A Photography Lesson in Baltimore

By Smiti Nathan
July 19, 2019
3 Min read
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This post is part of the ‘In 7′ photo series., where I share a moment in 7 pictures.

As much as I love taking photos on my iPhone, I wanted to try out a mirrorless system to have more control over my photography. After a lot of research, I ended up purchasing the Fujifilm X-T20 w/18-55mm lens. The first 3 posts of this series (A Saturday in Nashville, 6 Hour Philly Food Tour, Walking Limberlost Trail) captured my first attempts at using my new camera.

While I played around with my camera for a few months, I did not have a solid handle on how to use it. For my birthday, Christian gifted me a private photography lesson (THANK YOU!) with the amazing Emily Carter Mitchell (her blog has beautiful and informative posts). During our session I learned how to use my camera, what to focus on as a beginner, and tips for composing photographs. In short, our session saved me weeks (probably months) of research and helped jump-start my photography.

Here are my 7 photos that captured my favorite images of my photography lesson in Baltimore with a photo-by-photo breakdown below:

After receiving instruction on how to use my camera, the rest of the lesson focused on composing photos. In this photo, I aimed to capture the rule of thirds (horizon in the upper third) and leading lines (walkway edge).
Since I am not the tallest person, I typically have trouble capturing images that are close, but high up. Emily gave me some common sense tips on this front (e.g., physically move back) that were helpful to hear out loud.
This is one of my favorite shots of our session. Here, the challenge was to frame the subject when a lot was happening around it (e.g., trees, buildings, bushes). After a few tries, I was happy to get this shot.
During our lesson, we discussed the difference between dead space and negative space. Both types of space are around the subject of a photo. The difference is that dead space takes away from the subject and overall image, while negative space enhances either. Here, the water serves as negative space.
After strolling around the Baltimore Harbor, we headed to the American Visionary Art Museum. This museum has artwork around the building perimeter. This image reminded me of the golden ratio. As part of our lesson here, I took close up images of the blue dots and played around with the aperture (not pictured).
There is a Christmas tree-esque art fixture made up glass pieces in front of the Museum (Key Highway side). This image was taken from underneath the tree and looking up. The challenge here was to compose a photograph when there was a lot going on.
The last shot of the day was a hispter-esque shot. Thanks for indulging me 🙂

If you liked this post, be sure to check out the rest of the “In 7” photo series.

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4 comments

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  • Thank you for sharing 🙂 It was interesting reading a bit about your process, and it would be great to read more about it as you keep practicing.

    I’m also new and enthusiastic about photography, but i don’t have much access to a private teacher where i live — although i’m often on the road, and perhaps could find someone somewhere i’m visiting? I’m also thinking about taking an online course — have you considered that?

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Smiti Nathan

I’m an archaeologist that travels around the world for both work and pleasure. I have a penchant for exploring ancient and modern places and the people, plants, and foods entangled in them. I write about archaeology, travel, and productivity.

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