Now What?

This post is the first in a two part series by wayoutnumbered.  Her advice on what to do with your new camera, gear or software is good for us , ummm, seasoned pros too.

I’m gonna take a wild guess and say that plenty of you reading this got shiny new camera equipment for Christmas…or possibly shiny new cd’s loaded with new editing software.  If you’re anything like me, about 30 seconds after you opened your new stuff the *thrill* turned into *terror* in the form of “Now What??”

Since we’re at the beginning of a New Year I guess this is the perfect time to share with you some of the things that have helped me grow and learn every time I’ve had that dreaded “Now What” feeling in my photography quest.  I’ll also share the things that I definitely need to do MORE of in 2010!

Read The Manual

I know what you’re thinking…”I’d rather eat my kids’ socks than read that huge camera manual!”.

Two years ago I got a shiny new Pentax K10D for Christmas.  This was quite an upgrade from my previous camera and I was determined not to waste Santa’s money and do the same ole same ole with my new camera.  So every night after I finally got 4 kids to bed I would curl up on the couch and read my manual…and press camera buttons…and read another section…and change more settings and press more buttons…you see where I’m going with this?

Erin and I were laughing (you can laugh thru email, right?) about how we both took hundreds of shots of our feet while lounging on the couch experimenting with new equipment!  The purpose is to learn your buttons and what they do.  I’ve read that most “pros” give this piece of advice over anything else:  Know Your Camera.

In addition to my manual I bought this book:

I’m pretty sure these Magic Lantern Guides are available for most DSLR’s and mine was very helpful.

Am I using my camera to it’s fullest potential?  Nope.  Am I utilizing my camera way more than if I hadn’t read my manual?  Definitely!

Click The Buttons

This button, the one I’m about to reveal to you, is by far my most used feature in Photoshop Elements.

That’s right, it’s the Undo button!  It provides me with absolutely no excuse not to try out all the options in my software.
Don’t know what that Lasso tool does? Click the button and see what happens!
Haven’t tried that Radial Blur filter yet? Click the button!
Are you as intimidated by Gradients as I am? Click the button and then tell me what happens!

Editing software can be scary with all those Tools, Features and Palettes.  But I’m living proof that unless you start clicking buttons and trying things out, you’ll never grow in that area of photography.  I owned Photoshop Elements for 2 years (!) before I tried out my first action.  I saw what others were doing with textures way back in January of 2009, but didn’t start using them myself until 5 months later!  I thought that kind of editing was way over my head.  Now I’ve turned into a texture junkie that layers up as many textures as I can just to see what funky things I can do with my photographs.  So go ahead and click every button there is….I’ve yet to find a software program without an “Undo” button!

Stay tuned for part two of this series next week.  And if you have a great idea that will help us learn how to use our new gear, post it!  Thank you.