You can always get to know light better. Whether it’s moving from studio to natural light, from day shooting to night shooting or from flash to continuous light – stay a constant observer of this most important part of photography. Learning more, seeing more, trying more.

Audiences love detail and light provides it. The more light, the more detail. But don’t forget to keep a steady hand, too. This is the physical skill of taking photos – keeping the camera level and still.

No need to make life hard for yourself for no reason. If you’re simply out trying to capture a moment, try it on auto for a bit – your camera may surprise you.

n the other hand, there’s an incredible amount of inspiring photographers out there doing awesome work – why not just taste a bit of someone else’s style and see if it sparks something new in you?

Just a quick reminder here to give yourself every bit of flexibility and detail available in your great camera by keeping it on RAW mode. RAW images allow more forgiving post work with more data and detail to make your image exactly the way you want. You can even compensate for a bad exposure or bring up some shadows.

Remember, this photography thing is not easy. If it were, every shot would look amazing and, well, you’ve seen Instagram, right? Zzzzz. The best shots are nearly always difficult to achieve.

When it comes to people, remember that the best way to connect your viewer to your subject is through their eyes. Eyes not only tell us the big emotions: sadness, anger, joy – they tell us the complexities of life. A smile with sad eyes is an entirely different emotion that a smile with bright open eyes. Give direction and be a studier of painting a portrait with a look. This will do more for your image than any settings or light setup you can learn.

A good rule of thumb on what to buy for yourself is to let it be dictated by what you’re shooting. For example, you don’t need a graduated neutral density filter until what time you’ve decided to shoot landscapes in situations that could use one.

When you get the image into the computer and are ready to start applying some changes to it, remember that people connect with what is real.

Sometimes you may decide to switch it up and be something different online. Go for it. Reinvention is part of the process – you can try on as many hats as you like!

The main thing i would want to say for people who are considering joining and take the photo class is that I highly suggest joining it. At first I didn’t want to take it, but by far its the funnest class ive ever taken. You learn new things and meet new people.

At first it was a bit challenging, but after a bit of time you get used to using things like photoshop and using the cameras. Being able to use cameras is fun, especially if you get these fun assignments. These different assignments enable you to use different editing sites which make it fun.

I will be taking this class next year as well. this class is different from any other electives. Its been the fun and coolest out of all of them. I highly suggest this class. You will learn different and new things.

a camera for advanced video work, the Panasonic LUMIX S5 II offers incredible value for its price. It doesn’t have features like RAW video output or internal ProRes support out of the box (you’ll have to get the Panasonic LUMIX S5 IIX or purchase an “upgrade key” at additional cost for that). However, it’s still a very capable video camera with plenty to offer for most shooters. That includes 6k open gate recording and oversampled 4k recording at up to 60 fps, plus a dedicated Slow & Quick mode for slow-motion capture. The camera also has an excellent IBIS system, and its full-frame sensor is well-suited to shooting in less controlled lighting conditions.

If you need those more advanced features, the Fujifilm X-H2S is a fantastic alternative with an APS-C sensor. It’s a video powerhouse that supports external RAW video recording and internal Apple ProRes codecs from the jump. The stacked design of its sensor also keeps rolling shutter distortion to a minimum, which is great for action video. That said, the X-H2S is pricier than the Panasonic and is likely overkill for most people.