Australian School of Amateur Photography

09/02/2026

I closed the school because there were so many tutorials on YouTube for photography. Is anyone that encounters this page actually interested in what this page has to say? Otherwise I'll shut it down. If people are interested though I'll post some tips regularly.

30/09/2025

You can probably tell that the school hasn't been running for a while now. If you happen to follow this page though and have random photography questions, please just ask. I'll see the notification and answer if I can.
Cheers.

30/10/2019

Don't get freaked out that everyone has a camera phone and that the camera phones are getting smarter and smarter and you've got a hunking huge DSLR with a kit of decent lenses, but often are unhappy with your shots.

Having the gear gives you choices. These choices can't be matched by camera phones. If you are not happy with your shots, the best thing you can do is to sit and look at the shot you are not happy with and properly ask yourself what it is about it you are not happy with.

Did you have a shot in your head that just didn't happen?
Were you copying someone else's shot and couldn't get it right?
Were you frustrated by your gear?
Did you think you nailed the shot, but once in big mode on the computer you realised you missed nice sharp focus?

Etcetera.

You have to know why you are not happy, and you should not be unhappy about that. You should see it as an emotional pointer in the right direction.

It will give you the insight you need into your feelings about your photography that will let you take it to the next level.

You can determine if your issues are gear related, or camera operator skills, or you as an artist.

And if you are stuck with a question about your picture, you can always ask me. I might have a thought or two that will help.

Cheers.

03/08/2019

I've found myself in conversations with photographers recently who were very very wrapped up in the specifics of their gear. Of their lenses in particular.

It occurred to me that they were more like collectors. Their ego seemed to be wrapped up in the gear they owned. Like a person who feels good about themselves when they talk about what their car can do. How fast it can go. How much acceleration it has.

Each to their own. I have no issue with a person being like that. I do know that some of the best photographers I've seen had quite ordinary gear. To me what makes a good photographer is how they see the world, not what they have in their camera bag.

Good gear gives you choices. Good gear will let you do more in some cases. Good gear may also just cost a lot of money for some of us without doing anything for our photography.

So my thought to share is this. Before you buy your next bit of gear, ask yourself if you are buying it because you are trying to break through a photographic frustration, or are you buying it because it is exciting to buy new gear?

Have you done all you can with the gear you have?

Just a thought. For me, the image appears in the mind first, then I grab the gear I need to get it. If the images I see in my mind I can't get with the gear I have, then I know I need more gear.

Cheers.

10/04/2019

Brand new galleries at the site. Pop over and check them out.

Sessions here at ASAP cover everything you need to know to shoot your vision of the world.(Click on the picture to enter the gallery).