Ok so I am back home from TWiT eastside studios. I wanted to give a lil’ info about Hands-On Photography (HOP).
First off, THANK YOU ALL for the support of me and the TWiT network over the years.
Secondly, I want HOP to be a place where beginners and enthusiasts can go learn about photography. Quite frankly, I think the photography community is full of jerks. Absolute jerks. I don’t want to be that person. I want to help brand new folks feel comfortable with taking their first shots. I want the more seasoned enthusiasts to be able to help those new folks as well as share experiences with others in the community without any getting backlash of “photography snobbery.” I’m not doing this for the “pros.” Period.
When I started shooting, I didn’t go to photography school or anything like that. I learned from trial and error. Lots of error. And more so with a SMARTPHONE. I had a point and shoot, but the smartphone was always with me.
I learned from errors over the years and I’m still learning. I learned a little from reading photography sites. I learned a little from watching YouTube. I also had the privilege to learn from folks in the smartphone photographer’s community I used to host on Google+. Of all of those areas I had the opportunity to learn, the community I hosted on G+ was the best because NO ONE was allowed to belittle or go into a Sony vs Canon vs Nikon wars on my watch. All of that is crap when it comes to someone trying to learn how to shoot. Fortunately, the community as a whole was about the learning.
HOP will focus first on those beginners. My intention is to start out slowly with the basics and fundamentals these first couple of episodes. The beauty of the internet is it is full of information. The detriment of the internet is all of that information can overwhelm us. So each week, I want to build on topics covered in the previous week and limit information overload. I’ll move into composition, the so-called “rules,” and eventually more technical aspects such as hardware, software, terminology and so forth. I will also do some editing from time to time to pay homage to Bob Ross. Lol! Seriously, there will be some live editing of photos I’ve snapped.
When I say “world of photography,” I also mean video. There are times when your photography skills will come handy in shooting video. I’ll (eventually) take HOP subscribers down the road of video capture and processing.
There will also be an opportunity for you as HOP subscribers and community members to get involved. A couple ways, actually.
- subscriber photo submissions for me to quickly process your photos on-air
- subscriber questions
- photo CHALLENGES
Yes, I said challenges. But don’t worry, everyone that participates will be a “winner.” With the challenges, I’ll present you with a photo-related task. It will be based on the current or previous episode’s discussion.
Example challenge: Create a shot demonstrating negative space.
Example challenge at a higher level: Create a high-key shot.
I’ll have you submit the shots somewhere, somehow and I’ll use them (with your permission) on air to discuss the challenge parameters and see where/how you hit the mark. This will give everyone subscribed to HOP the opportunity to get a better understanding of the photo technique and hopefully encourage them to try the shots themselves.
Anyway, I’ve babbled long enough. Hopefully HOP will excite you as much a it excites me. This is the beginning of a long road, folks. You don’t learn to capture great photos in a week or a month or a year. You just don’t. It’s a process of learning and it definitely takes time and PRACTICE. I’m still learning and practicing. I look forward to going on the journey with each of you. With that said. Let’s get ready to #CreateAndDominate in the world of photography.
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