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To convey a message photographically it is vitally important that you understand the medium in which you are working. A painter with a head full of picture ideas, but without the ability to use paint, brush and canvas, will never be able to create a work of art. Likewise, mere possession of an expensive camera will not help you capture outsatanding photographs unless you know how to use it and how to make the most of light and the rules of composition.

FIRST - UNDERSTAND YOUR 'CANVAS AND PAINT'

Artist Rob Perry is a man with a thorough understanding of his materials. He has to have... he paints a lot of his pictures at night from the top of his van! So the ability to work instinctively is essential. It is exactly the same for a photographer - the mechanics of camera work must be second nature if you hope to convey your message visually. This picture was taken for The Independent Newspaper using a Nikon F3 with 180mm f2.8 lens

© Philip Dunn

"Only by taking many, many photographs will you cultivate the ability to see as the camera will see..."

Camera craft
The actual mechanics, the 'f' numbers and shutter speeds, of photography are relatively simple things to master, especially with modern automatic cameras. What comes less easily is the ability to look at a subject - any subject - and know with a fair degree of certainty, how it will look on the finished print or slide. Only by taking many, many photographs will you cultivate the ability to see as the camera will see, and develop the understanding that will enable you to predict how different focal length lenses will affect the composition and atmosphere of a picture. That indispensable camera craft which is automatically connected to the eye is a prerequisite for every photographer who wishes to commit his feelings and ideas to film. In the words of master photographer Ansel Adams: 'You must first visualise the image before you make the photograph - then apply your craft'.

Like any other skill, camera craft can be learnt, but in the same way that an aspiring yachtsman will never learn all there is to know about seamanship just by reading books on navigation, the would-be photographer cannot learn all he or she needs to know from books - or even Photo Active Magazine, come to that. Read them by all means, as many as you can lay your hands on. Learn the theory of photography if you are so inclined, but above all else TAKE PICTURES, then scrutinise your own results and learn from your own mistakes and successes.

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