With this being my first article on tips for better photography, I feel it's probably prudent to give a little background on myself. This I hope will give the reader some idea of my philosophies in regard to photography and art in general. For many photographers and artists, it's not uncommon for them to realize from a young age, that whatever discipline they have chosen, that whatever the choice, this is something they want to pursue. The route for me was not like this at all. For me, it was a life changing event that gradually lead me down this path. For purposes of this article, I'll keep it relatively short (Novella style lol), but a severe car accident in November 1999, followed by a lengthy stay in the ICU, lead to the decision to have part of my left leg amputated which set me on the course to where I finally arrived, though at the time I didn't know it.
With so much time on my hands, and butt you might say, I had to find some kind of hobbies to pass the time, and to be completely truthful, to also use as a coping mechanism with this major turning point in my life. Having learned some basic guitar, that was what I turned to first. In the process, I not only learned how to write music on the guitar, but taught myself with the help of instruction books how to play piano, and keys. Along the way I was able to record a couple albums, and even had a few songs that received some radio air play. Now granted the songs were usually played late at night in radio stations, most in other states, who were probably just using my songs for filler material, but it's still something I'm proud of. To this day, I still consider myself a musician, and take pride in not only having had a couple songs played on radio, but that between a music project done with my friend Tracy Perren, then later with a singer friend named Dan Isom, with whom I worked with over the course of 5 years, I had over 100,000 tracked downloads. The actual number of downloads is impossible to know because not every website that offered our music kept track of the download count. Currently I still play, I just purchased a multi-track recorder and am enjoying the time spent with him showing him some of the ropes of studio set-ups, mixing, mastering, and layering harmonies. He is kind enough to let the old man play a bit now and again as well.
This foray into music as a means of expression lead me to wonder if perhaps I could express myself in a visual sense. Once again, I didn't jump immediately into photographer, but opted to try my hand at painting. I found myself enjoying yet a new way of expressing myself. It was during this time that I quickly tired of trying to paint from imagination and purchased a little digital camera to take reference photos to paint later. The one thing I quickly learned however was that photography is an art in it's own right. I remember a vivid argument in an art appreciation class whether or not photography should be considered a fine art or not because it involves the use of a machine. At the time I believed it was, after using the small camera for reference photos, and quickly finding that by simply pointing and shooting at a scene and it rarely ever coming back looking correct, that I believed even more strongly that it most certainly is a fine art. It was either a skill that had to be mastered, or I must have bought a faulty camera. Wanting to explore more, I bought my first DSLR. Any doubts I had earlier that the 1st camera was faulty quickly disappeared whenever I had the same problems with the new expensive camera.
So without a clear path, and no plan what-so-ever, I had unwittingly started down the path of becoming a photographer. Friends and family who know me best, are very aware that I'm the type of person that if I come upon a metaphorical swimming pool, even if I don't know how to do more than dog paddle, I feel compelled to jump into the deepest end of the pool first. This is probably not the best method of learning something new and totally goes against the adage that one has to learn to crawl before they can walk, but I've been fortunate enough to push through. I do find that this method, though probably not the best route, can be a wonderful learning experience. The first thing you learn is that, wow, maybe I bit off a little more than I can chew. That's usually about the point where I re-evaluate things and then decide to take a more pragmatic approach, with what I hope is a better appreciation for what happens when you get in over your head too quickly.
In a nut shell, that is the process that lead me to becoming a photographer. Having graduated with an undergrad in Psychology, and a Master's in Counseling, I had the chance to discuss a couple times in classrooms full or future counselors and psychologists(and trust me, those are rooms filled with very opinionated people), a philosophy on my own life that shocked quit a few people. There came a day when I had one of those abstract thoughts I'm sure everyone has. At least I hope they do LOL, that if given the chance to get my leg back, but by doing so, I'd have to give up music, art and photography, that the price would be too high and I wouldn't do it. After my accident I decided wholeheartedly that I was going to appreciate each and every day. Though I've found later it's impossible to maintain this. Some days are the exact opposite, yet having thought on it long and hard, I've reached the conclusion it isn't natural to not ever get down. What I believe however, is that it's important to have bad days like that once in awhile, because it gives you a chance to reset, re-evaluate and recharge your batteries so to speak. The important thing is to realize not every day is going to feel like the best day of you're life, accept it, and then put it behind you so you can start anew thankful your alive.
I like to joke that my deep thoughts are right up there with the gems from Jack Handy, though as one can plainly see, I can get into a little more depth then does he lol. Though on the surface the self-disclosure may seem an odd way to start an article on preparation for upcoming photography lessons. Believe it or not, there is a method to my madness here. One thing I've learned over the last several years of shooting, is that no two people ever shoot the same scene in exactly the same way. Moods and personality always come out in photography. Another oddity I've found is that photography can also be used as a counter balance to ones mood or mind set. On several occasions I've had people email me or comment on one of the contest sites I enter about how tranquil and peaceful a scene I photographed is. Sometimes these photos come during times when I'm feeling down, and I see a peaceful scene and think that's how I wish I was thinking and shoot it. On a plus note, don't be surprised if in doing so, you find your mood slowly start changing. I don't know how many times, when I've drug myself out on a day I'm not feeling well, and can hardly think of anything but my "Major" problem of the moment, only to find that as the day progresses, that the dark world I started off into, upon closer inspection is full of beauty and God's wonders. So to any aspiring photographers who may be reading this, perhaps above all I'd recommend photography as a therapeutic mechanism. As a photographer who spends countless hours looking for the perfect shot, the one that will have a good chance at an award, awards are secondary. What I've tried to included in this article, is where my photography comes from, everyone has events in their own loves that will influence what the shoot and how they shoot. Not every moment is drama packed, nor need they be, but I think the photographer who takes just a second to evaluate themselves, will only find themselves taking better and better captures. And should they unfortunately be going through rough times, a little stress relief can really improve a day.
Now that we've covered the basis of my journey to becoming a photographer, it's now time for any new aspiring photographer to start their own journey, and for the photographer with some experience, I feel it's always a good idea to step back from time to time and review the basics and evaluate the changes that occur in all of our lives daily. Now perhaps the most important questions of all, what can you as the reader hope to gain from my upcoming articles on photography, and what makes me qualified to instruct anyone in this area? Regarding the first question, I plan to and have the ability to point out and fix the bad habits we are all taught from a young age. That is unless we happen to have had professional photographers as parents growing up. My hope is to approach this in as reader friendly a forum as possible. Too often in my opinion, instructors are so caught up in their own hype, they speak in technical jargon way over the heads of the majority of the readers they are claiming to help. The technical aspects do need to be addressed, but it doesn't need to be painful, nor written in a manner that unless you are a rocket scientist or surgeon you can't understand it. The first few articles will be quit easy, and for the new photographer, they will take your shots from the typical snap shot, to captures that have a wow factor. And that will happen by making a few simple adjustments that I promise will be easy concepts to comprehend. As the lessons progress, I will introduce more advanced techniques, and yes more technology, but will do so in such a way that can be grasped, and if need be can be rehashed and I am always free to answer any questions by email should a concept seem just out of reach.
Now to conclude, what are my qualifications to teach basic photography principles. I have worked on weddings, portraits such as senior photos and family portraits, and sell prints through stock photography agencies. I also enter photo contests often and have had success in contests with thousands of talented amature and professional photographers alike from all over the globe. I still find it some what bizarre since I never had a plan to become a photographer, but I have the privilege to speak with, and learn from on a daily and weekly basis from published photographers from all over. My book shelves have several books and magazines that feature photographers I've come to know, and who have taken their own valuable time to critique my photos and accept me as one of their peers, which in turn has made me a better photographer. Besides contest wins, in early 2008 I was contacted by Armenian environmentalist Ovsanna Hovsepyan who was organizing a special global multi-media art exhibit in the main gallery of The Armenian Center for Contemporary Art which ran from March 28 through April 14, and was offered the chance to represent the United States by exhibiting 5 photos. I consider myself as someone who is a protector of the environment, though not quit so radical, none-the-less I considered it a great honor that a visit to one of my online galleries offered me the chance to be featured in an actual art museum. At this point, I was still finding my legs as a photographer, and for something like that to come out of the blue, well to say the least , it is one of the top highlights of my life, even if as I said, I have a few disagreements with the purpose of the exhibit. As far as the politics of all that goes, I'll write a future article that will be sure to spark an opinion or two. All I ask is at that point, every voice should be heard, but that we all debate in a fashion that shows we have the ability to argue topics civilly. All this being said, I'm not the greatest photographer in the world, in the country, in the state. I too am always learning, and should I be fortunate enough to live to 90 or above, I hope I'm still learning then as well. Being fortunate enough to have friends who are top notch photographers, I will at times direct you to other photographers galleries. At the very least you will see work done in ways different than myself. I've found inspiration as a wonderful learning tool as well. There are so many disciplines of photography, and some are out of my comfort zone. If I find that I have a positive following on here, I also plan on asking a few photographer friends if they wouldn't mind being added to this forums author list, and should they find a spare minute wouldn't mind explaining a few of their own tricks that they could probably illustrate better than myself. I am also an avid reader and have countless books on any photography topic you can think of. If I feel a certain book on a topic would be helpful for anyone wishing to learn more on a specific aspect, I will offer a short review, the title, author and suggestions on where you may find the book. Finally, for those who believe they need an expensive camera to take excellent photos, that is a myth. I've actually seen on more then one occasion where someone has dished out thousands of dollars on a camera and later found themselves in shock when their pictures didn't immediately improve. Modern equipment is nice, but the key to good photography lies in the hands, and creativity of the photographer. To illustrate this, a few years back, a famed National Geographic photographer toured the country with nothing but a cell phone camera with the object to get one compelling photo a day for a year. A cell phone in the hands of a talented photographer who knows the components of what makes good capture, produced a very interesting book, whereas a 5,000 high end camera and the same project in the hands of someone who doesn't know what they are doing, would have produced a book full of blah shots. Photography is such a wonderful hobby, and dare I say it, a fantastic stress relieving device, that it is my sincere hope that anyone even remotely interested in improving they're photography skills, give it a try and come along for the ride. Until next time thanks for reading and happy shooting.
© Tommy Burgess
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