PHOTOGRAPHY 101: The Beginner Photographer's Starter Guide - Understanding the different kinds of Photography

A starter guide for a beginner photographer in photography is needed to help the beginner photographer understand what photography is as well as the various kinds of photography; beauty, portraits, editorial, wedding, street, and landscape photography. And help build the best niche necessary to push the beginner photographer into the professional photography world.

I've had people ask me to teach them the creative art of photography and all along I often resist them. However my reason for doing so is that not everyone understand what actual professional photography is and what the ordinary photography is for their kind of taste. You see, a selfie taking kind of picture or portrait taking is a whole lot different from the professional photography of a digital DSLR camera. Although many people take Beautiful shots with their camera but to what use is what is most important for anyone learning or starting the art of photography for the first time.

There are many people who create art in photography as part of their hobby, others do so as a form of passion while others do so for professional marketing which therefore fetch them income at the end and pushes wider to a more global market. In this post I'll explain these three part of photography which is quite rampant in our environment but different in their individual spheres.

PHOTOGRAPHY: As an Hobby

Just about anybody who handles any camera whatsoever is a photographer, but not every photographer work with just any type of camera. Now in this century in human history, technology has so improved that just about everything comes easy when you know the right type of tool to use. This also applies to people who want to make beautiful memories with photography. There are camera intended gadgets or camera compatible phones which range from different manufacturers to companies like SONY, SAMSUNG, NOKIA, WINDOWS, APPLE etc with their variety of products like the famous Galaxy series of SAMSUNG mobile and APPLE IPhone series. Mobile phones just as these carry powerful camera configuration which produce tremendous photography for the everyday user.

Some mobile cameras are powerful enough yet not as powerful as the DSLR cameras

So these users make use of their mobile to curate beautiful memories ranging from abstract shots to selfies and more. They, to a large amount, have no or little understanding of the technicalities of photography or so many don't know languages like ISO, MEGAPIXELS, EXPOSURE and more. Photography to them is a everyday game or hobby.

PHOTOGRAPHY: As a passion

Unlike the photographers who take photography as a kind of hobby, photographers who take photography as a passion are to some extent schooled in the creative art of photography. They have understanding of body posture, facial posture, body language, camera types, camera settings like exposure, ISO and white balance, etc. These are those set of individuals who will spend a good amount of time deciding the perfect angle for the perfect shot, what kind of camera suites their photo taste, the weather that goes with this kind of shot or that, the best outfit, who to snap with, and so on. They are often very social when it comes to the mobile camera as they tend to take a lot more selfies. And when they use a Digital camera they often tend to express a story or theme. They are happy about their works and pay no thought to making money out of it but just sharing their creativity and source of joy with others.

PHOTOGRAPHY: as a profession

I'd like to say that those who fall under this category are the professionals. Those who seek to not only share their creative art but to also generate income from it and establish a satisfying market for selling their products.

Professional photographers spend most of their time making use of Digital cameras or DSLRs which creates for them their desired output. They often make use of terms like post production, refer to their customers as clients, snap professional models, make use of spaces or studio space, also they make use of a variety of programs, each one suiting each photographer's taste, for post production and so on.

Professional photographers use most of their cognitive to study and learn ways to improve to please the dynamic trend of their environment. Even those who are interested in becoming professional photographers take courses in photography, attend workshops, connect with other photographers who'd share tips together and help themselves grow.

A professional photographer starter pack

Now for an interested individual who wishes to become more of a photographer and maybe evolve to a professional photographer, understanding these forms of photography should share more insight to which course he or she wants to embark on. Being a photographer for fun, passion or professionalism. However I believe for everyone who wants to become more of a photographer, other than it being your passion, try to turn your art into a source for income. Further ahead into the profession, it amazing what you'll find in it. The people you'll meet, the friends you'll make and the emotions you'll create with your art.