Originally published at brendantaylorfilice.com.

Earnestness, uncapped passion, and curiosity tend to produce incredible photos. The ability to point a lens at a person and capture their soul, or point it at an item and capture its presence is a skill that not everyone has, but it is something that every hopeful photographer can aspire to.

For some, photography is a just method by which they plug self-indulgent images and snapshots into various online networks, and for everyone else, photography is a visual art form. …

Are you the “friend who is always Snapchatting everything”?

Using your phone to shoot fancy Instragram shots is actually a great way to get started, especially to learn the basics of composition and exposure. But to graduate from your novice escapades, do you best to educate yourself about the daunting specs such as ISO and f-numbers.

NUMBERS! Yikes.

Once you gain at least a peripheral understanding of what all this info indicates, you’ll be better prepared to face all the magnificent choices of cameras to purchase in the digitial camera world. Here’s a great guide from TechHive.

So, those questions to ask…

“Photographs are a way of imprisoning reality…One can’t possess reality, one can possess images — one can’t possess the present but one can possess the past.”

- Susan Sontag, On Photography (1977)

Photography is an outlet for us to both collect and create history. However, photography is changing. We now are filming ourselves nonstop, with Instagram, Snapchat, Periscope, and other apps that keep us vigilantly connected to friends and family.

New York Times columnist James Estrin speaks to social media’s affect on photography. There are two notable changes. One, it is creating a vast new audience that can appreciate photography (consider Instagram). Two, it is changing what we share; the majority of pictures circulated is about ourselves, our friends, and families (consider selfies).

Teju Cole’s “On Photography” column in the NY Times has addressed the influence of photojournalism throughout history. Images that may seem simple now; for example, the dancing legs of three African boys gracing the sand as the ocean splashes their feet, inspired artistic masters to go out and capture the “eternity through the moment.” …

Do you find yourself obsessively bringing your iPhone everywhere not so you can text friends, but so you can take pictures of nearly everything you see? Do you run outside every time the sunsets to capture the perfect moment and share it with your friends?

Finding your inner photographer is exciting. However, many beginners find themselves overwhelmed with the culture and community that defines photography, especially nature photography. There’s a big history behind it and plenty of professionals who know what they’re talking about.

So what are some things you ought to know once you decide you want to pursue photography as a serious hobby?

• Megapixels: Starting with a camera between 6 and 8 megapixels is ideal for beginners. It’s easy to be tricked into thinking that more megapixels contributes to higher quality photos, but as long as it’s a high quality camera it is actually more efficient to stay within this range. …

Whenever I go anywhere, I see people with their heads down, on their phones. People are playing Candy Crush, swiping left and right on Tinder, and are “Yelping” the best spot for dinner. We’re so addled by our second lives on our iPhone screens. I think most people recognize that it’s a distraction. Because it’s so second-nature, we’ve become complacent.

People nowadays will mock you for being hesitant of technology. Especially in my millennial demographic, it’s “uncool” to “unplug.” If you’re sitting with a group of friends at dinner and everyone has their phones out, comparing Instagrams or whatever it is, you feel awkward without a phone. …