Let’s face it – photography can be a costly activity. Your thousands of dollars can be easily spent on your camera and lens as well as necessary accessories such as a tripod and filters. Considering all those expenses, in fact, learning the usage of all that gear to capture eye-catching shots normally means that you should have something free or low-cost.
Luckily, there are a lot of ways to learn photography without spending hands and legs. Take a look at our favorite methods to learn new skills and hone the ones you already have – all for free!
Get Familiar with Your Gear
It’s obvious that you should know ins and outs of your gear, but it’s surprising that many people unpack their camera and start taking photos with it. If you indeed wish to learn to be a better photographer, first you should be thoroughly familiar with your camera. Go through the owner’s manuals, YouTube videos and some good photography blogs. The fact is that no one – not even a pro – will know every single function and feature right out of the box. As you would get more acquainted with your gear, you can capture increasingly improved photos with it.
Join a Photography Forum
For photographers of any skill level, a photography forum is a perfect learning place. Just imagine – a forum is a space where you can encounter with others with same interests as of yours, get familiar with the brains of photographers on technical or creative topics, discuss on hurdles or triumphs, and get reviews on your shots, and much more. You might even find forum participants in your locality that you can meet up in person and go out to shoot!
Keep Reading
There is a treasure of outstanding photography blogs, tutorials, and in-depth guides on the internet, many of which are absolutely free. Most tutorials and articles are so short that you can read them in a few minutes and then bring the skills you learned into practice. Several photography blogs publish new content every week, though not every day, meaning you have an access to a practically fathomless stock of educational materials at hand. Selecting even one tutorial every day will help you learn a great number of new skills within no time!
Ask for Feedback
Many of us learn by discussing with others; why not ask for feedback from those who have an ability to spot your strengths and weaknesses in photography? The great benefit of asking for feedback is that you can have it virtually from anywhere. It may be someone you come across in a photography forum or it may be a local photographer or even a photography tutor. Maybe you can just publish your photos on the internet and get analyses from your social media followers. The more constructive criticism you will receive, the more knowledge you will get of the areas in which you should improve.
Be a Member of a Photography Club
Most cities and towns have groups of photographers that meet regularly. Quite similar to a photography forum, these groups offer you an opportunity to connect to other photographers of various skill levels, thereby opening up all types of options for learning. Moreover, photography clubs often have regular photo walks and other programs to take you out for shooting. This sort of regular practice in the company of other photographers will indeed get you on the way to become a better photographer.