Photo Basics I

The Three Settings for Exposure: F-Stop, Shutter Speed and ISO

F-Stop controls depth of field along with physical distance
Shutter Speed controls blur, motion and shake
ISO controls quality/clarity

Some resources:

Recommended Video for Nikon Menu:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR6snE-cN7g

1. From an early age I have been obsessed with one photographer after another. The first photographer I recall making a big impression on me was Linda Eastman McCartney and since then I have studied and fallen in love with many other photographers. The study of other people's work will help teach you technically and shape you artistically. You should be looking at other people's work, identifying a photographer that you like and learning everything about them, it is an important part of your education. Here is a list of documentaries about photographers. Some of my favorites are "What Remains" about Sally Mann and "The Mother Project" about Tierny Gearon. Dig in.
http://petapixel.com/2013/07/01/the-big-fat-list-of-documentaries-about-photography/
2. Finding inspiration and developing your talent is hard and it takes a long time but what a wonderful journey it is and so rewarding. Here is a little motivational video that I like and identify with. Enjoy.
http://petapixel.com/2014/02/04/gap-inspirational-video-artists-struggle-beginning/

Depth of Field exercise/ Understanding F-Stop

In the above images I'm about 3 feet from my subject and using a prime 85mm lens. Don't forget that your distance impacts your depth of field, the closer you are the shallower your depth of field will be, for this exercise a few feet, maybe three feet away is recommended.
EXAMPLE SETTINGS: (do not use these settings for your assignment, this is just an example)
Image 1.
f=3.5
ISO= 400
SS=1/125
Image 2.
f=8
ISO=2000
SS=1/125
Image 3.
f=16
ISO=6400
SS=1/125

Basic Lighting Using Natural Light
Front light/Back Light

EXAMPLE OF BACK LIGHT: The Key to this image is exposing for the subject not the background, when you configure your exposure to show the details of the subject the background will "blow out" (over expose) making it pure white. It's a simple trick to create a beautiful studio looking portrait using natural light.

EXAMPLE OF FRONT LIGHT: When shooting outdoors you want to look for the sun and in front light you want to place your subject in front of the light, it's that easy. You should be able to attain a beautiful warm balanced light on your subject and a blue sky backdrop. It's recommended to shoot in the early morning or late afternoon to attain this. I always shoot in the late afternoon between 3pm and sunset.

Styles of Photography: Photography is a very broad field and there are many different styles and specialties you can develop. In a lifetime career you will probably master in a few different areas.
1. Portraiture
http://learnmyshot.com/9-fundamental-styles-of-portrait-photography/
2. Landscape
http://ccp.uair.arizona.edu/item/4538
3. Still life

4. Wild life
http://jimolive.photoshelter.com/gallery/Birds-Bird-Watching/G0000bVF6HAyzdDc/C0000k3dcPx0OtK8
5. Sports
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/main/photos/1402/biggest-stories-2014/
6. Journalism
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/style/2013/11/08/portraits-of-war/
7. Fashion
http://juergenteller.tumblr.com/
8. Events
amdarcyphotography.com
9. Street Photography
http://dressyoself.com/
10. Product Photography
http://www.amdarcyphotography.com/jewelry.html

Rules of Composition (good to know, good to break):

Composition Is Intuitive And Creative And There Aren't Really Any "Rules" But Here Are Some Good Guidelines To Keep In Your Conscious When You Are Composing.