There are many components to becoming a good photographer, not the least of which is equipment. What’s that you say? I always preach about the process not the products? Yes, you’re right, I do think that the process is what makes a good photographer, but stick with me on this one for a bit.
More of pink:
In thinking about your equipment, whether it’s a compact point and shoot camera or a high end DSLR, it’s important to know every little thing about your camera. This helps out in times when you’re trying something new or trying something you haven’t done in a long time. Searching through the menus can cause you to miss out on the timeliness of your shot.
There’s an acronym that goes; RTFM!
For those that don’t know it’s, Read The Freaking Manual (feel free to substitute the word Freaking to, well… you get the idea).
This can be especially important when you first get your camera or equally as good if you never read it. I am a little geeky and will peruse mine about once a month or so. Yeah, I’m that guy!
This can also be very good when you’re looking into buying a new camera. Knowing how menus layout and what buttons do what will help you to save precious time on the fly when adjustments need to be made. I tend to tell people that sticking to a specific manufacturer will help in the long run as you upgrade cameras, but a good manual can help to overcome a photographers need to switch sides.
This isn’t just about your camera’s owner’s manual, it’s also about your other equipment as well. You know that brand spanking new flash you just had to have? Yep, it came with a manual that will help you get the most out of your exposures. Learn how the flash integrates with your camera by reading the manual and you’ll have more knowledge that could be used in the field.
It’s very likely you’ll discover some nifty little way that the camera can behave in certain situations.
For example: did you know that my Canon 30D doesn’t shoot RAW when in full auto mode?
Neither did I. That’s sort of because I never shoot in full auto mode, but it’s helpful nonetheless.
One of my favorite sections to look at when I get a new owner’s manual for a new product is the Safety Warnings area. You tend to find some really strange things listed. I tend to find it funny because logic tells me that somehow, somewhere, someone did something to cause a company to actually have to include it in the Safety Warnings section.
Funny line in the Safety Warnings area for my Canon EOS 30D owner’s manual:
Do not fire the flash at someone driving a car. It may cause an accident.
Photograph More of pink: “The pleasure of reading” by sionfullana who is a Journalist /Writer / Filmmaker born in Majorca (Spain), who has also lived for 8 years in Barcelona, 2 years in Cuba, and now lives, creates and feels from his 3rd island: Manhattan, NY. Go check out his videos on YouTube.
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I agree that manuals are very important tools fro most people to better understand it capabilities.
I do have a concern with some people’s comments on RTFM as even I have had at times a difficult journey trying to solve a problem, even with my background in technical documentation. One was trying to figure out the slave setting on the SB-800 flash and then turning off auto bracketing on the D300. Both of these I had to go to the web to find answers
There are people who do not learn well from manuals and need a more visual mode to learning.
For many people the add-on books that explains a camera functions in user friendly terms is a great investment ($30) when you factor in the price of a good DLR camera ($1,000). These books not only tell you how to use the feature better it also explains when you might need these settings.
Niels Henriksen