can someone help a newbie out please lol.

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xsjado-man

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Ross
Edit My Images
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been using my canon 400D for a while, but i feel im not getting the best out of it, i might aswell use a point and shoot i swear.

im going to take some shots of a few wild Horses in the next few days, and i could really do with some tips to get them looking there best. im wondering if ALOT of great photos have to go through photoshop? if thats the case im stuff and best get learning lol.
 
If you're just using the camera in the automatic modes, I recommend you start playing about with Av (aperture priority) and Tv (shutter priority) modes and then fully manual.

I'd recommend a book, "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson, it's explains very well the relation between aperture, shutter speed and ISO, although the author goes on a bit about how much money he makes from shots etc, I found it an invaluable tool in understanding exactly how my camera works!
 
Do you want to capture the movement of the horses? Use a slower shutter speed and 'pan' along with the horses.
Do you want to freeze the movement of the horses? Use a faster shutter speed.

Do you want to isolate the horses from their background? Use a wide aperture (small f/ number, like f/4)
Do you want to get everything in focus? Use a small aperture like f/19.
 
The greatest boon to digital photography is the ability process the pics!

Yes, you can get some outstanding shots with no help afterwards, but the reality is that most pictures can use a little bit of help. Some contrast adjustments, a little saturation, adjust the white balance... little tweaks like that can turn a good picture into a great one.
 
The digital SLR Bible is quite a good book for starting off as well. I'll sell you them if your still looking (just need to get to 100 posts first lol).

But do use those AV and TV options.

How did the photoshoot with you kids go? Did you manage to get the blurred background?
 
try shutter priority for a start.you want a bare minimum of about 1/80th .if theyre moving , 125 or faster.
have a play with one shot and the other autofocus modes too.
if your shooting on .
if your running on program, then a point and shoot is exactly what your using.
 
When I recently upgraded from a bridge camera to a DSLR I started to have similar thoughts to yourself but I knew very well that the DSLR should in theory perform better than my previous camera.
What I had to do though in order to start seeing the benefits was to read as many reviews and user reports for the camera in an attempt to fully understand all the settings, what they do, and peoples preferred defaults.
For example the general opinion with my camera is that it produces better quality images with the Sharpness setting at -1 or -2 and the noise filter turned off. I now have my camera set up to suit and am now producing shots that im happy with.

This may sound stupid but Its almost as though you have to work harder with a DSLR than a point & shoot but the results are worth it when you get it right.
 
i have a book called the digital photography book that iv been looking at the past few days, but still confused lol. i spose its a case of going out and seeing how it goes, ill probs take 100 photos and end up with one good one.

Chriscrafter: im kinda getting ok with the blu back ground not as good as i want, but could be down to my lens (18-55mm standers canon lens)

preacher: well i best do my home work on photoshop. i find im good with making people in to zombies or making peopples eye colour change but when it comes to making good photo look better im rubbish at that lol.


thanks for the tips people. iv only been using a slr for a few weeks and already i want to shoot like a pro. GRRRR lol, just want some great photos for persnaly reasons not to make money. something i can look at and be like WOW.

foodpoison: thanks some good tips there ill be trying them out.
 
CarlukeDave said:
I'd recommend a book, "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson, it's explains very well the relation between aperture, shutter speed and ISO, although the author goes on a bit about how much money he makes from shots etc, I found it an invaluable tool in understanding exactly how my camera works!
Click to expand...

Yes, forgot to mention this book in my previous reply. Im am half way through it as we speak and it is very good.
 
inaneredstripe said:
try shutter priority for a start.you want a bare minimum of about 1/80th .if theyre moving , 125 or faster.
have a play with one shot and the other autofocus modes too.
if your shooting on .
if your running on program, then a point and shoot is exactly what your using.
Click to expand...

hey i use P mode alot when doing street photography unless theres something that wont move and i have time to just change the settings. is that kinda cheating?

im just trying find my feet i like all sorts of photograhy but trying find the one i love most.
 
The best way to learn is simply by practice.

Take the same photo using a range of extreme settings. look at how these settings each affected the overall result and look at the meta data to see what happened to the other settings.

e.g. AV F4.5, F16, F32 or TV 1/30, 1/125, 1,1000

Once you have a feel for what may happen you can then start to visualise how the image may appear before you take it. When you get this you can sort out your settings quicker.

When you read your book go out and trial the chapter you've just read before reading the next, and so on.

Things will look wrong at first BUT WILL get better as time goes on.

Just remember to have fun :thumbs:
 
chriscrafter said:
The best way to learn is simply by practice.

Take the same photo using a range of extreme settings. look at how these settings each affected the overall result and look at the meta data to see what happened to the other settings.

e.g. AV F4.5, F16, F32 or TV 1/30, 1/125, 1,1000
Click to expand...
Or if you want to do this without the hassle of going to pick up your camera, use the SimCam simulation.
 
I recently got a copy of 'Understanding Exposure, Revised Edition' for about £7.99. A really good book for beginners.

Comus
 
xsjado-man said:
ill probs take 100 photos and end up with one good one.
Click to expand...

That's the way it goes! Experimentation is the key. Read a bit in the book, then go and try it out.

I recently shot a kids' party where I took 390 photographs, only 108 of them were worth keeping and maybe a dozen were ones I was happy with.

The lighting was really wacky, too many folks in the way etc etc. I learned a lot and what I learned was not something you can read in a book.

Experiment! The books will give you some excellent technical knowledge, but learning how to apply that is up to you.
 
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