What I learned from Week One on Start Where You Are

Five Amazon deliveries and a whole load of exasperation and soul searching - week one of Start Where You Are has been hard. I knew this would be the case which is exactly why I'd been putting it off. After all, this is round five and I'm Laura’s friend, neighbour and colleague - why has it taken me so long?

There are many reasons for this and it is fair to say that, after tackling tricky bastard settings in week one, my brain was fried, but there has been progress. This is what I'm trying to focus on: progress not perfection. 

I've learned so much and it's not all about photography. These are my standout points and I'm wondering how many of my fellow clubbers can relate:

1. Aperture is a mind bender

My week one take on aperture: it's all about depth of field and how much of your frame, or photograph, is in focus. Your aperture range will vary depending on your camera but generally, the bigger the number the more of the frame is in focus. The lower the number, the less in focus. Except, distance from your focal point is also relevant and you can move your depth of field backwards and forwards within your frame. The struggle has been very real!

So thankful for the very comprehensive course material (the diagrams in particular) and for Laura’s additional technical zoom to help us through this. I feel like a few pennies are finally dropping but I'm still getting my head around it!

2. It’s all about the light

Working with the light available to you is central to the whole process, and (should) dictate your settings. I'm looking at light in a whole new light (pun intended) and can't stop cringing as I look at earlier pictures where I've shot directly into the light, or my subject has had their back it. I want to delete them but, actually, looking back reassures me that I'm making some progress.

3. All the gear, no idea…

Getting my photos onto my hard drive has been a mission in itself, cue multiple Amazon orders, endless googling and incessant questions to Laura whilst she's trying to edit. These are teething issues and it will only get easier, but they have been a frustrating distraction whilst trying to focus on the course content!

Also, I finally understand why my camera and its crop sensor are intensely irritating me. If you know you know! I can't wait to buy more lenses (or perhaps a new camera body).

4. My own settings need the most attention 

I can be a bit of a perfectionist and this is really holding me back. I wanted to master manual settings within one week and immediately take and share the most amazing photos. Laura is the first to reassure me and my fellow clubbers that this is simply not possible! However, my inner critic has been so vocal that it has literally paralysed me. Whilst I used to be completely snap happy (much to the annoyance of my family and friends) I now feel anxious when I pick up the camera. 

This has been intensely uncomfortable to admit but doing so has helped immensely. On bank holiday Monday, we went for a walk in a local beauty spot and I took photos of my three sons. I took photos as they ran, explored and whinged - It was fun and the anxiety was minimal. When I got home I looked through them and all I could see were the positives. So I guess that is a start. Settings and equipment aside, I've now realised I need to stop holding myself back.

5. The bigger picture

Whilst facing my demons and hyper-focusing on settings, I've had to remind myself of the point of it all - to take better photos, which isn’t just about settings. It's about vision and storytelling, and looking through the lens to capture this crazy, beautiful world. I really can't wait to keep picking up the camera!

I hope you enjoyed my Week One project work featuring Spiderman!

Love Kat x