They are alive. They are flying. They are college students on move-in day.
Yes, my friends, we are the birds, but don’t let that ruffle your feathers, so to speak, because there is a reason they call it “empty nest syndrome.” Though, there is also a reason they call it “winging it,” so let’s dive in, shall we?
When I started college almost four years ago, I had basically no clue what I was doing. I knew I wanted to pursue an English (Creative Writing) degree, so I looked at in-state schools (all two of them) with a good writing program and relatively low tuition costs. I did not visit the campus. I did not take a virtual tour. I did not talk to current or former students. I just went for it, which leads me to my first lesson.
Lesson #1: Take a chance. I started playing around with Photoshop (in lieu of making friends) during my freshman year, and my first experiences were mostly just pasting my face on other images. The more I pasted, the prettier I became. The edges smoothed out, the extra bits were deleted, and the confidence came in waves. I started using Photoshop as a creative outlet because the words didn’t always flow the way I wanted them too, but I never ran out of pictures to edit.
Eventually, I realized that I didn’t want to just play around with the pictures; I wanted to take the pictures too. I was a freshman in college, but at this point, I didn’t even know how to properly tilt my head or whether or not I should look at the camera when I took selfies. (You could say it’s a selfie-taught skill.) I had no basic photography skills, and I definitely wasn’t aware of more advanced tactics like composition or lighting.
You’re probably thinking my second lesson is going to be something like “Just go out there and take pictures!” and you’d be right, sort of. But, it’s more than that. Lesson #2: Teach yourself and be taught. I had the opportunity to take classes that taught me the ins and outs of photography, and I was lucky enough to have a great teacher (looking at you, GPat). They provided us with plenty of articles to read on the subject detailing certain aspects of photography, which I will run through quickly in a moment, and this allowed us to continue researching on our own by looking at related resources. However, they didn’t just rely on these articles to teach the class for them. They actively pushed us to try new things, and to do this, we had to actually go out and take photos.
Part of the lesson does involve going out and taking photos, yes, but the research is just as important. There are certain rules of thumb that you should know and apply first. One of those “Know the rules well, so you can break them effectively” (so sayeth the Dalai Lama) type of deals, y’know? To make it easier and since you took the time to stop by this blog post, I’ll give you a small comprehensive list of where to start your research. Though it won’t be a lot, it will give you a jumping off point to start learning things for yourself.
Lesson #2.1 Shoot in landscape, not portrait mode. Though we have been groomed to take pictures with our phones in a vertical position, landscape gives you more to work with in terms of composition and editing. Lesson #2.2 Don’t just shoot from the chest or eye level. Try standing above or squatting below your subject to give the picture more character and dynamic movement. Lesson #2.3 Use the rule of thirds. Think of your screen as a grid split into thirds both in width and height. Place your subject or things of importance on the points of intersection to draw attention. (Bonus tip: Most phones have this grid feature on them. Turn it on in settings.) Lesson #2.4 The “Golden Hour” is the best time for photographs. The “Golden Hour” is the time right after sunrise and right before sunset. It gives a soft glow to the both the subject and environment. Lesson #2.5 Don’t be afraid to make edits. I started to actually learn Photoshop in the same class, and this took my photography to a whole other level. I started editing photos, placing the focus on certain aspects or elements of the piece, and I wrote my first photo essay using these techniques, which you can find here, if you are so inclined. This made me want to branch out even more, so I began looking at other design software, eventually settling on InDesign as my next conquest.
InDesign is a software best used in tandem with Photoshop, taking the photos you have already edited and using them as a key design element in the new document. I had the opportunity to work as the design editor for The Broken Plate, a literary magazine at Ball State University, and through this experience, I have learned so much more about designing documents (some examples can be found in my Design Samples tab), primarily with InDesign.
Lesson #3: Branch out. At this point, I have created an informational zine, a photo essay, a short mockumentary, promotional flyers, and the cover and various content of a literary magazine. Each thing I have learned along the way has combined in different ways, allowing me to create various unique projects, and this is all because I took interest in photography and editing a few years ago.
Once you learn the basics of photography, it’s pretty easy to learn the basics of design because there is a lot of overlap, especially in composition (i.e. rule of thirds), but it doesn’t stop there. Photography has a lot of things in common with video production–obviously–which leads to audio production. Audio production can lead to or come from decent writing skills, which is really the point I want to make with this lesson. Verbal, visual, and auditory elements have a kind of interconnectedness that makes it valuable to branch out and learn all there is to learn. And after you learn…
Lesson #4: Don’t be afraid to share. Sharing is caring, and the best way to get people to care about you is to make them care about your work. Social media is ever-changing and constantly growing, but it is the best way to promote yourself in this modern world. Promote your own work, promote your friends’ work, promote the work you think the world needs to see; if you’re lucky, someone will do the same for you and the world will open up some doors so you can stick your foot in them. Digital literacy has helped me grow not only as a person, but as a professional, and if you’re willing to take the time, you won’t regret it. Thanks for reading.
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