A mental model for my progress in photography

A month ago, the wife and I decided to get a camera as a shared hobby of sorts.

One month into going around taking photographs of things and people, I think I’ve figured out at least the heuristics involved around photography as a skill and how it can be developed over time.

Here’s my journey so far.

Introduction (+ how to get a camera)

While it’s my first time owning and operating and having creative direction on a proper camera, it’s not my first rodeo in photography. I’ve been involved with photography for more than a decade now assisting photographers and doing post-editing.

Could never bring myself to spend to get a proper camera. Until both my wife and 2024 came along.

The camera we ended up getting was a Fujifilm X-S20. We got it from T.K. Foto located in Funan Center after trying out all the usual suspects (Canon, Nikon, Sony, Olympus) there.

Our main decision factors were:

1. Photos looked great straight out of the camera - We aren’t professional and don’t intend to be anytime soon. Fujifilm’s cameras had film simulations with colour gradings that looked great straight-out-of-camera. Neither of us wanted to spend hours editing RAW files

2. The camera was light - This was a consideration based on advice from a photographer on YouTube. If it’s light, you’ll take it out, you’ll take photos. If it’s heavy, you might not take out, you may not have photos to take

3. APS-C lenses were cheaper - As beginners, we were more than happy with the kit lens, but we were also told that the journey of photography tends to involve shooting with new lenses. APS-C lenses were more easily obtained and came at a cheaper price than full-frame lenses

4. Presence of a physical IBIS - Image stabilisation was something that intuitively felt important to us and I had a distrust of the digital image stabilisation in Sony cameras. After a month of using the Fujifilm X-S20, I’d say that it helped a lot especially when attempting street photography where I’d often only have a few seconds to focus and click.

5. Improving lens ecosystem - Fujifilm was previously known to lack lenses. We heard from the store that this is changing ever since Fujifilm has decided to officially endorse third party lens makers like Sigma. Specifically for Fujifilm as well, there’s also Sirui and Samyang that makes lenses with X-mounts (Fujifilm’s mount type)

6. Felt the least digital - All cameras are digital these days, but Fujifilm’s software felt less so than the others. To make things worse, Sony’s demo set glitched 2-3 times in the 30 minutes I was playing with it which added to my already-high distrust of software

The main things we learnt to look out for while on the journey to get a camera were:

1. Megapixel count - This is a factor that comes into play if you’re intending to print stuff. Pictures you take will usually be cropped post-editing. More megapixels means you can crop more of an image away and still end up with a picture that’s sharp

2. Main body weight - Having a bulky/heavy body is not an issue if you’re professional, but if you’re pursuing photography as a hobby, a heavy body means you’d be less inclined to bring your camera out with you. Camera not with you == lesser pictures taken == less experience gained

3. Lens ecosystem - Most people we met and talked to along the journey spoke about growing with the camera as part of their journey in photography. This involves purchasing/loaning new lenses to achieve different shots. Lenses are generally tied to their manufacturers — IE Sony lenses fit only Sony cameras — via their mount systems. It’s becoming less of an issue with mount adapters and third party lens manufacturers that produce lenses with different camera makers’ mounts

4. Sensor size - This refers to how big of a shot you can capture. For hobby photography (IMO at least), it starts at full-frame, followed by APS-C (our camera’s sensor size), then micro 4/3. Anything smaller and you’ll be in the domain of compact digital cameras and you might as well use your phone’s camera

5. Weather sealing - This was something we ignored when getting our camera mainly because we didn’t expect to be wanting to go out when there’s rain anyways. It hasn’t been an issue for us, but it could be especially if you intend to bring you camera out into nature or environments with lots of dust or water.

A mental model for learning photography

So after a month, I’ve roughly grasped the handling of the Fujifilm X-S20. It’s been a journey of learning and getting used to how controls work and diving in deep into the settings.

While I wouldn’t say I’ve mastered it, I think I’ve learnt enough to know the different domains where putting time and effort in would yield progress in terms of taking better — more satisfiying — photographs.

For me, an activity becomes a skill when the concept of mastery is involved (IE you get better over time and can vary outcomes in a controlled manner based on your level of skill), and here are the five domains that I currently consider skills in photography:

1. Theory - Mastery over the theory behind a good photograph

2. Operational - Mastery over a camera’s handling

3. Tooling - Mastery over different tools associated with the camera

4. Creativity - Mastery over the skills to achieve subjective and arbitrary outcomes

5. Self - Mastery over self to be able to take the pictures you want to take

Theory

As with any topic that enables expertise progression, photography has a set of basic theories. IMO these are:

1. Exposure triangle - This is a triangle with the three points to balance being Aperture, Shutter-Speed, and ISO. The theory is that for any desired exposure, achieving it is a balance between the three heuristics where adding to one requires subtracting from another to return the exposure to the desired one.

2. Colour theory - What colours complement/contrast well with each other naturally to the human eye?

3. Image composition - How/where should subjects be relative to each other and to the frame of the picture so that the outcome is satisfying?

Operational

This domain is definitely lacking since I’ve only used one camera from one brand. Since the handling of a camera differs from brand to brand, this domain is something that’s camera body specific. It’s still a valid domain IMO because how often would you realistically expect to change cameras?

1. Assisted shooting modes (P/A/S/M modes) - I believe these are universal across all camera models. You have the Aperture-priority mode (A mode), the Shutter-Speed-priority mode (S mode), Programme mode (P mode) which is almost like Auto but not fully, and finally Manual mode (M mode) where everything is configured by you. Learning how to use each mode in the right context can help you get the shot you need especially in situations where time is limited

2. Auto-focus - Majority of cameras these days will have some kind of auto-focus. This also comes in various types such as Single AF, Continuous AF, and even Tracking AF to be used in different contexts. Knowing when to use which lets you capture an image with intention.

3. Custom modes - Most cameras come with a few modes that’s dedicated to configurations set by you. What does your custom mode look like for what kind of environments and how effective are they in helping you to capture a shot in time?

4. Data formats - As a beginner, I shoot in JPEG. I’m frankly also too lazy to do any sort of post-editing and I’d rather publish straight-out-of-camera pictures where the picture speaks for itself. But data formats especially when it comes to video seems like an area where mastery is possible.

Tooling

Arguably tooling is not exactly an area of expertise that can be developed over time since money buys you pretty decent stuff.

I’m including tooling as a domain of expertise mainly because, while you could recklessly spend thousands to get equipment, it doesn’t necessarily result in a good picture. Knowing how to use the tooling to achieve the results you want does, and that involves a time & effort investment.

1. Lenses - What lenses are appropriate for the type of environment you have decided to shoot in? Bringing a prime lens (lenses with fixed focal lengths) to shoot birds for example is no-no. Prime lenses at the correct focal length however are great for street photography especially for night shoots, and knowing what focal length to use for your shooting preference/environment/cultural context is a skill.

2. Filters - Different types of shots require different types of filters. For example, there’s the pro-mist filter which softens edges around lens flares and makes night shots feel softer, and the Natural Density (ND) filters which let you take long-exposure shots in the day. Knowing what filters exist and how to use them can help you achieve different results that help to tell the story you want to tell.

3. Post-editing - I personally haven’t done much of this but based on the works of photographers that I’m following on Instagram, post-editing forms a huge part of the work when creating an intentional photograph. I prefer straight-out-of-camera, but I can also tell that for a picture to really stand out, post-editing is required.

There’s also tripods, but IMO a good tripod is just anything that helps to keep your camera absolutely still. Not exactly a skillset although you could argue it to be when it comes to uneven terrain, but that’s a matter of general resourcefulness IMO.

Creativity

This domain of expertise refers to how the above are put together to achieve a “you” shot.

It’s easy to get a 100 MP camera and take a sharp and correctly-exposed image with brilliant colours in Adobe sRGB using Auto Mode, but to be able to hint/tell a story through a single photograph through synthesising basic theory/operating the camera in unique ways is a skill.

1. Aperture & depth-of-field - Opening the aperture (smaller display value, larger lens opening) results in a narrower depth-of-field. How could this side-effect focus be used to tell the story you want to?

2. Shutter speed & motion blur - Faster shutter speeds allow the camera sensor to be more precise with the information it captures. Slower shutter speeds result in a slight blur of anything moving. How could this side-effect be used to tell a story?

3. ISO & grain - The general recommendation is to shoot at an as-low-as-possible ISO rating. High ISO ratings usually result in some sort of noise appearing since sensor sensitivity is based on electrical current and results in compression when the currents approach the maximum capacity of the circuitry

4. Light - A random YouTube video I watched claimed that photography is fundamentally a search for light. After a few weeks shooting with that in mind, I think it’s true. Recognising light and knowing how light reflects allows you to shoot interesting shots. Black-and-white photography relies on this heavily for example

5. Colours - Colours naturally invoke emotions. Being able to recognise these in your surroundings and use them in a similar way to how art uses colours lets you nudge a story you want to tell in a direction you want it to go

6. Framing - There’s the frame of a picture that’s bounded by what the camera can see, but you could also introduce another frame within which the subject lies. When expertly done, this can draw a viewer’s eyes to the right subject and create a better experience of the story you want to tell from your picture

Self

When we first got our camera, I believed I would be mainly interested in nature and macro shots. I was completely wrong. I ended up really loving street photography AKA invading many people’s privacies in public spaces.

Pursuing street photography made me realise how self-conscious I was about taking pictures of interesting people/events. Using a phone to take a picture is very different from taking a picture holding a device made specifically to take pictures, and you will notice people noticing you when you’re holding said large device made specifically to take pictures.

I realised this was an area of expertise to progress in. It could be self-work to get over the self-consciousness, or lies to tell yourself to ease the self-consciousness, or even techniques that let people feel more at ease around you.

Extrapolating how I felt, I realised this would apply regardless in other genres of photography. For example, if you wanted to capture a picture of beetle close-up but hated bugs. Or if you wanted to take food pictures but dislike being seen as the type who has to let “the camera eat first”.

Kthxbye

Alrights, that’s all for my first month navigating a new skill. I hope it has been useful for you anon.

Write again soon!