Top 3 basic rules?

[a1ex2001]

It would appear however we have differing opinions on this

However out of curiosity what affirms your certainty that you can't teach someone these things quickly? and what would be your benchmark of time relative to this?

Quick to me would be 30 minutes of teaching and your away armed with your new knowledge deriving benefit. Light, Subject and Composition are such huge generic terms and cover such a wealth of information that you can't possibly cover all of it in a short space of time, elements certainly but nothing comprehensive. For example even a relatively simple book covering the basics of all three like 'Under Standing Exposure' which is so often recomended on here takes many hours to read and even more to understand.

 

[alexkidd]

Well i never inferred that you'd teach all of it, and in 30 mins i can give someone a good grounding of the three.

Not entirely sure where your reference to exposure comes though

However i suggest we agree to disagree

 

[benners]

Team TP never disappoints, so many good ideas! Now I want to take on some proteges and teach them everything i know! (which, ok, isn't a lot!)

i love the simplicity of a1ex2001's ideas... this is a tricky project because i'm only really giving the lad some instruction via his mum (no i don't have an injunction or anything!) so have got to give a few very simple tasks to help improv his skills. plus i don't really know what standard he's at, so it's all a bit strange!

anyway, i've given him some homework (!), so I can see where he's at, get him to take some snaps then I can see what he's doing and give him some pointers. then get him to take the snaps again, but using these tips to hopefully make improvement!

here's what i've said:

There are no hard and fast rules to photography. There are of course the technical aspects to learn, but the main ‘skills’ are being creative and enjoying yourself.

Anyone can take a photograph these days as digital cameras are easily accessible, so you need to think about that X-Factor to make your photos look that little bit different.

Have a go at taking 3 different photos: a landscape, a portrait, a lowlight shot.

What we’ll do is re-visit these photos in a few weeks. I’ll give you some tips, then you can take these photos for a 2nd time and apply the tips to improve your photography!

So when choosing your subjects for these 3 photos, make sure you can easily take the same photos again in a few weeks.

You’ll then have a set of ‘before and after’ photos which will show your progression and skills you have learnt!

When you take these photos for the first time, make a note of the things you find difficult or challenging.

You can then think about the these again when you take the photos for the second time.