{"id":35323,"date":"2016-12-07T00:31:22","date_gmt":"2016-12-07T08:31:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?page_id=35323"},"modified":"2016-12-12T09:04:34","modified_gmt":"2016-12-12T17:04:34","slug":"free-photography-bootcamp","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/free-photography-bootcamp\/","title":{"rendered":"Free Photography Bootcamp"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

If you’re new to photography, consider this your free guide:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Democratization of photography<\/h2>\n

In the spirit of Silicon Valley \u00e2\u20ac\u201d these intensive \u00e2\u20ac\u0153coding boot camps\u00e2\u20ac\u009d have taken off. They cost around $15,000 \u00e2\u20ac\u201d yet promise graduates to get a $100,000 starting salary as a coder.<\/p>\n

This has made me think a lot about photography. A lot of passionate photographers enroll in photography school (because they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re following their passion), yet they graduate with $200,000+ of debt, and end up picking up small freelance gigs (only perhaps earning the average graduate $30,000 a year).<\/p>\n

In a world with free information, why go into massive debt to follow your passion \u00e2\u20ac\u201d for a job or a career that won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t guarantee you money?<\/p>\n

Why free information?<\/h2>\n
NYC, 2015<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I believe in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153open source<\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d information. I believe that information can empower. Information can help you become the best version of yourself (of course, granted, that you work hard).<\/p>\n

So my attempt is going to be putting together this free \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Photography Bootcamp\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to get you started in photography \u00e2\u20ac\u201d with free tools, resources, and insights to get you started from ground zero, to becoming an \u00e2\u20ac\u0153adept\u00e2\u20ac\u009d photographer.<\/p>\n

And my \u00e2\u20ac\u0153creative constraint<\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is going to help you try to get started in photography, with zero money, zero startup costs, and everything for free.<\/p>\n

\n

Chapter 1: Getting started<\/h2>\n
\"\"
Tokyo, 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Okay friend, let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s get started.<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m going to assume that you are an absolute newbie to photography, and know nothing. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t consider any of my words to be demeaning or discouraging. I will just tell it to you straight\u00e2\u20ac\u201d advice I wish someone gave me.<\/p>\n

What camera and lens should I shoot with?<\/h3>\n
Amsterdam, 2015 #cindyproject<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To start off, of course, you need a camera and a lens.<\/p>\n

There is a wide-array of cameras, lenses, and systems out there. It can be quite confusing.<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m going to assume that you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t<\/em> want to make a business or a living with your photography. If you do, check out my free Photography Entrepreneurship 101 series<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I will assume that you already have a 9-5 job, can pay your rent, and your photography is your passion. You might have first got interested in photography because you had a baby, because you started to travel, or you got an iPhone and started having a lot of fun taking photos.<\/p>\n

So let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s assume you just have an iPhone or a smartphone. The first thing you might want to do is \u00e2\u20ac\u0153upgrade\u00e2\u20ac\u009d your smartphone camera to a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153real\u00e2\u20ac\u009d camera (like a big DSLR, which are the big cameras, where you can attach those fancy zoom lenses, where you can do cool effects like make the background blurry).<\/p>\n

You won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t hear this much anywhere else<\/h3>\n
\"\"
Berlin, 2015 #cindyproject<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The first counter-intuitive advice I would give you is this: just stick with your smartphone camera<\/strong>. The irony is that a lot of beginner photographers want to buy the biggest, most \u00e2\u20ac\u0153professional\u00e2\u20ac\u009d looking camera possible. Yet most of the pro photographers I know (who shoot for fun) just prefer using a small, compact camera, or their iPhone\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s.<\/p>\n

First of all wonder \u00e2\u20ac\u201d why<\/em> do you want to upgrade your camera to a bigger, more \u00e2\u20ac\u0153professional\u00e2\u20ac\u009d camera?<\/p>\n

Here are some reasons you might want to upgrade:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. You want to be taken more \u00e2\u20ac\u0153seriously\u00e2\u20ac\u009d as a photographer<\/li>\n
  2. You want better image quality<\/li>\n
  3. You want to do \u00e2\u20ac\u02dccool effects\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 like make the background blurry (they call this \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcbokeh\u00e2\u20ac\u2122) or capture fancy light-trails (when you put your camera on a tripod and shoot with a slow shutter-speed)<\/li>\n
  4. You (might) want to eventually make money with your photography, or make your passion for photography your career<\/li>\n
  5. You think that buying a better camera will help you be more creative<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Let me give my honest appraisal of these ideas:<\/p>\n

    1. You want to be taken more \u00e2\u20ac\u0153seriously\u00e2\u20ac\u009d as a photographer:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    This is silly. Aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t you taking photos to please yourself? Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seek to be taken \u00e2\u20ac\u0153seriously\u00e2\u20ac\u009d as a photographer to others, or else you will always be miserable (because you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re putting your own self-worth in the hands of others).<\/p>\n

    2. You want better image quality<\/strong><\/p>\n

    It is true that by upgrading your camera from a smartphone to a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153better\u00e2\u20ac\u009d camera will give you better image quality.<\/p>\n

    Yet realize this \u00e2\u20ac\u201d upgrading your camera will give you sharper photos, images with less grain or noise, and higher resolution. Having a \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcbetter\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 camera won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help you make \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcbetter\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 photos. The only way to make better photos is by improving your composition, framing, timing, capturing good light, and having emotion in your photos.<\/p>\n

    Another thing to consider \u00e2\u20ac\u201d if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re a photographer who uploads 99% of your photos to social media, consider that people aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t going to look at your photos anything bigger than a 5.5\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 screen. If you look at photos this small, you aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t going to tell a huge difference between shooting with a smartphone or a high-end DSLR.<\/p>\n

    3. You want to do \u00e2\u20ac\u02dccool effects\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 like make the background blurry (they call this \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcbokeh\u00e2\u20ac\u2122) or capture fancy light-trails (when you put your camera on a tripod and shoot with a slow shutter-speed)<\/strong><\/p>\n

    I first wanted to buy a DSLR so I could shoot \u00e2\u20ac\u0153wide open\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (taking a photo where your subject is sharp, but the background is blurry). I wanted to create these novel effects that I couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t create with my smartphone.<\/p>\n

    Yet the funny thing is that there is a lot of software that can simulate these effects. Of course it isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t as good as the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153real thing\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201d but the truth is, eventually, all these novelty \u00e2\u20ac\u0153looks\u00e2\u20ac\u009d wear off.<\/p>\n

    For example, I used to be obsessed with \u00e2\u20ac\u0153selective color\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (making a certain part of the photo red, and everything else black and white). But soon, this became cheesy, and boring.<\/p>\n

    I used to be really into \u00e2\u20ac\u0153HDR\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (high dynamic range photos), where the photos look super-sharp and super-epic. But this became boring after a while.<\/p>\n

    I used to be really into shooting everything \u00e2\u20ac\u0153wide open\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (with a 50mm f\/1.8 lens, everything at an aperture of f\/1.8). It was interesting and novel. The subject would be sharp, but the background was totally blurry. Eventually this got boring.<\/p>\n

    Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seek for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153cool effects\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in your photography. Rather, seek for personal meaning<\/em> in your photos. One of the first questions you should ask yourself as a photographer is, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Why<\/em> do I take photos?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d This philosophical questioning is going to save you a lot of time, headache, and money.<\/p>\n

    4. You (might) want to eventually make money with your photography, or make your passion for photography your career<\/strong><\/p>\n

    If you already make a comfortable living with your 9-5 job, I would actually recommend against<\/em> taking up photography full-time.<\/p>\n

    Why? If your passion is photography, you might not necessarily want to make a living from it. Taking photos you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re passionate about won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t necessarily mean you can make a living from it.<\/p>\n

    A lot of photographers I know lose their passion after becoming professional photographers. Kind of how chefs no longer cook for pleasure after they start working at fancy restaurants.<\/p>\n

    But if you really want to pursue photography full-time and know the downsides, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to discourage you. Rather, I will try to (later) provide some resources how you might want to do this.<\/p>\n

    5. You think that buying a better camera will help you be more creative<\/strong><\/p>\n

    I believe that creativity is all about \u00e2\u20ac\u0153creative constraints.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d By having unlimited options (like having lots of cameras, lenses, and zoom) actually makes you less<\/em> creative, and less<\/em> innovative).<\/p>\n

    Why? If you have too many options, you become lazy. You don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need to push yourself hard to innovate. Rather than relying on your own ingenuity, you outsource it to your camera, or depend on zooming to make a better photo.<\/p>\n

    Rather, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve found that adding \u00e2\u20ac\u0153creative constraints\u00e2\u20ac\u009d help make my photography more creative. For example, sticking with one camera, one lens, and one focal length. This is why I am a huge fan of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153prime lenses\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (lenses that don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t zoom). You are restricted in this one perspective, which helps force you be more creative with your framing.<\/p>\n

    Or take black and white photography for example. This forces you to innovate with how you see the world, because you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t rely on color as a crutch.<\/p>\n

    Almost all photographers I know who are really creative, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really care for their gear too much. Of course if you want to become a good chef, you need the right knife. But do you really need dozens of the same knife, for the same task?<\/p>\n

    So to save you a lot of money and time, and headache \u00e2\u20ac\u201d realize, upgrading your camera won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make you more creative. Rather, later I will share some ideas on how you can truly<\/em> be more creative with your photography (regardless of what camera you shoot with).<\/p>\n

    I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll stick with my iPhone\/smartphone<\/h3>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s say you want to improve your photography, and stick with your smartphone. Good for you.<\/p>\n

    If so, start reading this article: The Ultimate Beginner\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Guide to iPhone\/Smartphone Photography<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    This will help you get started with some creative ideas on photography.<\/p>\n

    If you need more convincing the benefit of shooting with your iPhone\/smartphone for photography, check out all my free iPhone\/Smartphone Photography articles<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    I already have a good camera<\/h3>\n

    I want to make this bootcamp available to you without<\/em> spending money. All of it for free.<\/p>\n

    So if you already have a camera (non-smartphone) just stick with it. Try to go through 30 days of this bootcamp, and then<\/em> later on, figure whether you want to invest in a fancy camera setup, or if you just want to upgrade your camera, lens, etc.<\/p>\n

    But I really want to upgrade my camera<\/h3>\n

    Before spending a ton of money on new gear (you probably don’t need), read some of these articles against “GAS” (gear acquisition syndrome<\/a>):<\/p>\n

      \n
    • 30 Tips to Conquer G.A.S.<\/a><\/li>\n
    • Disregard Differences, Notice Similarities<\/a><\/li>\n
    • More Megapixels, More Problems<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
      \n

      Chapter 2: Free photography tools<\/h2>\n
      \"\"
      Tokyo, 2011<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

      If you want to shoot photography, you need the right tools.<\/p>\n

      I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m assuming you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re shooting with a smartphone, or just some standard digital camera. It doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t matter if you have a compact digital camera, a DSLR, a micro 4\/3rds camera, mirrorless camera, or whatever.<\/p>\n

      Here are the free tools I recommend you to use.<\/p>\n

      Photo apps to download on your smartphone\/tablet<\/h3>\n

      1. VSCO<\/strong><\/p>\n

      I consider VSCO to be the best mobile photo app on the market. It is an \u00e2\u20ac\u0153all in one\u00e2\u20ac\u009d platform. Meaning, you can use it to post-process and edit your photos (make brightness adjustments, convert to black and white, apply filters), you can use it to store your photos for free (in a cloud-based library), and you can use it to publish your photos for free.<\/p>\n

      VSCO in their mobile app provides many free presets for you to use when starting off. Not only that, but if there are other \u00e2\u20ac\u0153looks\u00e2\u20ac\u009d you want, you can buy them as well.<\/p>\n

        \n
      • Download VSCO (iPhone)<\/a><\/li>\n
      • Download VSCO (Android)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        2. Snapseed<\/strong><\/p>\n

        The second tool I highly recommend is Snapseed by Google. The beauty of Snapseed is you can make more fine-tuned adjustments to your images (like Photoshop), and also post-process RAW photos.<\/p>\n

        I generally do most of my image-adjustments in VSCO, but if I want more control, I use Snapseed:<\/p>\n

          \n
        • Download Snapseed (iPhone)<\/a><\/li>\n
        • Download Snapseed (Android)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          3. Dropbox<\/strong><\/p>\n

          If you want free online cloud-based storage, you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t beat Dropbox for functionality.<\/p>\n

          Dropbox will instantly sync your photos between your smartphone, computer, and tablet. If you sign up for free, you get some free storage \u00e2\u20ac\u201d enough to get you started:<\/p>\n

            \n
          • Signup for Dropbox<\/a><\/li>\n
          • Dropbox for iPhone<\/a><\/li>\n
          • Dropbox for Android<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            Photo apps to download on your computer<\/h3>\n

            For Mac:<\/strong><\/p>\n

            If you have an Apple computer or MacBook, I recommend just using the built-in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Photos\u00e2\u20ac\u009d app. It is easy-to-use, flexible, and intuitive.<\/p>\n

            Also I recommend downloading the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Google Nik Collection<\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201d which are great presets to make your photos look more epic.<\/p>\n

            For PC:<\/strong><\/p>\n

            If you have a PC or Windows-based machine, I recommend using Google Photos<\/a>. You can backup unlimited photos to Google\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s servers with the free \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Desktop uploader<\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, and also adjust the images online for free.<\/p>\n

            If you want an offline photo editor, download the open-source \u00e2\u20ac\u0153GIMP<\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (like the free version of Photoshop, works both on PC and Mac).<\/p>\n

            Also for the best post-processing or photo adjustments, I recommend the free Google Nik Collection<\/a>. You can make epic black and white photos with \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Silver Efex Pro<\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (included as part of the Google Nik Collection), or great film simulations with \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Analog Efex Pro<\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n

            How do I use all these apps and programs?<\/h2>\n

            For the purposes of this bootcamp, I will not provide in-depth instructions on how<\/em> to use these free apps and programs.<\/p>\n

            Rather, I would recommend using Google or YouTube to figure out how to use the tools. My purpose is to just point you to the best tools.<\/p>\n

            Honestly, these tools can cover 99% of your photo needs.<\/p>\n

            \n

            Chapter 3: How to take better photos<\/h2>\n
            \"\"
            Downtown LA, 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

            For this chapter, I want to give you resources and guides on how to make better photos:<\/p>\n

            Principle 1: Don’t just take 1-2 photos<\/h3>\n

            \"\"<\/p>\n

            One of the most important pieces of advice I would give is this: don’t just take 1-2 photos of a scene you find interesting. Rather, learn how to “work the scene” and take many<\/em> photos of the same scene.<\/p>\n

            The benefit of taking a lot of photos of the scene is this: often you don’t discover the best composition or moment until after<\/em> you’ve shot it.<\/p>\n

            Not only that, but I often discover the composition while<\/em> I’m shooting.<\/p>\n

            I think the biggest misconception about photography is that we know what we want to shoot before we shoot it. In reality, our presence as a photographer will influence the scene.<\/p>\n

            \"cindy<\/p>\n

             <\/p>\n

            When you’re a photographer “working the scene” and taking a lot of photos, you’re dancing with your subject. Your subject will respond to you, and you will respond to your subject.<\/p>\n

            Therefore, if you see a good scene, try to think of how you can photograph your subject from different angles, perspectives, distances, and moments.<\/p>\n

            \"cindy
            Hanoi, 2016 #cindyproject<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

            The analogy I generally make is this: the more photos you shoot, the more likely you are to hit a home run.<\/p>\n

            Also the general myth is that there is only one “decisive moment”<\/a>. In fact, there are many<\/em> “decisive moments” in a scene. Not only that, but you will decide what you think is the best “decisive moment” after<\/em> you’ve taken a series of photos, go home, and choose the best one.<\/p>\n