Eversince I bought my first SLR camera last year, I’ve been addicted to taking random shots of basically anything. My shots range enormously from a simple leaf on the pavement to huge landscapes. However, I thought it would be a good idea to go for a photography course to basically have first-hand experiences of taking pictures in a studio, understand and learn about lighting, have ‘photowalks’ and field trips with like-minded people and ultimately; get to know my camera a little better.

Last night was my very 1st of 10 lessons with Chris Grout and immediately, I felt quite insecure and intimidated. Everyone else had a more powerful and better camera than my little D40. Everyone knew all about metering, composure, exposure & shutter speeds while I was still trying to get my head around shooting in RAW. We were told to bring in a couple of portrait shots that we were really proud of for an anonymous critique session next week and I knew I had my work cut out for me because I’ve not done much portraiture. Most of my really good work ( or what I think are good) seem to be mostly still-life and landscapes; a far cry from portraits wouldn’t you agree?

To be a really good portrait photographer I think you would need to have a huge variety of portraits. And to get that, you need to approach random strangers on the street to ask them if you could photograph them without scaring them off. Unfortunately, I find that the ‘candidness’ of the shot is lost the moment the subject knows you’re taking their picture. Yet, if you simply start clicking away, it doesn’t feel quite right. I get quite nervous and shy in approaching strangers for my photography.

Sometimes I wonder why the hell I paid extortionates amount of money for a portraiture course and whether of not I’m cut out to be a portrait photographer…