Photography, do you ever stop learning?

[Richdog]

I know the title of the thread may sound a tad silly, but lately I have made some really important discoveries and learning points in photography regarding exposure, lighting and metering that have really given me some "Eurekaaaaaaaa" moments.

Do even you Pro's or advanced amateurs still come across things that make you go: "Ahhhhhhhh", or have you reached a point where everything is just instinctive in almost every situation?

if not, what have you learnt lately that changed the way you take photographs?

 

[An Exception]

The importance of context to set the scene. In practice this means I try to get a nice as possible picture of all venues/locations in a set of pictures. Before I would grab a picture of the venue/locations, but wouldn't necessarily dedicate too many brainwaves to it.

Also how to do star trails.

 

[Richdog]

The importance of context to set the scene. In practice this means I try to get a nice as possible picture of all venues/locations in a set of pictures. Before I would grab a picture of the venue/locations, but wouldn't necessarily dedicate too many brainwaves to it.

Also how to do star trails.

Yeah, I saw Cosimos star trails in the photo thread... they were pretty damn epic!

 

[T0pPredator]

Photography is such a broad subject I feel like there will always be genres or styles to master as trends evolve through the years. After 6 years in photography I feel more than comfortable with my camera and usually know exactly how to create the image I want with whats in front of me. Using off camera flash on location along side natural light however still requires me to fully apply myself and take my time, but in time this will probably be instinctive too.
That fantastic feeling you get when you know you've got the shot you were after still prevails though.

A really interesting exercise for learning I did when I was at university was to take an image and completely deconstruct it to figure out exactly how it was produced, then recreate it with or without your own twist.

This is my recreation of a photo taken of the actor Christopher Walken by the photographer Mark Seliger:

 

[D.P.]

I thin it would be possible for a determined full time professional to learn more or less everything about photography form a technical point of view, but they would have to dedicate all their time to learning.

However, photography is not static. technology and techniques change over time. If you were an expert in understanding exposure with a 35mm film then you would have to relearn a lot with digital sensors, and then keep re-learning because sensors have evolved and changed their characteristics (form low DR with poor shadows and highlights, to moderate DR with good highlights and poor shadows, to high DR with moderate highlights and good shadows).

there is also thing like autofocus that has changed massively since its inception, and before that you would have to master manual focus. Not many people here do sports or wildofe so haven't tried to read how the continuous 3D tracking focus works, can be tuned and fiddled with. It is incredibly complex and changes from camera to camera, now we have things like Group autofous and color 3D tracking.


So things are always changing, and there are completely different systems to master. If I had unlimited pockets I would use the latest Pentax medium forma 645Z for landscape work and would have to to learn a whole new format, sensor size, lens system. I also really want the Fuji GX17 3:1 panoramic large format film camera for, well, panoramic. So then I have to learn a manual film camera with 3:1 aspect ratio


There is also much more to photography than just the equipment. Improving the aesthetic side of things and developing powerful, emotive compositions takes a lifetime to master.

 

[mrk]

You can know the full workings of every camera system and know all 'rules' of photography but you can never stop learning. I think that's the important point to be made. Even established pros who are well into their primes can learn something new from someone somewhere in the world. There isn't a single discipline out there where someone can simply not learn any more, unless I have been mistaken?

Every shoot poses a different scenario, different lighting, different subjects, different criteria and the opportunity to learn, even subconsciously, is always there.

There is no such thing as the right way to photograph something, every way can be the right way and it's how each person figures out their own special way to do something that makes that a learning opportunity for someone else who does it another way.

The problem arises when you get someone who is fixed in their own way and won't accept that someone else has done a similar thing, but a different way. You get that a lot within photography clubs both physical and online.

TBH I can't think of any other hobby where knowledge and experiences can be shared so easily, while at the same time capturing moments that /may/ never be repeated in all existence ever again - For me that's what is fascinating!

I only wish I had the free time to do that hobby more often than I currently am!

 

[Phate]

You can know the full workings of every camera system and know all 'rules' of photography but you can never stop learning.

This sums up my thoughts exactly.

I've been claiming the 'Professional' handle for a couple of years now and I still have moments of discovery, learn something new, looking to try different types of photography (I'm actually going to attempt a star trail shot as described this weekend)

But like mrk...I just wish I had more time to dedicate to it as a hobby!