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Alley Cat's tips to great photography

You can go out and take pictures of anything! I personally enjoy flowers. I find myself in many amazing places to capture photos. Steve Dommer, my advisor and editor for this series, took this of me on a Dixon sunflower farm. Hover over the image to see what I took at that moment.

Follow this column for photography techniques and advice from Alison Watkins.

COLUMN
By ALISON WATKINS
fhspress.com Editor-in-Chief
Posted September 11, 2017

Chapter 1: Start Shooting!

Are you a photographer? Do you want to become one or go to the next level? This column can get you there if you follow along. I'll be posting every Monday, unless we have Monday off.

One of my big projects this year is to write this ongoing column. The series is going to help novice photographers become more advanced. By sharing my knowledge with the school, staff and students, I hope this helps people realize that photography is a lot more than it seems.

The best way to become better at taking photos is to photograph every single thing; bring a camera to sports, restaurants, events, and even to the grocery store because you never know what you'll see in the moment. After all, a photo is a once-in-a-lifetime moment captured in a single frame. Even if it happens again, it won't be exactly the same.

You can't take pictures of just anything, though. Some people are extremely picky about people out in the world with a camera. There is the skeptical thought at the back of everyone's mind thinking that the person taking photos might be a creep. For instance, parents don't normally like it when you take photos of their children without asking first; otherwise it's weird. If you end up wanting to take someone's photo you definitely need to ask and the best way is to start a conversation. It's simple to say, "Hi can I take your photo?" But what the person really wants to know is why; so tell them your reason. Stores like Target and Walmart don't especially like people bringing in a camera in case it offends a customer.

My motto is if you want to bring a camera into an establishment then don't ask them, just take your photo and get out. In some circumstances it doesn't work like that, just be mindful not to break any laws and try to be respectful.

So now, go out on your regular errands and shoot everything, with a camera of course.

Next week I'll be discussing cameras best fitting your needs. Some other topics that I'll address later in this series include light, portraits, and photo composition. Check back at the same Alley Cat time, same Alley Cat channel!

alison.watkins@fhspress.com

Alley Cat's
Photo Tips

CHAPTERS

  1 Start shooting
  2 Cameras
  3 Composition
  4 Sunrises and Sunsets
  5 Black and White
  6 Portraits
  7 Landscapes
  8 Long Exposure
  9 Light PART ONE
10 Light PART TWO
11 Shoot in RAW
12 Contests
13 Back Button Focusing
14 The Challenges of
      Sports Photography
15 Studio Photography
16 Lenses
17 FX and DX
18 Street Photography
19 Painting with Light
20 Filters
21 Bokeh vs. Blurry
22 Tripods and Mounts
23 File Naming and
      Organizing

UP NEXT

-Printing and Resolution

COMING SOON
-Flashes
-Paid Gigs
-Gadgets and Gizmos
-HDR
-Film Photography

FOOTHILL HIGH SCHOOL fhspress.com SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA