Being terrible at making decisions, I have special appreciation for flow charts. Flowcharts come in very handy when you have a problem and need a solution – problems from, what should I eat for dinner tonight to writing program. Flowcharts will give you a nice simple process to come to a logical conclusion using simple yes or no questions.
The following flowchart is not only awesome because it is, well, a flow chart for photography, but it was created by one of my favorite photo people, Mark Wallace. Mark, who is currently on a worldwide two year photography adventure, has teamed up with AdoramaTV to bring you this very handy Where to Start Chart. Geared toward beginning photographers, the chart’s purpose is to help you figure out the what settings to use on your camera.
For example:
The best part of this chart is that is an interactive PDF, so if you have no idea what ‘shutter speed‘ means, you can click on the ‘shutter speed’ box and it will take you to one of hundreds of Mark’s free video tutorials so that you can learn more. The PDF is updated regularly, so be sure to download the latest version of the chart.
The following video tells a bit more about the chart and how to use it. You can download your own version of the Where to Start Chart here – just right click and select ‘Save As’ once you get there.
[REWIND: 24 SUNSETS, 24 TIME ZONES, 1 DAY – PHOTOGRAPHER CHASES THE SUN AROUND THE GLOBE]
This would’ve been a great guide for me when I was first starting out and learning the basics. If you want to see more of Mark’s video tutorials on Adorama, check this out. If you just want to see where he is around the world (at the time of writing, he is in Machu Picchu), check out his Spontaneous World website where he is documenting his trip.
