Many of us love the idea of photography but rarely know where to begin. Many college students, and people in general, have a camera but don't know how to use it, or maybe they use it but use it incorrectly.
Being one of said college students, I've been looking for new ways to branch out and learn more about my favorite toy. Below are a few useful tips that I've found through all of the articles and videos that I've been though.
1. Take advantage of free resources. Things like Youtube, Flikr, or GIMP have really helpful tutorials, information, and inspiration to help you all along the photography process.
2. Learn the basic rules. It may be helpful to start with a few articles on composition.
3. Photograph often. Try to take pictures every day. This is a skill that has to be exercised in order to be good at it!
4. Know the exposure triangle: Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO. These are the three factors that affect the resulting image. All photographers stress the importance of these three components when taking good photographs.
5. Learn the nomenclature! Reading through the manual that comes with your camera is super helpful, but going through tutorials and beginners guides will help with this too. (P.S. the manual is NOT as boring as you might think.)