The problem with education

Terrywoodenpic said:
I will take it that that is a rhetorical question.
As the answer is implied in the middle 14 words.
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Yes, and they make as little sense to me now as they did when I first read them. Surely you don't teach anything 'first', rather you introduce the entire thing as a concept so people don't get an overly simplistic view from the start?
 
I got a bit bored with my own thread as it's just turned in to a load of people arguing about the exposure triangle... please just remember you are all photographers, probably pretty experienced photographers at that, and so for that reason many of you will see faults with it as a concept. As an experienced photographer myself I NEVER use the exposure triangle, I understand exposure and don't need to think about such things. However as a tool to help inexperienced photographers learn about exposure and the correlation between each aspect it's a very useful tool... VERY useful.
 
Terrywoodenpic said:
All things are not equal when using the Triangle to define exposure.
Aperture also controls depth of field, and the magnitude of diffusion.
Shutter speed controls stopping power and the ability to blur parts of the image or even hide moving objects.
ISO changes the amplification of the signal and the resulting noise levels, but perhaps often more importantly, the available dynamic range.

To teach it as simply three ways to balance exposure is far too simplistic. The costs and gains of the choices are as important as the exposure. to the final outcomes.
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Terry.... you think we say "There's your exposure triangle"... and that's it for the three years they're with us? When you have someone struggling to remember.. it works. It's reciprocity... adjust one, and one, or both of the others need to be adjusted to achieve correct exposure. Would you really start to cram this, and the gains and costs of each parameter in for beginners at the same time? I've been doing this for some time Terry... trust me. Just get them to understand eth relationship regarding exposure control for a couple of weeks... THEN explain the effects. You can't explain reciprocity, shutter speeds, apertures and their m any effects, ISO and the way dynamic range effects quality.... all in one lesson. LOL


Look at your language Terry. So I've just explained reciprocity to some slightly confused first years (because FE is broken), and then in the same session you want me to then start lecturing them on the amplification of the signal and the resulting noise levels? LOL Seriously Terry... just leave the teaching of this stuff to those that know how to teach it.

I know you mean well, but you're looking at this from your own frame of reference as someone who fully understands this... to do what you suggest with those that do not will cause confusion; it will alienate them, and make them think they're just stupid. I know this forum is a hotbed of people wanting to show off how much they know, but as a teacher, I'm not trying to show students how much I know (that will just create a barrier between them and I), I'm trying to get them to understand as much as possible in a way that helps them retain that information: So you introduce these concepts incrementally - let them fully understand and DEMONSTRATE that they understand, THEN move on to the details.
 
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