1. Introduction to Photography: Moving Beyond Snapshots by Travis Bumgarner

2. Goals Beginner Pitfalls Get Inspired Shooting Tips Questions to ask:
Raise your hand if your main camera is a phone, film camera, P&S, DSLR or Mirrorless, Other kind
Know what aperature, shutter speed, and/or ISO is?
Beginner pitfalls – going to touch on some mistakes that beginners make
Get inspired – finding time to take pictures
Shooting tips – tips to immediately start improving on your photography
Goals
Beginner Pitfalls
Get Inspired
Shooting Tips

3. My Background My Background
Most of my life I’ve had a camera, never really took good pictures
Buy my first DSLR in 2011 while backpacking
Don’t take it off automatic mode, barely use it when I go back to States
Leave it behind when I join peace Corps, but get family to bring it when they come to visit
Carnival P&S stolen
June 2014 decide to start learning photography
Read lots, watch lots, photograph lots
Two years later

4. Beginner Pitfalls “My camera isn’t good enough…”
Don’t blame your camera
Time between first complaint, valid complaint – 8 months dedicated learning
Google is your friend: “Why is my picture blurry” “Why is the sky white”
If only I had Photoshop
Originally against photo editting
Good photo editing shouldn’t be noticeable
I don’t have time to take photos…
Beginner Pitfalls
“My camera isn’t good enough…”
Youtube: DigitalRev TV - Pro Photographer, Cheap Camera Challenge
Gear Acquisition Syndrome
Buy books, not gear
“If only I had Photoshop”
“I don’t have time to take photos”

5. Examples of commute photos
Get Inspired!

6. Examples of commute photos

9. Examples of commute photos

10. Rule of 3rds Keep an eye out for it in all of my other photos
Try to avoid putting things dead center
Rule of 3rds

11. Rule of 3rds

12. Portrait, Landscape, Square
Talk about square photography
- Read your camera manual, to see if your camera supports 1x1
4 Lines of symmetry vs 2 lines of symmetry
Goes against the rule of 3rds, can put things right in the middle
Landscape
Square
Portrait
Portrait, Landscape, Square

13. Portrait, Landscape, Square

14. Fill the Frame

15. Fill the Frame

16. Where do you think 99% of photos are shot from?
Change your Viewpoint

17. Where do you think 99% of photos are shot from?
Change your Viewpoint

18. Scan your Borders and Simplify
Your eye focuses on the subject, and maybe you missed it in this shot, like I did when taking it…
Photography is one of the few mediums where you’re removing instead of adding
Scan your Borders and Simplify

19. Scan your Borders and Simplify
- Going back to what I said about viewpoints…
Scan your Borders and Simplify

20. Simplify & Scan your borders
I stress learning the rules first
Have a reason to break them
break them!
For example: Rule of thirds, put something right in the middle, or right in the corner
Simplify & Scan your borders
Learn the rules and then break them!

21. Next Steps
Pick a subject that interests you and run with it
More exciting to learn about shooting the stars than aperture size and shutter speed
Join a community
Instagram, Flickr, National Geographic: Your Shot (mention photo challenges)
By joining a community follow interesting people that you think have skills you want to learn about
Shoot what interests you Join a community Imitate Others Get back to the Basics

22. Resources travisbumgarner.com Google
Travisbumgarner.com – uploading this presentation there
Google – you can find answers to any questions
Lynda.com
\Buy me a coffee or beer and I’d happily review photos
Resources
travisbumgarner.com
Google
Lynda.com Foundations of Photography courses
Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson

23. I could talk for hours. I wanted to just give a brief introduction to the world of photography
I’ll leave it open for questions
Questions?