How to Learn to See Like a Camera

I've said over and over that there is a natural eye and a photographic eye, and the two are not always made to take in the world the same way. This great video gives an exercise for learning to think more in terms of your photographic eye, which will improve your imagery and ability to envision shots.

Coming to you from Jamie Windsor, this great video discusses why spending time shooting with a single lens (preferably a prime) will make you a better photographer. As he so eloquently puts it: "Learning photography isn't about learning how to use a camera. It's about learning to see." I couldn't agree more. As he goes on to discuss, when you restrict yourself to one focal length and camera, you start to intuitively seeĀ as that setup frames and captures images, and as a consequence, your ability to compose photographs and see the potential for them before you ever press your eye to the viewfinder will improve drastically. As Windsor mentions, an additional challenge is choosing a combo that doesn't allow you super-shallow depth of field in most situations, like a standard 35mm or 24mm lens. Take a week or two and carry a camera with just a prime lens; I think you'll be pleased with the results.

[via Jamie Windsor]

Alex Cooke's picture

Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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6 Comments

No video

That's my fault. Thank you for noticing! It's there now.

It's in the link "via Jamie Windsor"

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The most interesting thing I learnt from that video is that you can go up inside Nelson's Column which I didn't know.Oh and the photography stuff was pretty cool as well!

With all the tech toys and gear available, this is definitely something I need to do a lot more of. Step back, relax and see!"