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Key points
Section titled “Key points”- Photography = choices — lens, aperture, shutter speed, editing are not about rules but decisions.
- Always start by asking: what do I want this image to look/feel like?
- There are no “correct” settings — wide angle, telephoto, f/2.8, f/11 can all work depending on intent.
- Better questions: not “what settings did you use?” but “why did you choose those settings?”
- Learn by studying photos, guessing settings/intent, then checking EXIF to see if your reasoning holds.
- Editing is also choice-driven: evaluate images as “hell yes” or “hell no” in relation to your vision.
- Courage and risk-taking matter more than finding universal formulas.
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- For Higher Photography, be ready to explain decisions in context — e.g. “I chose a wide aperture to isolate the subject” rather than “because that’s the rule for portraits.”
- “No such thing as a portrait lens” — true in principle, but examiners may expect you to recognise why certain focal lengths are conventionally used (compression, flattering proportions).
- Don’t just write “there are no rules” — show awareness of conventions (e.g. shallow depth for emphasis, deep depth for landscape detail) and then justify your choice.
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Exercise
Section titled “Exercise”- Find one of the favourite photographs you have taken to date
- Write down why you made the choices that you made in creating that photograph
- repeat
- Try to do the same for other photographers greatest works that inspire you