Learning and Perfecting Camera Basics


Photo by Leslie Saber

Leslie Saber, instructor of Camera Basics: What’s that Button For? says she cannot recall a time she was not drawn to the visual language of photography. “It seems I’ve always been fascinated with capturing a moment in time, to freeze right now, and then be tickled by looking at it later,” she says. “As a kid, I used my camera for that reason: to time travel.”

Early on, Saber made the painful discovery her creative vision was greatly hindered by the available photographic technology. “It wasn’t until I moved to Arizona and lived near the Grand Canyon that I became frustrated, and then determined, to figure out why my little 35mm ‘point and click’ couldn’t capture what I was seeing, or more accurately, how I was feeling when I stood on the rim and looked out at the incredible beauty of the landscape.”

Saber recalls how her first exposure to a high-end camera changed her world. “My first ‘real’ camera was a gift from a friend who understood - before I did - that I loved the experience of seeing, composing, and sharing photography, but needed the right tool.  One look at the manual for that camera, and I realized I needed a class to learn how to use it!  That class showed me possibilities beyond capturing just what I saw, and I haven’t stopped since!”

Another great revelation came for Saber when she was first exposed to the work of photographer Edward Weston. “Sitting there in a dark classroom looking at the slide projection, I changed how I see.  I sat mesmerized by a dance of form, of light, of shadow, a twisted shape, wondering what is it?  Is it a hand?  Two people Weston Pepper 30embracing?  Is it gum?  An abstract sculpture?  The teacher then revealed the title: ‘Pepper #30’! What?  A BELL PEPPER?  I had looked at many peppers up to then, but had never SEEN one before! It was like I had listened to sounds, but up to then, never heard music. The rest of that class was a blur of images, each one more exciting than the other!”

From that moment on, Saber began exploring a wide array of photographers and techniques. “I started studying other photographers, buying books and taking as many classes as I could, and for a long time I had a saying that, ‘My favorite kind of photography is the class I’m in right now.’”

In 2005 Saber hit a major life transition when her career with an international law firm came to an abrupt conclusion. “Instead of looking to replace that job right away, I saw it as a rare opportunity to take a step back and choose what to do next.  I love to travel, so I booked a month-long trip to Greece and Turkey.  There I was, in a small village in Turkey, getting ready to attend a festival that I happened upon when I realized I wasn’t excited to go back to work for lawyers.  What do I do instead?  I looked down and realized I was holding three cameras!  ‘Hmmm…’ I thought, ‘Maybe this little photography ‘hobby’ is something worth pursuing!’”

Upon her return to Seattle, life kept giving Saber more and more clues as to what she should do next. “A friend formed his own interior design company while I was gone and he hired me to create a portfolio of images,” she recalls.  “Soon, people saw HIS design portfolio, but also liked MY photo portfolio, and other clients followed.  Starting with real estate and architectural photography, I’ve expanded to include portraits, and events, including weddings.” Soon after, she established SaberShots Photography. Saber has not looked back since.

In joining Camera Basics: What’s that Button for? Saber seeks to demystify the mechanics of photography for students and eliminate those stumbling blocks she encountered as a rookie photographer. “When I got my first manual SLR (Single-Lens Reflex Camera), I was so excited to finally learn photography!” she recalls. “I took out that instruction manual and turned to that first page where the camera was illustrated and the arrows pointed to each button.  I remember seeing one button labeled ‘Aperture Preview’.  ‘Great,’ I thought, ‘What’s an aperture?’”

Saber would come to discover much of what we need to master photography is gleaned from hands-on experience. “An instruction manual for a camera can no more Lopez Island Soloteach you photography than the manual for a car can teach you to drive!  There are many ways to learn to do stuff: books, online tutorials, lectures, and by doing.  Over years of teaching, I have learned that it is the hands-on time where those wonderful ‘Aha!’ moments most often happen. That’s where the joy of photography can begin, when concept merges with success!”

Students enrolling Camera Basics: What’s that Button For? are in for more than manuals and ambiguous diagrams, but the essentials of creative self-expression through photography. “The basics of photography are important: understanding light, understanding the tool you have to capture the light, and figuring out the story you are telling,” says Saber. “With each class, we will focus on a particular tool (a DSLR or Smartphone) and learn its capabilities.  Students are encouraged to take on fun assignments, share their results, and support each other with critiques.  In class, I’ll show slides to illustrate and inspire. Students can also look forward to a lot of hands-on practice. This is what I still love about photography, the process of learning and perfecting a technique and figuring out how to show how the outside world makes me feel inside.”

Learn more about Camera Basics: What’s that Button For?

All photos courtesy of Leslie Saber.