photo isn't technically great, or even good, but it's now very special to me, and holds a lot of meaning.

[Angela2932]

What a sweet photo! The collar really does look enormous on her, and she looks like she's wearing it like a gold medal! I almost cropped some old photos for a scrapbook page last week. . . until I looked more closely at the "clutter" in the background and remembered my mother's decorating our old Christmas tree with winnie-the-pooh bears years ago. It was a pathetic looking tree, there was no real "subject" to the photo, but I loved seeing her incredible smile again, and some of those odd, background quirks. Oddly, it made me go photograph the inside of my kitchen junk drawer. . . . just because.

[ladyups]

Hi Angela.
I've not set any goals either other than to get though this course within the year. So far, I'm about 9 months behind that goal...LOL. I just did finish up lesson 6 and I've been doing this since before Christmas last year. It's not that I'm not doing the lessons, it's that I'm too chicken to submit my photos. I procrastinate horribly. I have a lot of trouble with the term, 'tack sharp'. I see images that are tack sharp to me but not as sharp to someone else. I think I've pretty much got the composition aspect down and I'm getting a little bit better at thinking about what I'm shooting BEFORE I hit the shutter button but I can still use some work on that. It's just that tack sharp stuff that eludes me. I bought a good tripod (or so I thought and right now I'm giving the company the benefit of the doubt but if I haven't heard something by next week, my ratings will be going down) and try and use it as much as possible but still have trouble with those images that look like they will walk out of the photo. I can't seem to hold the focus points right where I want them and get the wb reading and still push the shutter button down. LOL....maybe I need more hands.
Anyway, I keep telling myself that this is a hobby that I love, not my job, which I do only because I like how they pay me, and to keep shooting what I love to see.