A quick introduction to answer questions like:
- Who am I, and why do I think you should listen to me about photography?
- What's this manual actually for?
But first, some jumping-in points, depending what you want to know about:
Who Are You?
Me? Well, I've been taking photos for a long time now. Over 30 years. I'm not a professional photographer. It's just a hobby for me. And yes, there are people out there with more experience and way more skills. But I love doing it, and I'm happy with the results I get.
Why Should I Listen to You?
You don't have to. The only reason to, really, is if you like the photos I take, and you want to take similar photos. I'll include some advice here for other types of photography, but this is all coming from my own experience, so if you don't think much of my photos, go seek advice from someone you do admire. I don't mind - can't appeal to everyone.
I'll try to make it an enjoyable read, too, but again, if you don't like my writing style, go look elsewhere - lots of really good photographers have written about photography, so there's plenty to choose from.
So What Is This Manual For?
I've been asked for advice on photography by quite a few people over the years. I think I take pretty good photos, within certain styles. And I think I can write fairly well. Stop me if my ego is getting too big, won't you?
Anyway, I thought I'd write some of this stuff up, and put it here, in the hope that it's useful to people.
- It's heavily biased towards the photography I do. If you want to know about product photography, I'm a bad person to ask. I'm not that big on landscape photography. I've done a bit of street photography. I've photographed a lot of cars, though in a somewhat unusual way - it's more accurate to say I've photographed bits of a lot of cars. More recently, I've worked with models quite a lot, but only outdoors, not in a studio.
- It's not trying to tell you how you should do photography. It might sound like it at times, but it's just really about how I do photography. If you're reading, I'm assuming you're interested in taking photos along similar lines.
And It's Free?
Well, yeah. I mean, I'll probably add some donation links at some point, but I should probably make the content worth it first.