My Journey Into Photography: Photography Lessons

At some point in our life as a photographer there comes a time when we wonder if it is worth having a couple of lessons to make sure we are doing things the right way. Often it comes after we gain some spectacularly bad habits, but for most of us it is because we want to advance and take our skills to the next level. In my case I found myself floundering just a tad. I had watched one too many videos on you tube and got so far ahead of myself that I had begun to go round in circles without understanding what I was doing or how to put it right. It was definitely time for some proper tuition.

I asked my friend Owen for some advice and he pointed me in the direction of a chap named Mike Browne who offered courses for all abilities from absolute beginners to more advanced photographers who wanted to polish their skills up a bit. I had a look at Mike's website www.photographycourses.biz where I found a wealth of knowledge that Mike had built over many years of being a photographer. I knew this was the man to put me back on the right path so I could finally make progress.

Mike Browne is a professional photographer, but in the beginning he was like you and me. He enjoyed photography as a hobby and earned a living doing other things. That changed when he returned from a trip to Africa and took the brave step of turning his hobby into his profession. Over the years Mike managed to earn a living doing what he enjoys and soon found himself wanting to give something back to the next generation of photographers. Mike decided to create a photography course aimed at the person who enjoys photography as a hobby and wants to progress.

Through his research he found that there was a market for tuition that you don't have to go to college for, you could learn in your own time and with whatever camera you own. It seems simple, but the process of breaking down each step and delivering a lesson is quite involved. Mike used the one thng he has in bucketloads, his enthusiasm. It shines through the many video's he has published on you tube and I took the plunge and bought The Ultimate Beginners Course.

The course is delivered via Mike's website and is split into several weekly lessons. I believe it is called "Remote Learning". Week by week Mike took me back to basics and got me doing things methodically. This was where I had got myself in a pickle as I knew what I was doing, but didn't understand why I was doing it. The Ultimate Beginners Course helped me understand the process, It gave me the confidence to use my camera properly and consistently get half decent images. Each week Mike would send the next part of the course as a video along with worksheets that we could use and encourage us to practice, practice, practice.

By the time I had come to the end of the course I was able to think a lot more quickly as I framed a composition. I was able to put in place the knowledge of how my camera functions, how and when to change the iso, shutter speeds and aperture without taking my camera away from my eye. The minutiae of detail that once had me triping myself up was now in order. I finally had structure to my photography and I began to make progress at last.

I spent a year or so making good progress, putting the knowledge I had learned from the course to good use. As I had been shooting both film and digital I found myself being more capable at switching from my Nikon D90 to my Pentax SP500 and vice versa. As my camera collection has grown I have definitely been able to pick any of them up and be ready to take a photo much quicker than I had before I took the course, I even began taking the odd decent photo with my phone camera too. Mike's excellent teaching skills had been the difference.

I am currently on the next phase of Mike's courses, The 7 Building Blocks Of Photography where Mike breaks down the 7 things all photographers need in their quest to take perfect pictures. Mike has a saying, "Camera's dont take perfect pictures, you do!" and he proves it in the 7 Building Blocks Of Photography course. I am learning more about thinking as a photographer and how to get that perfect shot not just occasionally, but time after time after time. I am making more progress and it is all thanks to the excellent teaching from Mike Browne. Check out Mike's website https://www.photographycourses.biz/ where you will find all his courses and a wealth of knowledge he has built up over the years.

Before you go, take a look at some photo's I took on the last weekend in May as I took advantage of my exercise allowance and paid another visit to the local farm. I took these images on my Nikon D700, a christmas present to myself in 2018/19 that is inspiring me to improve. I will speak more of it next time.