Camera Basic !
Lesson 1
Set Yourself Up For Great Shots!.
Welcome to the 1st blog of IPOP Photography… I suppose I should start of by introducing myself. As you have probably read in my ‘About’ page I am Matthew Martin and I currently live in Alberta, Canada. Growing up on the East Coast of the UK (Skegness) you could say I exchanged, Fish and Chips for Poutine, Donkeys for Bears and the waters of the East Coast, UK for the Rocky Mountains ;-)
If I could start all over again, what would I do differently, what techniques saved me time and what made me a better photographer !
For many years I have spent my time learning the art of photography. From watching hours of you tube, studying the works of masters to spending hundreds of hours out in the filed. The process, in learning by experience can be rewarding however, also, time consuming and at times frustrating! therefore in this 1st lesson I am going to give you the ideas, tips and tricks which will save you time and maybe money.
Why would you want to learn photography?
Photography is diifferent for everyone however, for me its, telling stories, capture those one off moments, and hopefully if all the elements and motions come together, create art!
Improve observation and visual literacy.
Gain a marketable skill for freelancing or side income.
Core concepts to master
Exposure: aperture, shutter speed, ISO — how they interact to control brightness and look.
Aperture (f-stop): controls depth of field and amount of light.
Shutter speed: freezes a moment in time or blurs motion ( great for waterfall, or show movement)
ISO: sensor sensitivity; higher ISO increases noise.
Composition: framing and arranging elements.
Rule of thirds, leading lines, symmetry, negative space, and balance.
Foreground, midground, background to create depth.
Focus and sharpness:
Use single-point AF for precise focus; continuous AF for moving subjects.
Tripods, shutter release, and proper technique to reduce camera shake.
Lighting:
Natural light: golden hour, blue hour, overcast for soft light.
Artificial light: flash, strobes, continuous lights; learn modifiers (softboxes, reflectors).
Direction, quality (hard vs soft), colour temperature.
White balance and colour:
Set white balance for accurate colours; shoot RAW to adjust later.
Lenses and focal lengths:
Wide-angle (<35mm) for landscapes, architecture.
Standard (35–70mm) for everyday, street.
Telephoto (>70mm) for portraits, wildlife, compression.
Prime vs zoom: primes often sharper with wider apertures.
File formats: RAW vs JPEG — RAW preserves more data for editing.
Post-processing:
Basic steps: crop, exposure, contrast, white balance, sharpening, noise reduction.
Non-destructive editing with layers or edits that can be reversed.
Genres to explore:
Landscape, portrait, street, documentary, macro, wildlife, sports, product, architectural.
Ethics and legalities:
Respect subjects’ privacy; obtain model releases when needed.
Know local laws about photographing people and property.
Practical learning plan (12 weeks) Week 1–2: Basics and camera controls
Read your manual, learn modes (A, S, M, P), practise exposure triangle.
Shoot daily with different settings; review histograms.
Week 3–4: Composition & light
Apply composition rules; shoot same scene with different framing.
Practice at golden hour and under flat light; compare results.
Week 5–6: Focus, lenses, and motion
Learn autofocus modes, practise panning for motion blur.
Test different focal lengths and note perspective changes.
Week 7–8: Portraits & people
Practice posing, working with natural light and reflectors.
Learn basic flattering lens choices and apertures for headshots.
Week 9–10: Post-processing
Edit RAW images: exposure adjustments, white balance, basic retouching.
Learn a non-destructive workflow and keep original files organized.
Week 11–12: Project & critique
Create a 10–20 image portfolio on a chosen theme.
Seek feedback from peers or online communities; revise and re-shoot.
Gear recommendations (starter)
Camera: used enthusiast-level mirrorless or DSLR with manual controls.
Lens: a versatile kit zoom (e.g., 24–70mm or 18–55mm) plus a fast 50mm prime.
Tripod, spare batteries, memory cards, lens cloth, and a basic reflector.
Optional: external flash and simple softbox for portrait lighting.
Tips for faster improvement
Shoot daily, with purpose; set mini-assignments.
Analyse great photos: deconstruct exposure and composition.
Learn from mistakes: keep notes on what worked and what didn’t.
Join local photo walks, workshops, or critique groups.
Backup regularly and catalogue images with tags/keywords.
Common beginner mistakes
Relying on auto modes too long.
Overexposing highlights; underusing histograms.
Poor file management and no backups.
Ignoring colour and white balance issues.
Resources to use
Camera manual and in-camera tutorials.
Books on composition, lighting, and exposure.
Online tutorials and community critique forums.
Local workshops and photo walks.
Next steps
Choose a genre to specialise in after exploring broadly.
Build a simple portfolio and solicit constructive critique.
Consider formal courses or mentorship for accelerated growth.
Start shooting with intention, review your images critically, and focus on steady, consistent practice.h I am proud of. The process of learning is always time consuming but worth every second and can be fun… if this is your passion! To save new photographers some time in their pursuit, I thought it would be a good to give you some ideas where to find the best material / media I use and some recommendations on certain photographers I follow.
Sense of Community
Let me start off by saying this, photography is a great thing to get into! Take for instance Landscape photography; by the nature of this subject and the hours your operate it would appear to be a solitary existence however, one thing I can tell you is the photography community is welcoming and always there to help. Never be afraid to reach out to someone even the most famous are willing to share knowledge and talk about this mutually shared passion.
When you begin to learn new techniques, find new material share with others…. what goes around comes around.
Recommendations
My recommendations to start you off on your photography journey.
Immerse yourself in photography and watch how the painting masters put together their work; it will teach you a lot about composition.
Learn from others, no matter what you hear don’t be afraid to try to duplicate someone else’s work.. this is how we learn… learn from what others have done and from this your own style will begin to develop from within.
Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.
Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your style can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.
Skills I wish I had learnt at the start!
Composition and Balance
Chromatic Aberration - this will help you learn why only in extreme situations or to achieve certain results should you be shooting at above F16
Courses and Shows for Inspiration
Courses to Watch
- The Great Courses ( 30 day free trial through Amazon Prime)
Fundamentals of Photography by NatGeo Photographer Joel Sartore - basics of using every function of a camera - describes everything in a classroom setting and then heads out into the field to show you how to use what he has taught.
Amazon Prime
Chasing the Light - An amazing Australian landscape photographer called Ken Duncan
Finding Vivian Maier - Documentary on a great street photographer well ahead of her years
Netflix
My friend the Octopus - Incredible documentary from a photographer / filmmaker about making a documentary which is just an incredible watch !
Unsure where to find this next one - Which way to the front line from here - Documentary on War Photographer Tim Hetherington
You Tube
Adam Gibbs -
Achieving Balance / Simplifying Compositions
Composition Light and Landscapes
Andy Mumford
Landscape Photography Composition / Balance Harmony
Secrets of Color Grading in Photography -presentation by Joanna Kustra
Any videos by Karl Taylor - one of the first to use photography on You Tube as a revenue stream - an mazing product and commercial photographer. A really good one is - The most important composition rule that nobody ever tells you.
Channels worth subscribing to:
Karl Taylor
Fototripper - A fun take on landscape photography from an incredible photographer Gavin Hardcastle
Thomas Heaton
Adam Gibbs
Instagram Accounts / Other Photographers worth looking up
Isabelle Tabacchi
Chris Burkard
Jens Stahl
Michale Yamashita
Daniel Kordan
Sean Bagshaw
Elia Lochardi
Peter Lik
Micheal Kenna
Max Rive
Other Recommendations
Immerse yourself in photography and watch how the painting masters put together their work; it will teach you a lot about composition.
Learn from others, don’t be afraid to try to duplicate someone else’s work.. this is how we learn… learn from what others have done and from this you will learn from then and how to do it better… your own style will begin to develop from within.
Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.
Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your style can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.