I recently was in a discussion with some amatuer photgraphers who have only been into photgraphy these past few years, over the discussion I was surprised on how much technical information they had. From basic photgraphy all the way to studio lighting, things that took me over 20 years to learn and master. What I found out was, how accessible these information was, from books, magazines, on-line materials and websites, but do they always equate to better picture? Sadly, No.

This got me thinking, knowledge, too much, is it still good?

Majority of the accessible information are very technical, but photography even now in the digital era, is still art, and no matter how technical it has become, aesthetics still is the key factor to getting a good picture. A bad picture, no matter how well focused, lit or exposed it is, still is a bad picture.

(Here is a classic example of a picture that is well focused, well lit, well exposed, and even in fact a very technical set-up, but yet yields a crappy photo. A model with a dead expression, too much distracting elements in the background, lighting that doesn’t match the model and etc.)

Nowadays, people are becoming more and more impatient, they want to become great photographers overnight. A great photographer must not just know things, but needs to master them for it to become second nature. Mastering something takes time. As these new photographer learn something new, they don’t give themselves enough time to actually master what they learn, and in some cases have not been employed in practical use, yet move on to learning something new. So when push come to shove and they are tasked to put these knowledge to an actual shoot, they tend to do it half baked. In doing so, they usually end up with outputs that is not to their expectations, so they keep tinkering with their gadgets and other technical things and ending up forgeting the most important part of the shoot, the one in front of the camera, their SUBJECT.

I was then thrown back a question, if too much knowledge is not good, why do I keep teaching?

I don’t teach everything there is about lighting, but instead teach you the parts of lighting that you need, fundamentals. This is to make sure further learning about the subject becomes easier. Not everything out there, even if its printed on a book or posted on a website, are knowledge needed. I also beleive that learning with a live instructor is so much better than learning from inanimate sources that lack validation. As an instructor, I can put emphasis on things that matter most, and make sure its understood before moving forward. My style of a hands-on class, means that these knowledge are put to a test. Participants will be taught of how to set-up and forget, and instead concentrate on the subject in front of them.

As a final word, just like when you construct a building, you can’t go up with out first building a good foundation. Learn and master the basic fundamentals, and trust me the rest will come easily.