You Got a DSLR Camera. Now What?

You Got a New DSLR Camera. Now What?

You've always loved photography. You've taken amazing photos with your cell phone and point and shoot. Now, you've gotten the best gift ever, a brand new professional style DSLR camera. The excitement fades as the reality sets in. "I have no clue what the hell to do with it."

If I were a betting man (which I'm not), I'd bet you've figured out you can dial the setting on the top of the camera to the A or a little rectangle, representing the automatic setting. Congratulations. You found the, "I have a more expensive point and shoot than you" setting. Sure, you'll get millions more pixels, but don't have a clue what that means either. You have the zoom lens that came with the camera and you certainly look more professional than you used to with the point and shoot or your cell phone with the selfie stick.

Someone has to break the terrible news to you. We're happy to be your delivery crew. Owning an expensive DSLR camera makes you a photographer as much as holding a scalpel makes you a surgeon. We're here to help.

Here's your first lesson. Use it. Take hundreds of pictures, thousands, even. The beauty of the digital camera is that you can delete the bad pictures. This isn't 1980 when people had to buy film, which was an expense before they ever use the camera. Once the roll was full, they'd take it back to a store to get the film developed. Maybe they had some great shots. Maybe not. You never have to worry about that. The expense is already accounted for. Take as many pictures as you can.

The second lesson is the mastery of the exposure triangle, which consists of shutter speed, aperture and ISO. After 20 years in the training field and even training management, I split comprehension into 5 categories.

• Familiarity - "I've heard of it."
• Knowledgable - "I know what it means."
• Ability - "I can use the knowledge, but still have to think about it."
• Mastery - "I can do it without thinking, but can't explain it to others. I just do it."
• Subject Matter Expert - "I can teach others how to do the same."

Thanks to this blog, you've already reached the first level of comprehension. Our training classes are hands-on in a workshop style where you'll be using your own camera. View our lesson plan here.

Whether you're shooting landscapes and waterfalls, real estate, portraits or any other style, we'll help you advance your skill from taking pictures to capturing photographs.

Contact us today to schedule your DSLR Training Session. Together, we'll launch your hobby or career into whatever you want out of it. Don't wait. Contact us today.