When did you feel like you actually "got it"?

[Paul Duncanson]

When I was a first year student, one evening when the teacher turned on his computer one of the shots I had shown in class the previous week was there as his desktop. Previously it had just been one of the default Mac backgrounds. I always felt I was too close to my images to really judge if they were OK or not but that convinced me that the favourable comments were more than just encouraging noises.

[SusanH1970]

Originally Posted by WooD

I think "I get it," but I never feel like "I got it."

To me that would mean I've reached a point where I cant learn anymore.

I've had multitudes of pictures published, and have sold enough to probably pay for the gear I've accumulated, but I know I still have a lot to learn.

Point well taken. +1.

I get it, but I havn't got it 100%. I learn more every time I pick up the camera.

But gaining the confidence I do have was definitely a milestone. That was my first....I cannot wait for more!

And setbacks have sent me into humility tailspins. But I gather myself up, whack myself on the ass, and go out and do it all over again.

[WooD]

Originally Posted by SusanH1970

Point well taken. +1.

I get it, but I havn't got it 100%. I learn more every time I pick up the camera.

But gaining the confidence I do have was definitely a milestone. That was my first....I cannot wait for more!

And setbacks have sent me into humility tailspins. But I gather myself up, whack myself on the ass, and go out and do it all over again.

Been there done that. First model shoot I ever did was in the evening. I'd been out earlier that day shooting eagles, and forgot to change the settings on my camera. I lucked out that she loved the shots thou, but I was most unhappy with them.

[Jim Bryant]

Yup............one learns something new everyday to advance their photographic knowledge. When there comes a time when you think you know it all, something else new pops up.

[naeno]

Excellent points! It's true that there's always more to learn! It's really nice to see that people who have much more experience than I do have the same "what the heck was THAT?! I know I can do better than that" moments.

Photography is a funny thing. It's easy to hide the photos you don't want people to see. As I sit here, learning as much as I can, and see these amazing photos being posted, it's sometimes hard to image that the "masters" (that would be all of you who have responded, in case you didn't know) could possibly take a "dud". It's nice to know that we're all out here learning and sometimes it turns out and sometimes it doesn't.

[tnvol]

I havent been shooting seriously for very long. About 3 months. I've taken 4 pictures that I'm really happy with and a small handful that I thought were decent. I have a long way to go but in my way of thinking, getting there is most of the fun, even if you dont get "there".

[SusanH1970]

Originally Posted by naeno

...it's sometimes hard to image that the "masters" (that would be all of you who have responded, in case you didn't know)

NOT ME!!!!!!!!!!! Far from it...."somewhat advanced amateur" is more like it.

[digirebelva]

I'll let you know when I get there (if I ever do)

[tmphillips]

I was infected with the shutter bug in late Feb 2008 by a sunset that I shot in Laguna Beach CA and had the the thought that maybe photography wasn't as hard as I thought. I think I 'got it' as far as a good enough understanding of photography technically and what needs to be done in the field and on the computer to not be depending completely on luck, after about a year... That statement qualified of course with the fact that there is tons of stuff to learn all the time and things I see others do every day that I have no idea how they do it (especially in the post processing realm)... I don't know if I'll ever get it in terms of being able to execute with every or most every click like pros do or be able to do much of the processing magic I see out there. I am still frustrated by the high percentage of shots I miss, and as far as creativity goes, I have had a couple moments of it, and that was wonderful and I hope to get some more of it soon...

[Danferno]

I think I got it, in that sense that, when I'm editing images, I know what I want to do with it and know how to get there. I like the images I end up with and so does my environment. Does that mean I think I'm a pro now? No. I haven't earnt a single penny with photography yet and ... I don't care. I like the result, the people I care about like the result. What more can a hobbyist desire?