Master the Bells and Whistles: How to Handle Your New Camera

One of the people who attended our photography expedition in South Africa last month brought a brand-new camera that she didn’t really know how to use.
So while the other attendees were having a great time shooting with the models, there she sat, combing through her user manual, a look of total frustration on her face.
You can understand why she was so upset. She had flown all the way to South Africa for our workshop… she was surrounded by great photo ops… and she couldn’t figure out why her lens wouldn’t focus and which setting she needed to change to get it right.
This is an increasingly common problem. Prices on sophisticated cameras are much lower than they used to be. As a result people – especially people looking forward to taking photos on an upcoming vacation or at a special event – tend to buy much more complicated equipment than they’re used to.
If this is you… if you bought “more camera” than you can handle… if you’re intimidated by all the bells and whistles that got you excited about your camera in the first place… if you know how to use your camera but your pictures still aren’t turning out the way you’d like…
Here’s what I suggest…

1. Do something – anything – to start the learning process:Thanks to digital photography (and the instant feedback you get on the back of your screen), you can learn in one week what it used to take photographers years of trial and error to figure out.That said, you can’t just pull your camera out of the box and expect a perfect photo on the first try. But, hey… setting up a Facebook account wasn’t the easiest thing to do, right?  Neither was programming your DVD player.  But you did it. And you’ll master this camera, too. So give yourself a break.Accept the fact that there’s going to be a learning curve. But you have to start somewhere… so get started.  (Getting started is always the hardest part.) Right now, learn something – anything – about your camera.
2. Don’t go it alone:My guess is that if the woman I mentioned above had checked out her camera at home, she still would have been frustrated.  Paging through a camera manual is no fun.  Shooting with other people, however, is.  By the end of our time in South Africa, she was right in there with the rest of the group, shooting away… and having lots of fun.The more fun it is, the faster you’ll learn and the more you’ll want to practice.  So sign up for a class or a workshop.  It can be one of ours or one in your own hometown.
3. Set it and forget it:Consider putting your camera in “program” mode and leaving it there.  Composition and good lighting are the most important elements of any photograph.  A technically perfect photo that isn’t interesting to look at is useless.  Work on composition and lighting first. Then, when you feel that you have mastered those things, start to play with your camera’s bells and whistles.

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