17.01.2017

How to get started as a Photographer

written by:
Katie Goldie

17.01.2017

How to get started as a Photographer

Getting started as a photographer can be a daunting task. There are hundreds of cameras, lenses, tripods and brands to choose from. It’s also difficult to know what you find the most joy in shooting if you haven’t had any previous photography experience.

Everyone has a personal experience when starting photography but I will explain a bit on how it happened for me to hopefully give you some direction on your journey.

I was always into being outside, and for me it was usually a fitness pursuit. I would run, hike and cycle whenever I could and found that the combination of nature and fitness helped me escape my everyday work life. It wasn’t until a couple of years ago that I started snapping photos on my iPhone while outside. The photos at the beginning were not always pretty, but they started to improve as I started posting photos to Instagram. I started seeing a pattern to what people seemed to enjoy seeing when I would share to my social platforms and I would find ways to make photos better.

I started hiking to new and different landscapes to capture new perspectives and people really seemed to enjoy it. Fellow photographers that I had met through Social Media also would join me on camping and hiking trips and we would learn from each other. You could say that I was a self-taught photographer but I do owe credit to many of my talented friends who had helped me along the way. I am still learning as well, there is no capacity for creativity in photography. It started to become my artwork as my editing style developed and my equipment became more refined. I started to see the value in owning high performance equipment such as Manfrotto products. It has been over two years since I purchased my first full frame camera and I know I have come very far with my images and still have places to go. It is never too late to start taking photos and like me you may never now what hidden talents you could possess or what an audience would like to see, but if you are passionate about photography it is a wonderful talent to obtain.

Starting out can be overwhelming, especially if you have never had to work settings on a DLSR before. I recommend buying a “starter” camera. There are many crop frame cameras on the market that help teach you the basics of photography without the extreme expense. What you should invest in is a good tripod if you know you want to take your photography further.

I had my crop DLSR for a year before I started buying bigger cameras and lenses because I knew photography was something I could have a future in, and you will know as well after shooting for a few months if you want to invest more, you will also have a better idea of what you are passionate about shooting and can customize a more expensive purchase in that direction.

Photography is an amazing gift once we can start to master the basics. It can open up opportunities to so many experiences and it can help us capture life’s moments that can otherwise pass us by. I find myself get very excited to explore new areas and travel to new landscapes because it helps me escape into my own creative world.

You can create your own creative world as well, it only takes picking up the camera.

Katie Goldie

Photographer and storyteller from Canada. Her goal is to inspire individuals to get outside and understand why the natural world is so precious. She wants to inspire others to see the beautiful places she photographs as well as protect them.

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