Few thoughts that may support you moving first steps into photography

Let’ get the disclaimer out of the way, first: I’m not a professional of this topic, just very passionate about it, with a few years of experience since I moved the first steps myself in this field.

This post does not claim to be anything more than sharing some thoughts and findings, mistakes and lessons learned, hoping that others can benefit from them.

These thoughts are not exposed in a particular order and they may not all be necessarily applicable to you … you may just pick what resonates with you the most.

Here we go:

· The best camera is the one you have with you. You don’t need a proper camera to take pictures that will make you happy, your smartphone may do the job just fine. Some of the shots I am most fond of were taken with my smartphone, as it happened to be the only tool available exactly when I needed it. So, if you see something you’d like to capture … go for it with what you have … don’t hold back. Along your journey into photography you may become passionate for pictures taken in caves … should this happen you are most likely going to reconsider your gear and equip yourself with a tripod … maybe not just yet, only time will tell

Cave photography is not my thing, but if I happen to visit one I try to be prepared and take some shots home — Photo by Marco Rispoli

· Very much connected to the first topic is a reflection on the gear … a (good) camera does not make you a (good) photographer, but can it certainly help. Many years back I had a very basic compact camera … that was good enough for me. Then my kid was born, and I wanted to save precious moments of his growth and at that point in time my gear was not fit for purpose anymore … I wanted something that could take good pictures automatically, because I did not know any better. In that situation a better gear helped me to get the job done without requiring me to improve my photographic skills and techniques.

Sheer luck and a camera that focuses where I need it to … it saved my day — Photo by Marco Rispoli

· With better gear you may take better pictures, but most likely the moment will come where your natural talent to compose the shot can benefit from some formal and structured learning about shooting. I started to get so much more pleasure and satisfaction from my shots after attending a small photography course. A small investment of time and money provided me with some basic understanding of how light and lens work, which allowed me to dramatically step up my game

· If you can accept that learning is a key to improve your satisfaction with photography, you can understand the importance of shooting together with other fellow photographers. You don’t need to surround yourself with top notch professionals and you don’t have to target fancy locations only: even waggling around the city to find some nice shots with a bunch of enthusiasts beginners like you can teach you a lot (and be of tremendous fun).

During my first night shoot with my photography club, I borrowed a tripod for my first 30 seconds long shot — Photo by Marco Rispoli

· The subjects of your shots are expression of your sensibility, taste, interests and passions … not everybody will like your pictures, and that’s totally fine. Unless you are a professional photographer and you make your living out of photography (in this case I doubt you’d be reading this post), you shoot for yourself. Be selfish! If you see something you like take even 100 pictures of it in one go, from slightly different angles and viewpoints, because you will take that one shot that stands above all the other 99, that will make you happy. And don’t be disappointed if that shot does not trigger any reaction with your family and friends … that shot is “talking” to you. The worst thing you can do is to give up photography because nobody else likes your pictures.

Shot taken at the National Archeological Museum in Athens … never found so much grace in a statue before. Could have taken another 1000 pictures of it and I am sorry I didn’t — Photo by Marco Rispoli

· Pictures backup is not overrated. If you took that shot there was something about it that captured your attention, hence it is precious, at least to you. Today’s technology helps a lot to automate the backup of your pictures … be sure to at least leverage that free storage in the cloud that you most likely have already … and if you find yourself needing more capacity you will have a lot of cheap options to fit your needs. You can trust me when I say that you will want to go back to some shots in the future, and if your phone is broken or lost or your external hard drive does not work anymore, you will be sorry.

· The more you shoot, you will better understand the subjects you prefer, refine your taste, identify your own path. The moment you find pleasure in photography you are likely to want to shoot more … or shoot better … or both. It’s a virtuous circle that I really hope you will embrace, because it will open up a world of opportunities of happiness. It can be food you eat, clouds in the sky, statues, cars, your kid playing with his friends, animals, architecture … if it triggers your heart, go for it. This appetite for “more” may lead to meet new people, get a different camera, or maybe more lens, or a software to improve your pictures … experiment, and your heart will tell you what makes you happy … just listen to it.

Experimenting with light in Grundtvig Cathedral — Photo by Marco Rispoli

So, in a nutshell

· Don’t hold back your impulse to take a shot

· If photography tickles you, get a camera

· Try to learn at least the basics of photography

· Take pictures with friends that share your same passion

· You are the one to like your shots

· Experiment

One more note before wrapping this up: I intentionally did not mention any brand or specific product as I wanted to focus on concepts that would be applicable for everybody, before sharing my experience with some very specific gear. This may be the subject for another post.

Till then, if you enjoyed this story you may want to check my experience with “size” in photography.