Give one piece of advice.

Remember to reset your ISO after each session! Don't end up shooting long exposures at ISO1000 like I did!
 
If you can look before you shoot. I am a big believer it that. I seen lots of times people grabbing their cameras and just shooting.

I keep my camera beside me look at all the angles plan the shot first, by the time my camera comes to my eye I have the shot in my mind. When time is not critical I the last to shoot in a group but often come up with different and better angles.

I guess its a through back to shooting film. I would also segest people go out and shoot with looking at the shots as they shoot. Shoot manual and try to nail a netters % each time. It makes you think and learn how things work. I see lots of people taking shots to see what its gaining to look like because they don't know what it will look like.
 
Some good advice here.

I'm new to all this DSLR photography stuff, but my advice would be don't take any photos until you've looked at things through your own eyes first. I have been some on the most wonderful holidays to places like Iceland and the Galapagos Islands, and I swear that some of my fellow tourists saw nothing, but what they saw through their camera lenses.

I think this makes not only for diminuation of the whole experience, but also for the potential to miss some wonderful shots (because you didn't see them in your view finder!).
 
a tip for all you budding wildlife photographers
the breast of a bird is on the same focal plain as the eyes if you have difficulty focusing on the eye the breast makes a much larger target
 
cosmicma said:
a tip for all you budding wildlife photographers
the breast of a bird is on the same focal plain as the eyes if you have difficulty focusing on the eye the breast makes a much larger target
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You must be looking at some very odd birds, or maybe it's me. This one doesn't seem to fit the spec at all. ;)

20120802_115300_2664_LR.jpg


Now that's a goose step!

:coat:
 
When you post an image on here for critique, don't throw your toys out of the pram when someone says they don't like it.
 
Get a prime lens
Then have fun leaning backwards and into strange places to get the shot
 
If you have kids use a decent camera for those moments you want to capture for ever, not a lousy mobile phone.
 
shoot in just Black & White for 6 months & learn to start looking at the Light :thumbs:
 
Plan to improve one thing at a time so you can understand its effect and when to apply or mot apply it in the future.
 
Have an idea of what you want before pressing the shutter :thumbs:
 
As I'm very much an amateur, bitter experience has already taught me to buy more than one memory card. When you take one out of the camera to process your images, stick the other one in straight away.

A "No memory card inserted" message as you try and take a pic can make you cry. :D

Another zen like one would be, take pictures of what you want to capture, not what you think you should be capturing.
 
alltaken said:
As I'm very much an amateur, bitter experience has already taught me to buy more than one memory card. When you take one out of the camera to process your images, stick the other one in straight away.
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When I remove a memory card I always leave the card door open so that when I go to pick the camera up I am reminded that it needs the card to be inserted. I do the same thing for batteries whilst they are on charge - just leave the battery door open with the camera resting on its side and no tears later.
 
A good photo is 80% the subject and the light, 20% the photographer making the most of it. You can shift those ratios around a bit, but without a good subject you'll always struggle.

The quality of the camera/lens makes very little difference. In some situations, a flash gun used with knowledge and skill can make a big difference, by improving the light. Whereas a few more pixels or a lens that's a smidgin sharper around the edges will make no visible improvement to anyone except the person that has just spent several hundred quid on it.
 
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if all else fails delete and try again.

(some really good tips in here though)

also never press the zoom button more than twice when you are reviewing photos
 
Exposure settings are not really "settings", they're controls.
 
One thing that I've learned in a very short time. There's absolutely no hurry to go out and buy an expensive new lens. Get to grips with the camera first, and learn the limitations of the kit lens and decide where you want to go with your photography and what you'll need to get there. Which is really what I need to do.

I bought a 55-300mm weeks after buying the camera only to find that it's the kit lens that gets used more often than anything at the moment.
 
Although im an amateur with a camera, I've got a lot of knowledge in recording, production and musical equipment and playing. My most hated phrase is 'we'll fix it in the mix'. In my experience, fixing mistakes with editing instead of getting it right from the off is not only lazy, but produces very compromised results. Use editing to make a great image amazing, not bring poor work up to par!
 
In any scene pay as much attention to the things you are not photographing as you do those you are, and

camera manufacturers do not write the manual because they have time on their hands. Read it and then time spent asking, "how do I set .... on my camera", can be spent taking photos.


Dave
 
Point the camera down if changing lenses, helps prevent dust getting onto the sensor


Realspeed
 
For beginners set up and practice in a controlled environment. Set up targets and hook your camera to a laptop. The full screen will let you see how your small adjustments effect the outcome. This will give you a good lesson on dof and focus points. Ultimately giving you more control of of your photography .
 
Find an image you love...find several. Find the photographer that took them. Ask them questions on their use of light, composition and content. Apply it to your own work but try not to copy them. Not all guys will entertain the idea but many will. Be polite, be patient, be yourself.
 
higgeh said:
also never press the zoom button more than twice when you are reviewing photos
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Why?

When I'm setting a shot up I'll zoom all the way in to make sure I've got sufficient depth of field and everything is sharp front to back.

Much better to check to that level whilst in the field than when I get home and can't reshoot.
 
He said when you are reviewing the picture you have taken. Don't pixel peep. Anyway I wouldn't be using the preview screen for that anyway.
 
Dexy101 said:
He said when you are reviewing the picture you have taken. Don't pixel peep. Anyway I wouldn't be using the preview screen for that anyway.
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So if you were in my shoes, on a beach at 5am for sunrise and didn't want to use the preview screen to check a shot is sharp front to back (important when printing big) how would you check? Bring a laptop and shoot tethered? Up to my knees in seawater?
 
Remember to look at the whole frame, not just the bit you're focussing on.
 
markmullen said:
So if you were in my shoes, on a beach at 5am for sunrise and didn't want to use the preview screen to check a shot is sharp front to back (important when printing big) how would you check? Bring a laptop and shoot tethered? Up to my knees in seawater?
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I hate to confess but I am rubbish at scenery. Surely setting a small aperture will give you front to back focus (a little simplified but you know what I mean). Surely doing that with a good lens will negate the need to zoom in close?
I always work on the principal that the camera screen lies like a cheap Japanese watch...
 
Al Brum said:
I always work on the principal that the camera screen lies like a cheap Japanese watch...
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:agree:

Unless I've completely missed the focus I have learnt never delete a photo until you've checked it on a big screen! There have been a few photos that I nearly deleted in camera but didn't and they were actually the best shot of the day:bonk:
 
Al Brum said:
I hate to confess but I am rubbish at scenery. Surely setting a small aperture will give you front to back focus (a little simplified but you know what I mean). Surely doing that with a good lens will negate the need to zoom in close?
I always work on the principal that the camera screen lies like a cheap Japanese watch...
Click to expand...

In theory that would work, just wang it on f22 and everything will be sharp but that doesn't take into account defraction at tiny apertures and also the sweet spot that usually comes in around f8-f11. As such I need to confirm that I have sufficient DoF to cover from the nearest foreground interest to the furthest background. I do this by zooming in on the preview.
 
Not read the whole post but my advice would be:

Fill flash is a trick worth learning.
 
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