this post was submitted on 24 Oct 2023
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Photography
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A place to politely discuss the tools, technique and culture of photography.
This is not a good place to simply share cool photos/videos or promote your own work and projects, but rather a place to discuss photography as an art and post things that would be of interest to other photographers.
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You're self contradiction somewhat here. Going out and just doing won't inherently lead to you finding settings you didn't know about and using them. I find reviews, videos, technique breakdowns FAR more valuable because they can cover every feature or use settings I'd never try or even figure out.
It's almost about... knowing there's a time to practice and experiment and make mistakes, and there's a time to search out learning resources on the internet that'll answer some niggling question or provide some vital tip in seconds.
Youtube taught me some amazing software editing tips that would've taken me a lot longer by experimenting and making mistakes, but getting out and shooting helped me learn what I liked to shoot far more than any Instagram "Instead of this, try this" stuff.
Yeah, I'm pretty confident I would never have 'figured out' frequency separation retouching just by 'trying things out' in Photoshop regardless of how many millennia I put into it lol.
That's different. When you learn PS, you learn PS. Not How to edit pictures. you edit pictures the way you want.
But if someone goes on Youtube searches for a photography tutorial and copies it step by step, its not the same thing. They aren't learning photography, they're copying someone else's style.
Yah, I mean, I definitely need a clinically exhaustive phase in my process these days.
If I consider new gear, I go deep down the rabbit hole to determine value.
If that leads to a purchase, I then watch a ton more content and go through a lot of mechanical testing "Oh, this gear performs poorly in these settings...I better see what that feels like" "Hey, there's a cool menu setting I didn't know about, do I like the results when I turn it on?"
Once I come through all that, then sure yeah, it's time to get intimate and intuitive with the gear...but I'm the exact opposite of OP. I take HUGE advantage of all the knowledge online and invest big on research and gear study.
If someone wants to shoot from the hip on $500+ purchase, by all means, go for it...but studying gear and the process of others is a big big part of it for me these days.
I just don't run out and "try things" vs being deliberate and intentional with planning and research.