Anne with her new Nikon D7000 in Vinoy Park during our 1-on-1 photography lessonThis morning I met Anne for a 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson in downtown St. Petersburg. Currently, Anne is also taking my photography class at the Morean Arts Center. She started the class with an older Canon DSLR, the only Canon shooter of the five students. When her 18-55mm lens broke, and no doubt with a little suggestion by all the other Nikon shooters in the room, on my advice she invested in a Nikon D7000, a Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 lens (I own this lens myself) and the Nikkor 70-200mm VR lens, oh and a SB-700 Speedlight too!
Having made this ecosystem change and wanting more in-depth 1-on-1 instruction, our 2-hours this morning were focused on suring up what we had already discussed in the group lessons and helping her get more familiar with Nikon as well. In this style of learning, Anne caught on rather fast allowing me to introduce composition tips as well. As we made our way out to Vinoy Park, I showed Anne the benefits of having a S-curve in the frame and how to use lines in general to move the viewer's eye across a photograph.
Anne is also learning how valuable it is to take just even ten photographs a day, as per the advice I gave everyone in the Morean photo class. The goal of that is not to make portfolio shots, but to start memorizing the layout of your gear and to make adjusting for correct exposure instinctual rather than requiring concentrated thought. I look forward to seeing Anne's progress next Tuesday in the classroom.
