A Mix of Learning Methods For a Serious Hobbyist Photographer

When I started out with photography, I was actually intimated by formal classes or workshops.  Someone actually suggested this to me, when she learned that I was interested in photography.  But I like learning on my own and it's not new to me to learn things myself.  After all, there's a whole lot of information out there on the internet these days.  I also didn't feel the need to spent money for classes as this is just a hobby.

I never realized how those first workshops and classes actually boosted my learning.  Here are some reasons where I believe taking formal workshop and classes would be beneficial:

Well Directed Outline

• Despite the internet having so many information, the information may not be organized and conducive for learning.  It is often hard to know where to begin, which topics to choose or which to prioritize.  Everybody's interpretation of "beginner" is different.  And you end up with a spaghetti-like program.  On the other hand, the formal workshops and classes compiles the topics that I needed to start off as an amateur photographer and presents it in a sequence where I can follow through to advance my skill level.

Learn, Apply, Feedback

• Formal classes and workshops also allow me to quickly apply concepts to real life applications. I got to try the concepts out there and then and most importantly, I got feedback immediately and I learned on the spot.  I believe feedback is crucial.  Photography can't be learned through one-way information loading.  It is very difficult to get quality feedback from the internet, if at all any, and some could actually direct you off course.

Commitment/Focus

• Formal classes also forces me to focus on it either for a day or for a consecutive few days depending on which program I take.  I dedicate time for it from my day to day activities.  If I learn on my own, the tendency is to do short sessions whenever I'm free.  Thus, continuity is not achieved and this hinders learning efficiently.

So when I said it boosted my learning, it surely gave it a big push.  Then after doing these, I can always supplement with continuous self-learning.  For example, these days, I find those how-to articles in DPS quite helpful.  They are usually specific topics or answers to very detailed questions.  I subscribe to Facebook and I browse through them in my newsfeed.  I save the ones I'm interested in and go through them.  Sometimes, I also choose refreshers and some are actually questions that I would ask myself.

Then comes practice.  I rarely shoot other than when I'm travelling so that's also a challenge. I travel a couple of times a year, so it's still quite good.  But sometimes, time passes and it takes some warming up before I could shoot well again.  I've joined special interest photography trips as well over the last few years and that greatly helped not just to practice but also to get feedback from pros and improve.  It's like taking formal classes or workshops, but the focus is on shooting, critique and applying solutions/improvements, and not on concept learning.  I've even informally piggybacked on my niece's prenup shoot just to observe pros in action.

I think this particular combination of learning methods works well for me as a serious hobbyist photographer who do not necessarily shoot regularly but still wants to advance my skills.  And I go through the same cycle every year or so as I advance my skills in photography.

When I look back at my photos a few years back, I find myself critiquing my own photos and identifying areas where I could have done better.  And this is a good sign that I've at least achieve some positive progress and it feels good :-)