One of the exciting things about editing Digital Photography School lately is some of the email that I get from readers. One type of email that I’ve been getting increasingly lately is from teachers and students of schools who are using DPS as a resource for their studies.
One such email came recently from Sharla Hartzell, the teacher of an 8th grade photography class at Dover Middle School. Sharla thanked me for DPS and told me about how her class (pictured right – image by Eric Hartzell) had been reading it.
I emailed back and asked her if perhaps her class might be interested in writing a short guest post for DPS – summarizing some of the lessons that they’d been learning about digital photography.
The class was divided into groups and each group came up with a list of photography tips. They then came together to come up with their Top 10 tips for photography students. Here it is!
Dover Middle School’s 10 Tips for Photography Students
1. Hold the camera steady with your elbows close to your body, or propped on something stable (table, bench, etc.) OR use a tripod.
2. Don’t be afraid of angles or changing your orientation (portrait or landscape).
3. Before pressing the shutter button, check your focus points. Is your photo focused on the subject or on something in the foreground or background?
4. Check your camera settings before shooting photos…Are they correct for the current conditions? ie: ISO, Shutter Speed, White Balance, etc.
5. Listen to your teacher (if in a classroom situation) AND use great resources such as DPS!
6. Listen to experienced photographers. Also, view and study works of other photographers. This helps provide different perspectives and inspiration.
7. Learn how to use the Macro settings (or Macro lens) for your camera. Give the smallest details of nature great importance!
8. Use the continuous shooting mode to capture movement.
9. Take LOTS and LOTS of pictures!
10. Have FUN!
You can see some of the work of the class who put this list together here.
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