6 Ways I learned about Photography and Post Processing without Formal Education

After learning the basics about your camera and composition, there is so much more to learn. Below are the tools that I used to improve my photography and post processing and I would say it is not conventional. But for me I learned from these tools and techniques way more than any class that I took.

1 - Looking at other photographs

I have learned so much by just observing the work of other photographers. Your brain remembers the compositions that were pleasing to the eyes. There are traditional composition rules like rule of 3rd or adding curves (S curve or C curve) to your photos, etc. But you can always break these rules if the photo still looks pleasing to the eye. By looking at the work of other great photographers you will develop an eye for taking great photos. Here are the apps that I used to view other photographer’s work.

500px

When I first learned about 500px, I became obsessed with it. Every night before I went to sleep, for 15-20 minutes I browsed through some amazing images posted by talented photographers. If you browse through “Popular” category almost all photos look breathtaking. I also sometimes went through “Edito’s Choice” photos to see what kind of photos experts like. I still enjoy looking at photos in 500px. Not as obsessed as I was before but I still check it at least once a week. One of the best feature of 500px is that if you click on “detail” of a photo, you will see the details about the camera and lens that was used as well as the settings. I studied all the details of the photos that I liked and it was a great learning experience for me.

Flicker

Like 500px, Flickr shows details about the camera and settings of images on most of the photos. But it is harder to filter for only professional photos unless you spend a lot of time and find photographer that you like and follow them. I didn’t have time so I didn’t spend as much time in Flickr.

Instagram

People hardly add information about their camera setting on Instagram and since Instagram unlike 500px and Flickr doesn’t automatically show the information on EXIF file, Most photos don’t have that information. On my Instagram I have only added landscape photographers that I like and have not added any of my family or friends. Therefore, every time I open my Instagram I only see amazing landscape pictures. The learning from browsing Instagram is not as useful as 500px or Flickr but still a great app to stay up to date with the latest trends in photography.

2 - Photography Forums

I stumble upon ThePhotoForum accidentally and it turned out to be one of the most useful tools for learning photography and post processing. I had many questions when I first started, and I could just post it to the forum and within minutes, I had great responses from people who knew a lot more than me about photography. The best part was that I could post my photos and ask for critique. Sometimes, a few more experienced photographers would take the photo and process it and re-post it with information on how they edited it. I honestly learned way more from this site than any books or photography classes that I had taken before. When I didn’t have any questions or photos to post I read through other people’s questions and answers. This helped me to learn about new techniques or new equipment. This was where I first learned and heard about HDR. Back then HDR was new and it was so cool if you could do it.

3 – Online Training

There are tons of free online tutorials for Photoshop and other post processing software. There is no way one can remember all the functions and commands of Photoshop, unless you do it as a full time job. So anytime I forget something, I just search the net and I find a video for the specific function that I am looking for. Then I try to follow along as I am watching, and edit my own photo. Once I was done with free videos, and needed to learn more advanced methods, I paid for a few courses. Below is the list of websites that have been the most useful source of learning for me.

CreativeLive

I cannot say enough good things about this site. I learned tons from CreativeLive. The idea is that they bring pro-photographers in their studio to teach about their craft. It could be model shoot, post processing, the business of photography, marketing, you name it. The best part is if you stream it Live when they are actually filming, it’s free, but if you need to see the past tutorials, you have to pay. For months I made a commitment to watch the ones that I was interested in Live so it was free. This is an excellent way to learn about everything related to photography.

YouTube

There are tons of free tutorials on Youtube. But you have to be careful as there are not all equally good. Some are hard to follow and understand, some have bad quality, and some people just really don’t know what they are doing and just want to have a Youtube channel.

The ones that I have regularly used are: Serge Ramelli, Phlearn by Aaron Nace, and Jimmy McIntyre

Serge Ramelli has many free videos, but once I watched all those and needed to learn more, I bought his complete bundle package which includes a lot of great videos and Lightroom Presets and Photoshop Actions. His tutorials are very easy to follow and with his presets you get great results. It is a starting point but sometimes just the preset is enough. Phlearn is also a great source. He is a great instructor and even though he has beginner’s tutorials, I have mostly used his videos for more advanced techniques. Definitely check out his Youtube channel and website.

Jimmy McIntyre is where I learned about Luminosity Mask and it was definitely a game changer for me.

5 Day Deal

5 Day Deal is a great place for both learning photography and contributing to charities. I have purchased their photography bundle 2 times now and I still use the tutorials, brushes, Photoshop Actions etc. that I have downloaded. What is 5 day Deal? Founder of the company have partnered with top photographers in the industry to create a Photography Bundle with hours of tutorials, editing tools, and resources for photographers at almost 95% off the original price. They have then partnered with a number of charities, and sponsored. A portion of the sales from bundles will go to their charities. To date they have donated over $1,500,000 to their charities. To me it’s a win win situation. Not only I got amazing learning materials, but I have also helped charities. They only have these bundles once a year, and it lasts only 5 days. So you have to sign up to their newsletter so that you know when the next bundle comes out.

4 – Photography workshops

After watching all those amazing photos on 500px, I wanted to travel to all those locations to take similar photos. Arizona specifically and Horseshoe Bend was on top of my list. But I didn’t know how to get to those locations and I thought as a woman by myself, it wouldn’t be safe to go to some of these remote locations by myself specially before sunset. So I searched online and found a workshop that fit in with my schedule and the spots that I wanted to visit. It was with Don Smith and Gary Hart. Both amazing photographer and instructor. Don is more technical and Gary is more artistic so together, they make a perfect combination for a workshop. There is nothing like hands on experience and learning. Every day we did shoots at sunrise and sunset plus a couple of night photography. During the day when the light was not so exciting we had post processing sessions, photo critique. I came back from the workshop with lots of great photos and new techniques that I learned. Photography workshops are great but they are usually very expensive so it is not something that I could do all the time. As a matter of fact that was 2012 and I never did another workshop until 2018 when I did a 3 day photo tour in Iceland. The remainder I traveled and photographed on my own. If you have the money and time, I highly recommend Photography Workshops.

5 – Local Photography Clubs

Your local photography club is an excellent way to connect and learn from other photographers. They usually hold monthly meetings. At each meeting they may have a presentation by an industry expert or sometimes from one of the members. There are assignments which helps you to keep practicing and photo critique by other members. Overall is a good way to interact with other photographers in your city.

These are just a few ways that have helped me create better images. But practice is number one. No matter how many courses you take or books you read, nothing replaces practicing and learning from your mistakes. Make sure you find a platform where you can ask others to critique your photos. And never take it personally.

Leave a comment or shoot me an email if you have any question.