One of my favorite scenes of a holiday movie is in “Christmas Story.” It’s Christmas morning and the kids rush to the tree under which they find gifts that Santa has left. Little Randy grabs the first one, “A fire engine! Oh boy! That’s mine!” he exclaims then immediately reaches for another, “A zeppelin! That’s mine!” That scene, for me, captures the excitement of holiday gift giving (receiving).
What did Santa bring YOU this year? Did you get new photography gear? Maybe a tripod or a lens? Maybe a new camera body?
How exciting. Did you secretly think to yourself, “Oh boy! That’s mine!” Did you then begin wondering how best to quickly get up to speed using your new toy? Consider the following.
Tip 1: Read the manual
Photography equipment is precision equipment. But it’s shocking just how many people expect it to be as intuitive as that game app they downloaded the other day. Maybe it’s somewhat intuitive, but not likely. Read the manual and keep a list of things you want to understand better.
Tip 2: Check out online resources
Type in the model number of the toy into your computer and see the list of textual and video helps. With your gear in hand, and pausing frequently as you locate the right button, videos in particular offer some great quick-start understanding. Your camera, for example, moves fairly quickly from being a button-encrusted rock to being a piece of the latest spacecraft. Cool!
Tip 3: Take a workshop
Remember Driver Ed? What would your driving proficiency have been like had you only prepped for the written exam? Imagine anxiety, frustration (from you and others), even damage (that’s going to be expensive to fix). The same goes for camera equipment. A workshop puts you in an environment with others just like you where you can feel comfortable as you grow your skill and practice the book stuff with guidance and encouragement.
Tip 4: Join a club!
Say you’ve read the manual (YES!) and you’ve been poking around online.
What does a club offer that you can’t get elsewhere? People. Live people. People like you, and people who know what you need. In a camera club, you get exposure to what others are doing with their gear. You LEARN from the distilled skills of other photographers. You can take workshops from vetted instructors. After learning a bit about your gear, you can take advantage of field trip opportunities to practice what you’ve learned by SHOOTing photos in real-world experiences like fireworks, portraiture, landscape, night sky, and more. Then, of course, you’ll need to learn how to EDIT the images you’ve captured. Finally, a club offers a supportive environment in which you can SHARE your best work in exhibits and competitions in which you receive critiques that you apply to improving your skill and your joy.
Do you want to enjoy Santa’s photography gifts to the fullest? Join Redlands Camera Club. They have regular meetings, and will show you through instruction and field trips how to create photos you are proud of sharing.
