Reference material for teenagers

[purplehaze]

James, I think your father was absolutely right. And Bill, too. I don't doubt that my niece is comparing frames and is inquisitive enough and creatively ambitious enough to want to learn the whys and the hows. But I think it is critical that, as Bill made me understand at the top of the thread, I let her pose the questions that she wants answered rather than push a lot of instruction at her that is liable to overwhelm her.

[purplehaze]

Had a date with the niece tonight to shoot the sunset on my tripod. Weather had turned cold and sky was overcast, so very nearly didn't go, and even on the beach, the scene was very ho-hum. Sun slipped below the horizon behind a blanket of cloud and we were turned south looking down the shoreline when a red stain suddenly appeared where the sun had been and started spreading and swelling, and spreading and swelling, and spilling its colour onto the clouds in front, above, and behind us, and I was jumping and squealing and my niece was oohing and ahhing and squeezing off frame after frame, and it only hurt a little that she was on my tripod instead of me, capturing what might be the best spectacle of the season, because I was witnessing it and her learning one of the very best lessons a budding photographer can learn. And as if that weren't enough, we returned to her cottage after it was all over to eat a scrumptious apple tart that her grandmother had baked. Truly, this has been one of the best holidays ever.

[Donald]

... I was jumping and squealing and my niece was oohing and ahhing ...

And in one evening your commitment and enthusiasm in guiding and supporting your niece come to fruition. But for you she would probably never experienced that sight. And that is a priceless gift.

[William W]

Janis, you two are fueling each other. That makes for an excellent learning environment.

WW

[James G]

Janis, those are the events, shared with someone else important to you, that make it worthwhile being in this world! Brilliant!

[jcuknz]

I take the point that Donald and Bill are making here but feel that 400 shots imposes an impossible logistical burden on the Mentor. Janis, to discuss and evaluate in any meaningful way ... pressing as trigger isn't hard to learn and I assume the camera was used in auto mode for reasonable chance of success.
But situations and times are different as I started to learn using a wooden bellows half-plate camera with quarterplate adaptor for student ecconomy. We were supposed to stay in the studio for the first term.

[William W]

True that there would be a logistical burden to discuss all 400 images in a meaningful way, BUT ONLY IF if all those images were to be later discussed in detail.

But that's not the predicate of this style of learning/mentoring/teaching procedure. In this case, all the shots that are taken are NOT taken to all be later discussed.

The great value of instant review is such that the novice can review in situ and then modify the shot/technique and move on immediately, having learned something new and instantly applied that knowledge.

WW

[purplehaze]

In fact had our first review today and I asked to see only those she liked best or felt were near misses. She has really absorbed the points covered in the Pdf Richard shared and has been rejecting much of what does not conform to her standards. I showed what the various adjustment sliders in iPhoto are for and we discussed black and white points, aperture and shutter priority, and ETTR. She is a quick study.

[rpcrowe]

I wish that I had encouragement like this and the ability (restricted because of price of film and processing) to shoot as much as I wanted wen I first started in photography.

I remember being absolutely awed when learning how many shots that the typical National Geographic Magazine photographer exposed in comparison with how many that were actually published.

BTW Janis: IMO one of the best learning tools in digital photography is the ability to shoot with Auto Exposure Bracketing. This is especially true when combined with Programmed Exposure. The differently exposed shots will show the difference between using the camera recommended exposure and compensating.

[purplehaze]

Good idea, Richard. I had to come back to work this week, but I left my niece in the hands of a cousin who is a much more accomplished photographer than I am. It will be interesting to see where she is at when I return to the lake on the weekend.