New To Photography
Discussion
CambridgeInColour's a great place to start:
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/learn-photography...
Lots of useful tutorials there...
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/learn-photography...
Lots of useful tutorials there...
There's nothing wrong with auto in more than half of all photos taken if you want to grab a photo of something and the camera software gets what you want.
For when it's not going to give you what you want, some experience and a handle of the relationship between aperture, shutter speed and ISO will see you get what you want out of it. Understanding Exposure book is a good place to start, but tbh if you've just picked up a camera and decided to have a go you might be better looking at photos you can replicate and then figuring out how they were taken. I haven't used it for ages, but Flickr used to be a good place to look through groups where you'll see how people have put their photos together.
It occurred to me fairly early on that anything WOW was heavily edited, and the idea of 'what settings did you use' is completely pointless, as they were the setting that were right for that point in time, and they might not work for you. Also, everything is heavily photoshopped. Whatever you camera spits out is going to be fairly bland and lacking in contrast unless you find miraculous light (that we don't tend to get in the UK, too many grey skies)
For when it's not going to give you what you want, some experience and a handle of the relationship between aperture, shutter speed and ISO will see you get what you want out of it. Understanding Exposure book is a good place to start, but tbh if you've just picked up a camera and decided to have a go you might be better looking at photos you can replicate and then figuring out how they were taken. I haven't used it for ages, but Flickr used to be a good place to look through groups where you'll see how people have put their photos together.
It occurred to me fairly early on that anything WOW was heavily edited, and the idea of 'what settings did you use' is completely pointless, as they were the setting that were right for that point in time, and they might not work for you. Also, everything is heavily photoshopped. Whatever you camera spits out is going to be fairly bland and lacking in contrast unless you find miraculous light (that we don't tend to get in the UK, too many grey skies)
bobski1 said:
Just invested in a Nikon D3300 & wondering if people have some good websites with DSLR tips/tricks. Want to actually learn how to use it properly not a auto mode point & shoot type.
Hi, I started out by looking for help online, via instructions or YouTube videos. I ended up on Karl Taylor's website where he offers a series of short videos that are very useful. They were so good I ended up buying his masterclass DVD course which j still refer o for hints and advice. There is a wealth of information on YouTube too, I suggest you look for things like "beginners photography advice" . You should check out depth of field as well as above suggestion.. Once you have the basics in your head ( a couple hours) get out in the field and practice practice practice, trying different thInge. Eg try depth of field by using papers true priority, try capturing a moving car by using speed priority, keep on going until you get a hang on the camera basic controls.
My suggestion is walk first as it will really help you run.
Best of luck with it, if it grabs you your wallet will forever be open!
When I read the title I have to admit to getting a bit nostalgic.
This will be a most enjoyable time for you. I'd suggest experimenting a while before following instructions. Get it wrong, get it right. Get it different. It is not as if you have to pay for film, developing and printing nowadays.
If you want to take specific types of photographs, such as sports, macro, landscapes, birds, then there are things you need to know, but keep it basic.
I went to a camera club and found most of them only too willing to help, especially with cropping and the mechanical side of developing and printing.
It was real fun.
I'm glad the man in the shop I bought my first camera from wouldn't take it back just because my girlfriend wouldn't pose in the nude.
This will be a most enjoyable time for you. I'd suggest experimenting a while before following instructions. Get it wrong, get it right. Get it different. It is not as if you have to pay for film, developing and printing nowadays.
If you want to take specific types of photographs, such as sports, macro, landscapes, birds, then there are things you need to know, but keep it basic.
I went to a camera club and found most of them only too willing to help, especially with cropping and the mechanical side of developing and printing.
It was real fun.
I'm glad the man in the shop I bought my first camera from wouldn't take it back just because my girlfriend wouldn't pose in the nude.
bobski1 said:
Just invested in a Nikon D3300 & wondering if people have some good websites with DSLR tips/tricks. Want to actually learn how to use it properly not a auto mode point & shoot type.
No need to look any further than the guys and gals on PH who have a wealth of knowledge and wisdom, I've learned a ton of stuff from them for which I am eternally grateful 
A close 2nd comes YouTube which is fantastic especially if you type in 'Nikon D3300' and 'tutorial', although you may end up watching something completely unrelated by the end of the evening and wonder how the hell you got there!
Talking of YouTube tutorials take a look at https://www.youtube.com/user/WeeklyImogen/videos or that Nikon Guy Matt Granger https://www.youtube.com/user/thatnikonguy
Incidentally, what lenses did you buy with the D3300?
rich888 said:
No need to look any further than the guys and gals on PH who have a wealth of knowledge and wisdom, I've learned a ton of stuff from them for which I am eternally grateful
A close 2nd comes YouTube which is fantastic especially if you type in 'Nikon D3300' and 'tutorial', although you may end up watching something completely unrelated by the end of the evening and wonder how the hell you got there!
Talking of YouTube tutorials take a look at https://www.youtube.com/user/WeeklyImogen/videos or that Nikon Guy Matt Granger https://www.youtube.com/user/thatnikonguy
Incidentally, what lenses did you buy with the D3300?
I agree, both Weekly Imogen and Matt Granger are worth viewing. You'll probably spend more time watching Weekly Imogen A close 2nd comes YouTube which is fantastic especially if you type in 'Nikon D3300' and 'tutorial', although you may end up watching something completely unrelated by the end of the evening and wonder how the hell you got there!
Talking of YouTube tutorials take a look at https://www.youtube.com/user/WeeklyImogen/videos or that Nikon Guy Matt Granger https://www.youtube.com/user/thatnikonguy
Incidentally, what lenses did you buy with the D3300?
Biggest tip I can give you is don't buy cheap lenses, there's a reason some cost £150 and some cost £1500, buy the best you can afford and don't be scared of buying used, photographers are a fickle lot so upgrading is constant
A 50mm 1.8 is an excellent starter lens to get you into depth of field which is that effect you see where the subject is in focus but the background is blurred making the subject stand out
A 50mm 1.8 is an excellent starter lens to get you into depth of field which is that effect you see where the subject is in focus but the background is blurred making the subject stand out
I am in the same position as you - have just bought my first DSLR (Pentax KS-1) and am determined to use it "properly" and not as an expensive point and shoot.
I have found Mike Browne's You Tube videos tremendously helpful for explaining exposure, depth of field , focal lengths and the various trade offs that must be made. I have copied some of his exercises and the difference that tweaking a few settings can make is startling.
I am taking a lot of photos at the moment and deleting them after reviewing them on the laptop. Taking a few shots of the same subject while altering various settings is for me the best way to learn. It's fun!
I have found Mike Browne's You Tube videos tremendously helpful for explaining exposure, depth of field , focal lengths and the various trade offs that must be made. I have copied some of his exercises and the difference that tweaking a few settings can make is startling.
I am taking a lot of photos at the moment and deleting them after reviewing them on the laptop. Taking a few shots of the same subject while altering various settings is for me the best way to learn. It's fun!
The D3300 comes with a built in guide, if you get stuck then refer to it, its surprisingly helpful 
When you start taking pictures, shoot in full auto first (though do not rely on full auto, you can and should change your preference to shutter or aperture priority). Auto will take a photo and it will be ok, not outstanding but will give you a look in how the camera balances the aperture/shutter/iso, then play with those settings to see how you can change the same picture on the next one you take and the effects it has.
When you start taking pictures, shoot in full auto first (though do not rely on full auto, you can and should change your preference to shutter or aperture priority). Auto will take a photo and it will be ok, not outstanding but will give you a look in how the camera balances the aperture/shutter/iso, then play with those settings to see how you can change the same picture on the next one you take and the effects it has.
rich888 said:
No need to look any further than the guys and gals on PH who have a wealth of knowledge and wisdom, I've learned a ton of stuff from them for which I am eternally grateful
A close 2nd comes YouTube which is fantastic especially if you type in 'Nikon D3300' and 'tutorial', although you may end up watching something completely unrelated by the end of the evening and wonder how the hell you got there!
Talking of YouTube tutorials take a look at https://www.youtube.com/user/WeeklyImogen/videos or that Nikon Guy Matt Granger https://www.youtube.com/user/thatnikonguy
Incidentally, what lenses did you buy with the D3300?
I have bought Nikon D3300 body onlyA close 2nd comes YouTube which is fantastic especially if you type in 'Nikon D3300' and 'tutorial', although you may end up watching something completely unrelated by the end of the evening and wonder how the hell you got there!
Talking of YouTube tutorials take a look at https://www.youtube.com/user/WeeklyImogen/videos or that Nikon Guy Matt Granger https://www.youtube.com/user/thatnikonguy
Incidentally, what lenses did you buy with the D3300?
Sigma 18-250mm lens
I debated for a while about what to buy but settled on that as best value in my very limited opinion. Was the best within my budget and it comes with Macro feature so I think it is a good walk around lens which is what I need at the moment.
Really appreciate all the help/tips. I plan to get the camera & just go out and shoot, play & experiment with it first. Will then start to research various tips/tricks.
Have already started looking at car photographers on Flickr and seeing what settings but for the moment most of it is a little over my head, prefer to do & see what each setting does rather than words on a screen on wikipedia
Edited by bobski1 on Monday 21st December 10:37
Xmas project - I think the photos I found most fun learning about were long exposures - light trails are *really* easy once you have the knack!
Find somewhere in town with a decent view and a road in the foreground - closer is better.
Shoot at dusk/night - you need low light, handy as there's plenty of that about at this time of year.
You need something solid to put the camera on (any walls/bins/street furniture good) or a tripod (table-top ones are great).
Turn on the shutter delay (so it fires a second or so after you click the shutter).
Put the camera in shutter priority and play about shooting with 5 to 10 second exposures.
Marvel at the pretty light trails!
It's a good intro into how shutter speed affects motion in shot - and looks awesome on your wall
You'll notice that to let you shoot with a slow shutter, the camera will have stopped down the aperture a lot. If it bumps the ISO up loads, manually set it lower (e.g. 200 or 400), you'll be less likely to blow out highlights and not get an aperture *too* small.
If the shot comes out too light/dark, use your exposure compensation to make it brighter/darker...you can go to manual but it's easier to limit the number of things you're changing.
If the camera's not stable enough you'll get a fuzzy image and wobbly light trails.
Find somewhere in town with a decent view and a road in the foreground - closer is better.
Shoot at dusk/night - you need low light, handy as there's plenty of that about at this time of year.
You need something solid to put the camera on (any walls/bins/street furniture good) or a tripod (table-top ones are great).
Turn on the shutter delay (so it fires a second or so after you click the shutter).
Put the camera in shutter priority and play about shooting with 5 to 10 second exposures.
Marvel at the pretty light trails!
It's a good intro into how shutter speed affects motion in shot - and looks awesome on your wall
You'll notice that to let you shoot with a slow shutter, the camera will have stopped down the aperture a lot. If it bumps the ISO up loads, manually set it lower (e.g. 200 or 400), you'll be less likely to blow out highlights and not get an aperture *too* small.
If the shot comes out too light/dark, use your exposure compensation to make it brighter/darker...you can go to manual but it's easier to limit the number of things you're changing.
If the camera's not stable enough you'll get a fuzzy image and wobbly light trails.
Focus as in sharpness or focus as in put together nicely with a focal point to show you what you're supposed to be looking at?
If the first, it could be the lens, it could be your technique, it could be that your hands are a wobbly mess and your shutter speed was way too slow. It might be that you had manual focus on. Or that you were too close for the lens to get focus accurately but you've got the camera set to capture when you press the shutter.
Or it could be that you don't know how to compose photos. There might not actually be a 'good photo' in the scene you're looking at.
Depends what you mean - example photos might help.
If the first, it could be the lens, it could be your technique, it could be that your hands are a wobbly mess and your shutter speed was way too slow. It might be that you had manual focus on. Or that you were too close for the lens to get focus accurately but you've got the camera set to capture when you press the shutter.
Or it could be that you don't know how to compose photos. There might not actually be a 'good photo' in the scene you're looking at.
Depends what you mean - example photos might help.
There is nothing wrong with using the auto modes on your dslr, don't get hung up with the "you're not a proper photographer unless you use Manual" garbage...
Having said that, it's important to understand the exposure triangle.
This was the first on the list when I googled it:
http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/2015/04/15/the-e...
but there will be tons of other sites / tutorials / videos on it.
Put very basically, you have 3 controls:
1. Shutter speed - the longer it is, the more light is let in, but conversely the longer the shutter speed, the greater the chance of blur (motion blur or camera shake).
2. Aperture - the larger the aperture (with to confuse you is the smaller number. f2.8 is a larger "hole" than f16) the more light is let in. However, the larger the hole the smaller the depth of field (area in focus)
3. ISO - This is akin to film speed in the old days. The bigger the number, the greater the sensitivity (so you can have smaller apertures or faster shutter speeds) but as you increase the ISO the image will become noisier (grainy and eventually less sharp).
You have to balance all three of these to get the image the way you want it.
So, you then might want to use the shutter or aperture priority modes to set one of these to the value you want and let the camera take care of the other too. This is a creative decision that you will need to take.
Useful tips.
I'll chime in with these ones...
(1) Try to keep your shutter speed to "1/focal length", this will help to avoid camera shake (and hence blur)
Your Nikon is a "Crop" sensor camera, with a crop factor of 1.5 (compared to a full frame camera)
So... If you're shoting with a focal length of 50mm, you should aim to keep your shutter speed at 1/(50x1.5) or 1/75th of a second
(2) If you want to get motion blur in the background, you need to learn to pan with the moving subject (I'm guessing car ) You will want to reduce the shutter speed slowly (start high and work your way down as you improve).
And take lots of shots. Even the professional togs throw away a large proportion of the panning shots they take, so don't get disheartened if you only get 1 in 50 sharp (digital pixels cost nothing unlike film).
(3) It's (normally) better to get a sharp noisy picture than a blured out of focus shot that has no noise.
Having said that, it's important to understand the exposure triangle.
This was the first on the list when I googled it:
http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/2015/04/15/the-e...
but there will be tons of other sites / tutorials / videos on it.
Put very basically, you have 3 controls:
1. Shutter speed - the longer it is, the more light is let in, but conversely the longer the shutter speed, the greater the chance of blur (motion blur or camera shake).
2. Aperture - the larger the aperture (with to confuse you is the smaller number. f2.8 is a larger "hole" than f16) the more light is let in. However, the larger the hole the smaller the depth of field (area in focus)
3. ISO - This is akin to film speed in the old days. The bigger the number, the greater the sensitivity (so you can have smaller apertures or faster shutter speeds) but as you increase the ISO the image will become noisier (grainy and eventually less sharp).
You have to balance all three of these to get the image the way you want it.
So, you then might want to use the shutter or aperture priority modes to set one of these to the value you want and let the camera take care of the other too. This is a creative decision that you will need to take.
Useful tips.
I'll chime in with these ones...
(1) Try to keep your shutter speed to "1/focal length", this will help to avoid camera shake (and hence blur)
Your Nikon is a "Crop" sensor camera, with a crop factor of 1.5 (compared to a full frame camera)
So... If you're shoting with a focal length of 50mm, you should aim to keep your shutter speed at 1/(50x1.5) or 1/75th of a second
(2) If you want to get motion blur in the background, you need to learn to pan with the moving subject (I'm guessing car
) You will want to reduce the shutter speed slowly (start high and work your way down as you improve).And take lots of shots. Even the professional togs throw away a large proportion of the panning shots they take, so don't get disheartened if you only get 1 in 50 sharp (digital pixels cost nothing unlike film).
(3) It's (normally) better to get a sharp noisy picture than a blured out of focus shot that has no noise.
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