A Year With My Camera: The Workbook, Book 1

by Emma Davies

This is more than a book - it's a unique way to learn photography. Grab your camera and a pen, and start ticking off what you know, filling in what you've learnt, and practising every week. Every chapter has just one skill to learn, and comes with a detailed explanation, plenty of examples, and a project to complete. There are tests to make sure you understand, and a Facebook group you can join to ask questions. This is Book 1 in a 2 part series: in this book are the lessons to take you from January to mid-May, and Book 2 will finish the year. This is a practical workbook, printed in black and white, designed to be written in and picked up every week - not a coffee table book to put on your shelf and never look at. If you've ever struggled with your big camera, you'll love the way the course is structured. Everything you need to know, nothing you don't need to know, and everything in the right order. You check that you've understood each chapter before you move on, and you can watch yourself making progress week by week. In 1 month you will understand all the manual controls on your camera. In 3 months you will not only understand, but remember all the controls, and you'll be taking photos you're proud of. And if you carry on with Book 2, in 12 months you'll be the best photographer you know. Most people who open this book breath a sigh of relief, realising they don't have to learn everything all at once. It's a very liberating approach to photography. You will start by building the foundations (chapters 1-6), and then, with a solid base to support you, you will grow your creativity and find your personal style (chapters 7-18).

Genres: Photography, Nonfiction

192 pages, Paperback

Published October 18, 2016

Reviews

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best.Course.Ever!

I definitely would recommend this course to anyone from beginner to advanced. Emma lays out the lessons in short segments weekly throughout the year. It's easy to follow in a descriptive & insightful manner. I have learned so much through this course and I've been taking photos for many years. I was hooked from the very first chapter!!

Emma offers this course in a variety of ways making the course easy. She offers it through email or video and it's all completely free. You can choose to buy the workbooks, that has more information in them which I highly recommend! She now offers an app that's easy to use and personable. It's a way to not only keep track of your work but you get inside tips, tricks, and a personal feel with both colleagues & Emma where all the work is displayed, shared and critiqued if you like. There are also a variety of individual groups to join for specific photography.

Your can follow along at your own pace and even restart if you fall behind. Emma's work is fabulous and you can follow her on Instagram. Thank you Emma! It's been a blessing for me! Now on to Book 2!

[Missy LeBlanc Ivey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This workbook is divided into 4 sections: 1) Technical; 2) Composition; 3) Light; and 4) Creativity. My camera, NIKON D5300, didn't have every feature to perform a couple of the exercises as requested in the Technical section...so I guess that threw me mentally. But, I still did learn a lot about working with the "triangle": Aperture, Shutter, and ISO, but, it doesn't mean I remember it all. I'm still out there turning dials nilly-willy. But, if you have a better brain than me, it's definitely worth at least a read through if you are interested in taking better photos and opening up your creative side.

So, I read the workbook and performed the exercises through PART I, then unfortunately got bored with it and put it down for several months. I guess I don't have the patience and fortitude to work my way through "workbooks", or if I had a friend who would actually stick with it and finish with me...Maybe we would have finished. I didn't care about sharing my homework with a bunch of strangers on the AYWMC Facebook group. That didn't encourage me.

I finally did pick it back up on June 13th, but only finished "reading" the book, and did NOT perform the exercises for the rest of the chapters.

One key point that she wrote on in the Creativity section that applies to me: Don't worry about creating an original photo that's never been shot before because that cannot be done. Every shot has been made. Make your shot the way you like it, even if it's like someone else's. Make it unique with your personality; it's your shot! And never feel stupid or embarrassed about it! This is the number one reason why I continuously quit on my photography...because I feel my photos are stupid, stupid, stupid compared to everyone else's I see on Facebook.

But, who knows, maybe one day I'll return to this book and actually reread it and actually push through the rest of the exercises with my camera, beginning with PART 2, page 63.

[Jamie Kolacz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very helpful book if you are just starting out with photography and you are able too take it at your own pace or do it a week at a time as the program says.

[Misha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant!

[Theresa Duffy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best Photography “How to” course book available. Join the app, AYWMC, for amazing community support, weekly challenges, and a variety of genre groups. AYWMC is a life changer.

[Laura Reinwald · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book. It breaks down photography is small, easy to manage concepts and exercises. Great online support as well.
Highly recommend to anyone interested in photography.