My Photography Journey

I started getting serious with photography in the early 2000’s. My only experience at that time was using generic point and shoot cameras once a year, and never taking them out of the Auto setting. My first DSLR was a Sony A200 I got from someone on Craigslist that included a Minolta "beercan" lens (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minolta_AF_Zoom_70-210mm_f/4) and thus began my journey.

Building Competency

This is not intended to be a guide.

My path to proficiency followed a standard path through 4 stages of expertise.

Source: Conscious Competence Learning Model

Stage 1

Unconscious Incompetence - "Look how artistic this shot is!"

First real camera and shooting everything with the camera on auto.  I have no idea what all the dials and buttons do, but look how crisp those pictures are!

From the "Conscious Competence" model, at this stage we are blissfully unaware of our incompetence, but it's hella fun to shoot all things and get the one gem of an image. I started to gravitate towards my preferred subject early on, people. People caught in a moment that could tell a story artistically.

With digital photography there's really no cost to capture like there is when shooting with film so I just fired away, and started to build a passion capturing people. Skill still was not much of a focus yet.

Stage 2

Conscious Incompetence - "I need a new lens."

I started watching some video tutorials, read some articles, and picked up the most basic knowledge and starting playing with the camera settings a bit. I manage to eek out a handful of cool shots, by accident of course, but it was art! I inevitably caught GAS (gear acquisition syndrome). If only I had that lense, I could really capture better shots. Flash! That's what I need to really get great images.

Yeah, I spent and bought some equipment and enjoyed that initial excitement using the new gear, but still felt my images felt blargh...

Stage 3

Conscious Competence - "Want to model for me?"

Now this stage is the long grind, and many give up here, but this is when the real learning begins. This is the part of every Rocky movie where the work gets put in, and where movie magic takes what is really months/years of training, and condenses it in to a 5-10 minute motivational montage while "Eye of the Tiger" or some similar song is playing.

Ira Glass describes this best as the "Taste Talent Gap".

“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you." --Ira Glass

For me, I spent years methodically experimenting. Shooting in manual or aperture mode, playing with composition, good vs. bad lighting scenarios. I intentionally pick a topic or technique and then learn, test, and refine.  I started working with models at this stage and spent a significant amount of time learning to pose, light, and shoot different body types while preparing to build out a boudoir business.

Stage 4

Unconscious Competence - "I can make money doing this."

To me, this is the most fun stage creatively because in this stage I have a solid understanding of the tools and techniques, and could really play with a shoot concept. No longer spending all my time figuring out the technical settings, or how to light, or wondering how to pose someone. In essence, I don't think, I just create. It's pure creation. Plus by this stage I built up a pretty good aresenal of equipment with lighting, lenses, and all types of supporting pieces (along with a lot of useless equipment I wasted money on, sigh...).

It's the Journey

When I meet other artists, of any medium, I love asking them how they learned. What was their own path from zero to proficiency, and how they've grown with their art. Every story I hear is uniquely different, but they all share the same passion for learning and improving their craft along the same general stages.

I can say confidently that I have been firmly in stage 4 for many years now, but I have also come to appreciate that no matter how much I learn/know, there's still so much more I feel I need to learn.

Stage 5?

If you're curious about it, a 5th stage has been added to the above model in recent years by educational psychologists. Conscious Unconscious Competence - a point where you understand how you learned, and share so others may benefit.