Hulle Weet nie wat ons Weet nie!

There is no shortcut to learning photography....or is there?

I recently had a booking for a Private 1-on-1 Coaching session with a young school student who is an up-and-coming photographer and wants to pursue photography seriously. Always when booking one of these sessions I ask the person to give me a short list or brief of what they would like covered during the session.

This is what I got from the young bloke: “I just want to learn the tips and tricks that you think would be helpful that you don't think many people know.”

The answer is not straight forward, it is a loaded question because who knows what others don’t know and who knows what you know or don't know. In spite of that I did prepare an answer for him. So, after the normal introductions and pleasantries this was my answer:

“Learn the fundamental essentials of photography, the basics, then practice, practice and practice”

This sounds a little quirky, maybe even a little arrogant, but no matter how you read into it is true. The truth is that there are so many photographers who only work within a very ‘thin band of knowledge', who don’t know their camera, who don’t know the fundamental essentials including light, composition and so on.

Building a solid foundation in photography basics is truly the only shortcut to becoming a great photographer, even though it might sound like the long way around. Here’s why understanding the essentials—your camera, light, composition, and more—is so important:

Know Your Camera Inside and Out:

Your camera is only a tool, your main tool, and mastering it well means you can concentrate on creativity, mood and your story instead of technical struggles.

Learn how to navigate quickly to different shooting modes (manual, aperture priority, shutter priority), ISO, shutter speed, and aperture to control exposure, auto-focus settings and when/how to switch to manual focus. Also learn to navigate menus and to customize buttons for quick access and efficient workflow.

When you know your camera well, you can react quickly to changing scenes and capture exactly what you envision.

Master the Essentials of Light:

Light is the heart of photography, without it you have nothing, too much of it you also have nothing.

Understanding how light behaves lets you shape your images

• Learn the difference between hard and soft light and when to use each.
• Study natural light at different times of day.
• Experiment with artificial light sources like flashes or continuous lights.
• Observe how direction, quality, and colour of light affect mood and texture.

Once you grasp light, you can create photos that feel alive and compelling.

Composition is Your Visual Language

Learn about composition. Learn about framing, how you arrange elements in your viewfinder before you release the shutter. Good composition helps to tell a story or evoke emotion. Examples of some elements of composition include the rule of thirds, leading lines, negative space amongst many others.

Good composition turns ordinary scenes into captivating images.

Understand Exposure & How it Affects Your Image

Exposure controls how bright or dark your photo is. Learning to balance aperture, shutter speed, and ISO together with good subject technique helps you to freeze or blur motion creatively, control depth of field and avoid unnecessary noisy or grainy images by managing ISO.

This knowledge gives you full creative control over your shots.

Practice Consistently with Purpose

Learning theory is great, but applying it regularly is what builds skill.

• Shooting daily or as often as possible, practice, practice and practice.
• Shoot intentionally, set goals and challenges; work on DOF, slow/faster shutter, auto focus and manual focus, etc.
• Review and compare your photos to see what worked and what did not work.

By doing this you will get to understand what intuitive is! It means you will learn starting points of settings for photographing a subject or scene without a lot of trial and error.

Why This Foundation Is the Shortcut!

Without these basics, you might rely on luck or auto modes, which limits your growth. But once you own these fundamentals, everything else—advanced techniques, creative styles, post-processing—becomes easier and more effective. You’ll be able to adapt to any situation, solve problems on the fly, and express your unique vision confidently.

Keep on shooting! If you want to get in touch, use the Contact Page.

Rory Baker your Photography Coach