Wanted :: Your photography wishes
I’m working on a little project at the moment and have come to the point where I need to hear from some people. Think you can manage to leave me a comment today? I would love to be able to take your answers on board.
The question is…what are your photography wishes?
What kind of photos do you wish you could take?
What do you wish you understood about your camera or photography?
What problems do you wish you could eliminate?
What do you wish you could learn?
It doesn’t have to be something you would necessarily want to learn from me—pretend you could have any teacher in the world if that helps.
It can be hifi technology or old school toy cameras, technical tricks or how to get people to make nicer faces instead of bunny ears. I would seriously love to hear as many things on your list that you would do if a photography fairy godmother arrived on your doorstep.
Thanks so much for your help! Have a lovely Friday!
xlovesx
Filed under: photography
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9 October 2009, 15:37
I really wish I could understand my camera’s settings well enough to get the lovely close-up shots with blurred backgrounds that my macro setting on auto will achieve, but by setting aperture and shutter speed manually… Hope you can understand that convoluted sentence! Basically, I wish I understood the manual settings better. I’m experimenting and learning, but there’s a long way to go…
9 October 2009, 15:39
i would like to take picturs of everyday things without it looking like some random picture i took by accident. Stuff like the picture you have in this post.
9 October 2009, 15:41
I want to learn how to take better pictures outside in bright sunlight.
Rinda
9 October 2009, 15:46
I wish every photo was a “Wow” (dream on!), but really
more atmospheric photos, better pics in low lights, that lovely evening time when everything goes soft and hazy, but never seems to come out on a photo….
9 October 2009, 16:26
What kind of photos do you wish you could take?
I wish I could learn to use my camera well enough to where I can just take one pic and it turns out how I want it.
What do you wish you understood about your camera or photography?
How to take good pics in all lighting conditions.
What problems do you wish you could eliminate?
Shutter delay. Take the pic before my son runs away.
What do you wish you could learn?
Anything and everything. I have been taking pictures for years but I still not comfortable enough to take it off the auto mode.
9 October 2009, 16:28
I wish I knew all the settings on my digital Canon Rebel so I could figure out how to take pictures inside the school multipurpose room of my son in his school play that aren’t too dark, too fuzzy, too far away, or just plain crappy overall. I guess I wish I knew how to take better indoor photos in general so all my Christmas photos aren’t dark, fuzzy, blown out or just plain crappy.
Happy Friday and thanks for asking!
9 October 2009, 16:54
I wish I was better at low light photography.
9 October 2009, 16:59
I would love to understand and use all of the functions on my computer. I would also love to be able to take pictures that stand out or are blue ribbon worthy
9 October 2009, 17:03
wow there is alot i would like to learn! i actually just bought an old Brownie camera, i don’t know if you know what that is? but i would love to figure out how to actually use it! But most of all i want to know how to take pictures in full manual mode on my DSLR.
Thanks
Megan
9 October 2009, 18:05
Hi Shimelle. Well, I wish I could take decent photos in our dark apartment (since most of my photography is done here). I wish I knew what to do with all the lenses I bought for my Nikon D40 (and which I should use for each shot). But most of all I wish I had the proper discipline to (a) not take so many photos (my hard drive fills up in weeks as I shoot in RAW), (b) what on earth I should do with them all, and finally how best to organise them. And since you are being a fairy godmother, I wish my kids would stop moaning about me taking photos of them!!!!
9 October 2009, 18:21
I too wish my everyday photos had a bit more wow about them. I would love to be able to use my camera as it should be used, know what every button does and use them efficiently. I absolutely love photography, always have done. I love capturing life and preserving memories. Please wave your magic wand and grant me absolute photographic knowledge.
Many thanks x
9 October 2009, 18:23
I wish I knew how to capture my everyday life in pictures. Similar to Jolynn, I wish I had either the ability or the discipline to photograph everyday things, instead of only taking out my camera at special events. And I’d like to learn how to actually take a good picture.
9 October 2009, 18:28
I want to take better photos of my kids and DH. I want a nicer camera like dslr to help but I guess I need to master the point and shoot.
9 October 2009, 19:38
I wish I could get those beautiful photos of people, where you focus on their eyes and capture their soul. Knowing what all the buttons on my DSLR are for, so that I could take it off automatic would be a start.
9 October 2009, 20:22
I wish I could take better sports setting pictures…action shots of my little boys are way to blurry!!
I also wish I could take the classic close up child photo…you know lovely fuzzy background beautiful childs face…...
9 October 2009, 20:22
I would love to know how to get really close up shots that are not blurry and do the blurry background with the subject nice and sharp.
I need to learn to stop shaking the camera, I know I could use a tripod but that isn’t always practical.
HTH
9 October 2009, 21:02
I have done some online classes but would love to have a hands on lesson on how to really make the most of my camera. I would love to take some really cool action shots of my hubby in his job, he is an outdoor instructer capturing the movement and beauty of it. And of course my girlies getting that right shot first timeish!
I would love to eliminate shadows which always seem to loom on some of my pictures
9 October 2009, 21:06
I wish I had the guts to take pictures of people at work & play. I love landscapes but people are so much more interesting.
9 October 2009, 21:09
I’d love to know more about using the settings on my point and shoot camera to get better photos – like I know they’d help when it is a bit dark or something but I never seem to figure it out quick enough. And I’m getting better at photographing people and faces following my kids around all day, but I’d love to take better still life pics – like around my home or of a beautiful flower.
9 October 2009, 21:21
I wish I had the balls/social skills to take photos of strangers/locals/etc.
9 October 2009, 21:35
I wish I understood my camera and how all its settings work. I know I could get the information from the manual but its too ‘wordy’ and so big that I know I would not take it in. It would be great if someone could go through it with me and explain the functions. I also wish I could take wildlife pictures, not only would I ned to know how to get the best from my camera but I would also need time and lots of it. Something that I just don’t have at the moment.
9 October 2009, 21:42
I wish I could take good photos of myself – no-one takes photos of me, and I need to have the guts to hand over the camera and say “snap me!”, either that or invest in a tripod.
I wish I understood how to use the manual setting on my basic digital camera. I know, I should read the manual ;)
I wish that when I used the flash, it didn’t wash everything out, but if I don’t use it, the photos come out dull.
I wish I could learn how to set up studio-type shots, rather than with back-drops of my messy living room.
9 October 2009, 21:43
I would like to take better candid shots. I adore my camera and can happily snap away for hours but my candid shots are usually disappointing (which is a shame because I’d really love to scrap more candids).
9 October 2009, 21:59
Shimelle, I would love to be able to catch the overall ‘vibe’ so to speak of how Tara Whitney takes her photos. I love the relaxed look of her subjects, which I am sure is about how she elicits feeling from them, I love how she manages to have lovely sunburst from behind subjects and people. I would also like to have more confindence in using a fully manual setting – I find I can’t think on my feet quickly enough and then I loose the moment. I would also like help with setting up photos of kids and how to quickly capture them on film so it isn’t a drama for them to have their photo taken. While I’m here, I’d also like some simple editing ideas – I know there a many resources on the internet but sometimes it is difficult to trawl your way through all of them and to work out which would be right for me. As per another comment I would also like some help with low light photography as I find this particulalry challenging – dusk and nighttime.
9 October 2009, 22:09
Would like to take good candid shot of people. It’s amazing that I can not get photos of my scrapbooking friends, while scrapbooking, that are worth scrapping! :)
9 October 2009, 22:26
I’d like to know how to achieve that dreamy, golden sunshine look in camera; I’d love to know more about TTV; and I’d really like to understand more about masks in digital editing. Pretty please :)
9 October 2009, 23:48
hmmmm i wish i could have another lens for my camera! does the photo fairy bring that? I wish i had time to travel and take more photos of my playmobil in cool locations :)
9 October 2009, 23:58
I keep learning all the time, but I would like to know how to use my external (hot shoe) flash correctly. I’d like to be better able to get a sharp focus on a macro shot. I’d like to be able to take good night shots. I’d like to be able to figure out how to take better photos in my very dark house.
10 October 2009, 03:15
I wish I could know what combination of settings to use on my digital Rebel so I don’t have to use a flash indoors. I hate how FLAT everything looks with flash and I want the photo to look like it does through my eyes.
Excited to learn from you!
10 October 2009, 04:09
I love taking photos and feel like I have been doing it all my life but there are some things that I wish I could do better. The main one is to take candid photos of my kids that look stunning. :)
10 October 2009, 07:26
Absolutely no contest on this one. I’d like to know about aperture, shutter speed and depth of field in language that won’t make me feel like my brain is melting out of my ears! I know it’s probably a relatively simple concept at its core, but photography websites etc always seem to make it more complicated than it needs to be – especially in terms of actually applying it to your camera.
xMx
10 October 2009, 08:03
I would love to know how to take phokeh-pictures and pictures in low light… And really KNOW my own camera (our relationship with my Canon DSLR is still very young…)
10 October 2009, 08:29
I wish I could take MORE photos…like just everyday stuff. I’m so bad at that. I also wish I could nail exposure in every shot.
10 October 2009, 09:02
All of the above! I think the biggest thing would be to develop consistency- sometimes I can nail macro and others it’s a mess. Same with bokeh, manual mode… everything.
10 October 2009, 10:36
My photography wishes? – I just would like to take better photos in general. – I would like to understand focal length and aperture settings – I would love a nice digital SLR camera and to learn how to use it – I would like to conquer the lighting issues!
10 October 2009, 13:03
I’m with Marie on this – I have tried numerous times to learn how to use the camera correctly/better/easier – but every source starts off throwing numbers and definitions at me about F-stop and aperture and shutter speed – I am not a numbers person, I am visual!!! I cannot believe there is not an easier methodology than the single one I have seen used so far, whether in books or on the web, of getting technical. (I always think of a bunch of geeks, spouting geek terms so that the riff-raff are scared off…) I want results. I don’t care how it works or why it works. I don’t want to know. I do not believe that all people who take good photos either know all that stuff or use it. Some people have an ability built into themselves to just use the camera and some don’t. I don’t, but I think I can be taught as I am capable of learning if someone will teach me in a manner I can understand. So there’s what I want, a miracle!
10 October 2009, 13:28
I love your questions. My WISH list is just to take the picture I see in my head. I am learning more technical proficiency, but the art escapes me when I press the shutter button. What I see in developing is not what I saw in my head. How to combine the two is my biggest wish. Thanks for the question. Love the photography posts you did this month. Glad it’s coming more frequently. Best WISHes.
10 October 2009, 14:08
I’d like to be able to take better indoor/poor lighting/flash pictures, and I’d like to understand about shutter speed and exposure etc. I have a camera with lots of settings etc but use it like a point and shoot.
10 October 2009, 14:16
Erm, would i be unpopular if I said to see a return to the old school? More film photography and all its beautiful faults!
10 October 2009, 15:37
exposure! Low light and how to use flash properly, especially now the winter is coming
10 October 2009, 19:05
I would like to learn more about the iso, ap settings, and f-stop. I would also like to learn how to shoot in raw and more about white balance.
10 October 2009, 21:22
I don’t have an SLR camera, I’m not yet ready for that, but I wish I had the courage to turn from the auto setting to manual on my new digital – and learn how to use the many settings I seem to have – I’m just too chicken to turn that dial!
I would love my photos to look ‘artistic’ rather than random and to know how to cope with the available light, rather than fight against it (Oh, and stop having trees or lamp posts growing out of people’s heads!)
10 October 2009, 23:16
I would love to learn how to capture better lighting when shooting inside. Also would love to use other settings on my SLR other than Auto or the no flash symbol and what picture taking situations would require which settings. I think I just want to use my camera to its fullest potential, and right now I think I just barely scratch the surface. Thanks a bunch for asking!
11 October 2009, 15:17
I can’t remember the correct settings in time to capture the shot. I wish there some way to boil down the essentials without taking a year-long class. And, my camera is point and shoot (for now).
11 October 2009, 17:46
I only have a point and shoot camera and wish I knew how to take good photos in low light without a flash. I wish I knew whether it was even possible!
11 October 2009, 21:02
I REALLY want to learn to take photos that show more of the PERSONALITY of my subjects…oh and non-cheesy ‘real’ captured moments.
mm
11 October 2009, 21:06
I want to get rid of camera shake and to get the exposure right when I stray off auto!
15 October 2009, 14:50
Shimelle, I would LOVE to know how to take good portraits of teenagers, boys, in particular. Kids, not a problem … but my son always seems so posed and stiff.
17 October 2009, 15:46
I got a DSLR in August, I’m happy with what I take and have just about mastered taking shots in low light on the tripod, but that usually involves me keeping taking shots until I have one that I am happy with. My son is getting married next year and I’d like to be able to take some photos without flash, not posed, but those candid shots that always look so effective. Organising photos would be great too. Thanks :)
20 October 2009, 18:17
Having got a couple of books out the library and struggled with them, can I add to my wishlist? I wish there was a photography handbook that used simple language and lots of illustrations, that was specific to MY make and model of camera!!
4 November 2009, 18:46
I wish I could come up with a way to remember the details about aperture and depth of field. I am forever looking it up whether I should turn the aperture down or up and I make myself crazy!
Corinna