When I first started teaching photo classes in Maricopa, a fellow photographer complained that I was “teaching others how to take our jobs.” I wondered if he was right, for a moment. For me, it just felt good. Teaching people about something I am passionate about felt right. Sure, it is a nice plus that helps us pay a bill or two, but it’s much more than just that.
When I see my students go on to buy a Maricopa business license to start their own photo business, or when they tell me they just shot their first paying gig, it thrills me! It is a method that works, for me, for them, and for Maricopa. Most of all it is a way to avoid the camera chaos. “Camera chaos” is real! I even wrote an awesome narrative for you to illustrate my point. My wife thinks it’s too quirky and hard to follow, but it’s mine and I’m rolling with it:
Camera chaos
“I got a Canon Rebel for Christmas, it’s really cool, but I don’t know how to use it.” Sound familiar? I hear this all the time. Just substitute “Canon Rebel” with a few other digital SLR camera models, and I’m sure hundreds of people in Maricopa alone can relate. But no fear! Just read the manual. Find your language. Follow the instructions. It’s the fat little booklet. It’s in English, but it doesn’t sound like any language you know. It might as well be Latin, because you “can’t understand what the instruction book is saying.” Darn it. So cross that off your list. But you did the right thing. Too bad you don’t understand that camera yet.
“Why don’t you Google it honey?” Good idea, spouse. (When I wanted to know how Macho Man Randy Savage died, I just typed in “macho,” and BOOM there it was: “died in a car crash.”) OK, so there you go. Google: “Canon Rebel.” Hmmm, 100 pages of where to buy a Canon Rebel. A few pages about a rebel named Canon … from Tibet. Google: “Taking photos with a digital camera.”
Here we go! A hundred pages on how to take pictures. This one looks good. So you start to read. Ah, that’s what “aperture” means! Where do I find that on my camera? ISO. Shutter Speed. White Balance. Auto Focus. Manual Focus. File size. File format? Ugh, so much stuff. Cool, this guy has a video! This helps! I wonder if someone made a video about how to use my Canon Rebel? Yep, here is a bunch of videos! A man in a blue button-up shirt and a British accent. Sean Connery’s younger neglected brother? Did he say UFO? REVERSE. Oh, ISO! The main command dial? Wait. PAUSE. Ah, there it is. PLAY. Which dial did he turn? Where did Mr. Connery go? Who is this other Brit? Movie mode! This camera makes movies? Wait, is that my camera?
A camera is only a camera, until you know how to use it. You might be able to sell it on eBay for $300. You might also be able make literally tens of thousands of dollars with that camera, not to mention capturing your own priceless memories. There is a short film I like about a beat up old violin that goes up for auction. No one will bid on the useless item. Then one man comes forward, picks up the violin, cleans it off, adjusts the strings and begins to play it — beautifully. Then the auctioneer tries to sell it again.
Now everyone wants it, and the bids reach amazing heights. The film is called “The Touch of the Master’s Hand.” Imagine what you can do with a camera, when you can master it. So what is a camera worth? It depends on what you do with it, and that begins with knowing how to use it.
Click here for more information about Jake's summer photo course or contact him at [email protected] or (602) 291-1093 for details!
