10 14 March 2020I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113
THE
VEWS
EXPRESSED
NTH
SCOLUMN
ARE
NOT
NECESSAR
LYTHOSE
OF
AMATEUR
PHOTOGRAPHER
MAGA Z
NE
OR
TMED
AL
MTED
O
vertheyearsI havegathered
manystoriesonhowuniversity
andcollegecoursesarewasting
students’money.In thelate
1990s,justbeforeI retired,I tookona
studentwhohadbeenstudying
photographyfortwoyears.Afterthefirst
fiveminutesI realisedshehadn’ta clue
aboutphotography.Shefeltshehadwasted
a fortuneandwasgoingtofailthedegree.
I setaboutgivinghersimpleinstructions
onportraitlightingusingherfatherasa
model,onlyusingthewindowandroom
lightaslightsources,showingthelighting
effectsonherfather’sfacedependingon
hispositionin relationtothelightsource.
ShestatedthatI hadtaughthermorein
twohoursthanshehadbeentaughtat
universityfortwoyears.
A whileagoI wasin a photographic
storeobservingoneof theyoung
assistantstakinga passportphotograph.
Heshowedtheresulttotheclientwho
insistedit wasnotheronthescreen(what
sheactuallymeantthathehadmadeher
lookugly).HewasusinganAPS-Cdigital
camerawiththekitlenssetat 18mm
focallength,withtheflashaimedstraight
at thesubject.In ordertofill theframehe
hadtobeveryclosetothesubject’sface,
resultingin grossdistortion.Nowonder
thesubjectobjectedtotheawfulmesshe
waspresentingherwith.I askedhimif he
hadanytuitionin takingpassport
photographs.Heinformedmethathis
universitydegreecoursedidnotcover
portraiture.I quietlytoldhimtosetthe
focallengthto55mm,whichmadehim
standfurtherback,andtobouncethe
flashoffthewallbehindhim.Bingo! She
lovedthenextshothetook.
Thebasicsofphotography
Iusedtosubscribetoa monthly
photographicmagazine.Everymonthit
hada certainmaturephotographergive
hisfour-penneth.Onemonthhedescribed
howhehadstudiedforthreeyearsfora
photographydegreeat a prestigious
Londoncollege.Hethensetabout
searchingfora photographer’sassistant
position.Hegainedaninterviewwitha
successful London photographer who
askedhimif heknewhowto processblack
& whitefilm.Heliedthathedid.Howcan
a studentfroma topLondoncollege
comeawaynotknowingsuchbasics?
AsrecentlyasNovember,on
RemembranceSunday,I wastaking
photographsof theceremony.I noticeda
teenagerwithanoldNikonFM2taking
photographs.I toldherthatbeforeI
retiredI hada coupleof FM2s.Soon,she
cametotheendof thefilmandadmitted
shewasa studentat thelocalcollegeand
hadbeentoldtousetheFM2,buthadno
ideahowtouseit andaskedmetounload
thefilm.I askedif sheknewwhatthe
aperturenumbersandshutterspeed
numberswereandhow to set the ISO.
Shehadn’ta clue!
Teachingmethods
WhenI enlistedin theRAFasa
photographer,over 50 yearsago,withinthe
firstweekweweretaughtwhattheaperture
numbersandshutterspeednumbersmeant
andhowtheASA(nowISO)numbers
statedthesensitivityof a film.Wewerelet
loosewitha camera,lightmeterandfilm,
thenweretaughthowtoloadthefilminto
a processingtankandprocessthefilm.
Frommyexperiencesandhorrorstories
I havebeentold,universitiesandcolleges
aretakingthemickeyoutof photography
students.It seemsobvioustome,thata
subscriptiontoAmateurPhotographer
magazinewillsaveyoua fortuneand
teachyoua hellof a lotmore.
JohnHeywoodwasa professionalphotographer
untilheretiredin 2009.Heremainsanenthusiastic
amateurandhisfavourite subjects are portraits
anddocumentary.
AnAmateurPhotographerreaderponders
whetherasubscriptiontoAPcould be a
better education than a degree
View point
John Hey wood
© JOHN HEY WOOD
Doyouhavesomethingyou’dliketogetoffyourchest?Sendusyourthoughtsinaround
500 wordstotheaddressonpage 20 andwina year’sdigitalsubscriptiontoAP,worth£79.
AportraitbyJohnHeywood,whowastaught
the basics of photography while in the RAF
© JAMES ABBOTT
© ANDREW SYDENHAM
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