The Evolution of my Photography (or, a confession)

I am going to admit this right now since I have been going through some old posts on this blog. All of my point-and-shoot work is okay (not the greatest, but considering the quality of the camera...), but I have to be honest. When I first started using my SLR camera, my pictures stunk. Let me repeat myself - they s.t.u.n.k. Seriously. I had no clue what I was doing and it is so darn obvious. This post is a great illustration. Laugh with me, please? It'll make me feel better! I'm ashamed to admit that I even took those. What was I doing?

But enough about that. I have learned some serious stuff since then and I wanted to share:

• Never use the Manual setting until you know exactly what you're doing. Just...forget about it until you've read the manual ten thousand times and know what each meter means or have a vague idea. Honestly. Experimenting is just fine, but at least be familiar with the terms. Don't just turn the camera on and flip things around because it'll be a guaranteed disaster (don't ask me how I know). This is where the bulk of my problem was when I first got my camera. I always confused the ISO with the shutter speed and then there was the aperture and so many pictures were mostly dark! Unfortunately, I didn't realize my problem was because of the camera setting. Thank God for photo editing software!
• Do NOT compare your work to professionals. I love blogs, specifically photography blogs and many of the sites include great tips and ideas. However, it's easy to get sucked into looking at their images and then looking at yours. You get discouraged, depressed and I'll be honest, I wanted to quit sometimes. I'm not saying my images are brilliant (because they're not), but I thought my pictures would always be dark. That they wouldn't be natural. That nobody would hire me. The list could go on...just be prepared to spend time getting to know your camera and don't expect brilliant the moment you pull the camera out of the box.
  
• Be teachable. The first couple of times I posted pictures, I received some critique from some photographer friends. Sometimes it hurt, but it was good. Honest (thanks Lydia!). Initially I wanted to retort back with something, but I held my tongue and took their advice. Their kind yet firm words have only improved my work. So, listen to those who know what they're doing :) It'll only help you down the road!

I know this isn't professional advice, but I did want to share it. I have learned the hard way with some photography stuff, but I'm getting there. Slowly but surely!

I also wanted to thank my friend Lydia from Lydia Photography. Lydia lives in California (I am so jealous) and we have never met. Yet she has answered millions of my silly questions, IMed tips, links and encouragement. I would never have purchased a camera without her support. Thank you and I hope we can meet up soon :)