Your Name: Kendall Schmidt
Type of Camera: Nikon D810, D700
What do you love to photograph the most? In my film days, when I was first learning photography, I’d shoot any and everything, which wasn’t that much as film cost money and I was a money strapped teenager. Fast-forward a several decades to the digital era, when I got back into photography, I started out shooting my kids doing soccer and gymnastics. A decade or so later I find myself loving landscapes/nature and wildlife.
What is one thing you have learned that has improved your photography? Know your camera and become comfortable with changing all the various settings it provides. Once you have the triangle down (ISO, shutter, aperture), explore the various metering, focus and white balance modes. Play with exposure compensation and learn how/when it can benefit an exposure.
When you see something you feel is image-worthy and you start to formulate your composition, run through a mental checklist of all your settings to ensure you are leveraging your camera to its fullest potential to capture in-camera the best possible exposure.
Too many times I’ve rushed a shot, only to find later that I had overlooked a setting tuned for a previous exposure. Ever leave exposure bracketing on when trying to capture a bird in flight? What the heck? In my defense the day started very early and it was a very long hike…
Advice you’d give to others wanting to grow in their photography skills: Objectively critique photographs; yours as well as others. Ask yourself, what is it you like or dislike about a photograph? And like anything, practice, practice, practice!
