Welcome to MyPhotoSkills.com. 

Firstly the name of the site was chosen because I wanted “photo skills” to be included, I chose  “my” because the domain was available and it is nice and short. The name wasn’t chosen because I think my photography skills are better than anyone else.

This site was created to help people through the initial learning curve of digital photography – something I found to be overwhelming when I picked up my first DSLR. 
It has grown from there to what it is today; a full time commitment to helping fellow photographers of all skills in all things photographic. 

There is always something to learn.

Plus the new equipment (who doesn’t like new toys?); camera upgrades, new lenses, studio lights and backdrops plus a million-and-one gizmos to buy that will, some how, miraculously elevate our abilities to National Geographic standard photographers.

I am at that stage in life where I have the time to concentrate on my photography. Time I love spending on researching and learning and being able to pass my findings on to you. 

My current camera is a Nikon D7100 – personally I don’t think it makes any difference what camera you use.  I just happen to be a Nikon fan because it is what I landed up buying when I went digital.

My Background

Although born and raised in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) I have called New Zealand home since 1999. New Zealand is a country with truly amazing photographic opportunities.

I my interest in photography goes back as far as I can remember.

Photos are meant to evoke memories, they can evoke pain, tell a story, create or recall an emotion, be controversial and reflective.
They record history, allow us to experience something we weren’t part of, make us dream and add to our bucket list.
Photography is such a wide and all-encompassing subject. 

Is it any wonder that we all love photos?

To this day one of my favourite photos is a print I have of growing up on the farm.  It is an out-of-focus shot of cows and a lot of dust. I must have been about 13 when the photo was taken and it reminds me of the wonderful childhood I had growing up in Rhodesia.

I can’t exactly remember when I got my first camera but I do remember I loved creating photos. I even had my own darkroom; a DIY job that was very basic.  It served a purpose though and the emotion of seeing the first print that I created has kept my love of printed images alive all these years. 

Those were exciting days producing negatives – some over exposed (mostly) others under exposed and then the odd ones that had the correct exposure but …

• Were they in focus?
• Were they of interest?
• Were they worth printing (the only way to display photos in those early days – until slides came along)?

The principles haven’t changed much; we still want interesting, well composed, in-focus photographs that are worth keeping.
There have been, and continue to be, huge changes in the technology and methods we use to produce photos.

The digital age has been a blessing and a curse to photography in my opinion.

1. Firstly it has been a blessing because virtually every person who has a phone (and most of us do) can now take some amazing photographs.  On the camera side of things there is a huge selection of equipment that one can buy to take some incredible photos.
   The digital age has brought photography to everyone – not just the crazy few like me.  Images are instantly and very cheaply available on the back of DSLR cameras.  If the photo isn’t acceptable you simply delete it – no cost, no pain.
2. On the flip side of the coin we have taken more photos since the introduction of digital photography than we have since photography was first born (back in the 1830s) but we have no memories!  We take a photo stick it on Facebook, Snapchat or Instagram and it is there for a fleeting moment.  After a few “likes” and comments it slips down and disappears into history – literally within days.

I try and take photographs with the end in mind and for me the end is a print – either for the wall as a framed print or canvas or an album that someone, one day, will look back on and say “Remember when …”

I Want to Help You With Your Photography – I also want to learn from you.

The advent of digital photography, whilst making photography more accessible, has made photography much easier and much more complex.

• The easy part is virtually any camera set on “auto” will take an incredibly good photograph.
• The hard part is deciding which camera, what lens, what settings to use, how to process your photographs and a million other things you need to know if you want to take photos with that “WOW” factor.

I was, and still am, absolutely astounded at how much there is to learn in digital photography and it has taken me about 10 years of digital photography, hundreds of hours watching endless training videos, taking thousand of images to get to where I am today, where I know what setting I want to use to produce the image I have in mind.

I am also at that stage where I know that I don’t need every new bit of equipment that comes out.  What I have is ample and until I have mastered everything my camera has to offer I don’t need to look any further than my own development.

I worked in a high-end brick and mortar camera shop in 2015 and 2016 and it astounded me how some folks thought that the latest and greatest gimmick would elevate their photography to the next level, while accomplished photographers produce truly wonderful images with a 12 megapixel camera. 
Interestingly enough a lot of these good photographers never used all the functions the camera had to offer, because they didn’t need to. 

Photography is like an onion; each layer you uncover reveals a new and interesting layer beneath it.  You never stop learning and growing.  And yes, like an onion it can make you cry sometimes too.

The Aim of MyPhotoSkills.com

I hope this website will cut through much of the confusion that one faces with the hundreds of questions you will have about photography, the intention being to help you make decisions that will get you to your desired goals in photography.

No BS, no hype – just good honest advice based on my experience. 
My personal goal is to become a better photographer than I was yesterday – and to help you do the same.

Pleas leave me a comment or a question below or send me a message.  I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.

I hope you find the site useful and enjoy reading through the pages as much as I have enjoyed creating them.

All the best,

Lawrence
MyPhotoSkills.co