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Troutfisher710

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Gary
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Hi
This is my first post so please be gentle.
I am totally and I mean totally new to photography, I have a long standing love of nature, wildlife and travel. BUT I have never thought until now about recording my outings/sightings.
I have bought a Nikon D60 as a starter unit and will be adding a Tamron 70-300 lens for distance work. As with any other hobby I have tried to do my homework and have read a few books including Bryan Petersons Understanding exposure. I have not yet had time to get out with my camera and shoot seriously but thought I would post on here for a start and get some tips.:D

So my first post is really a question, I have done my homework and tried to learn the basics before going out and making silly mistakes and building bad habits but,

What 3 pieces of advice would you suggest are the building blocks for continued enjoyment and development of my photographic skills?



Gary:)

Oh dear wrong place, never saw the welcome thread sorry:thumbsdown:
 
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Hi Gary. Welcome to TP.

You'll get loads and loads of sound advice on this forum, helped me immensely when first starting out.

I'd say that firstly YouTube is your friend (for the most part). Loads of really good, basic tutorials on there about the relationship between Shutter Speed, Aperture, ISO etc. Search for a guy called Jared Polin - he has some really good tutorials and speaks plain English.

Secondly don't get hung up on kit. You can do some amazing stuff with almost any body/lens combo.

Thirdly try and get out and about when the light is nice and flattering (early morning or late evening). You'll hear this a lot but its all about the right light!! :)

Most of all enjoy yourself :thumbs:
 
I'd say, don't beat yourself up learning technical stuff at the expense of having fun.

It depends if you want to just record what you're seeing or want to create photographs I suppose. If you're happy recording places and things, it doesn't take much effort.

However, if you want to take beautiful photographs, then you have to learn the importance of light. What you capture in a photograph is the light reflected off the subject. Dramatic, serene, welcoming, or awesome light is much less common than dull, flat and boring light (in the UK).

Too many photographers think they can capture 'something' with no thought about the light. They're left disappointed with no understanding of why:cuckoo:

They think we're pretentious when we say "it's all about the light", then they go away and try to make it better in Photoshop, and when they fail, they know its because they're rubbish with Photoshop :lol:.
 
Thanks for the replies.
As a keen angler I appreciate the times of day which give the best light, although I never thought them important in photography. My own favourite is the stillness and tranquility of first light and dawn at all times of the year. I can see the beauty in a lot of areas and the opportunity for stunning sights ready for capture on camera. Many times I have wished I could wrap up the beauty and presence of those first few hours along with the sights in nature you seldom see during broad daylight.
Looking forward to sharing my journey with you fellow shooters.
Gary:)
 
Troutfisher710 said:
Thanks for the replies.
As a keen angler I appreciate the times of day which give the best light, although I never thought them important in photography. My own favourite is the stillness and tranquility of first light and dawn at all times of the year. I can see the beauty in a lot of areas and the opportunity for stunning sights ready for capture on camera. Many times I have wished I could wrap up the beauty and presence of those first few hours along with the sights in nature you seldom see during broad daylight.
Looking forward to sharing my journey with you fellow shooters.
Gary:)
Click to expand...
Excellent, most new shooters go out on 'day trips' with the family at 10.00 and go home at 4.00 and have to 'fit the photography in' and can't understand why it's bland.
 
3 pieces of advice? Practice, practice and thirdly, practice.
 
I have taken some nice photo's alongside anglers in the dawn light.
I would say take a tripod if you are going to photograph in the early or late hours is essential whether you are shooting landscapes or wildlife.
 
Phil V said:
They think we're pretentious when we say "it's all about the light",
Click to expand...

They'll think I'm even more pretentious when I mention that the word "photography" is derived from the Greek words "photos", for "light", and graphos" for "drawing".

Even the word itself says it's all about the light!
 
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Hi Gary, welcome to TP! :)

3 quick things I can think of:

Spend time learning what ISO, aperture and shutter speed are, how they each affect the image and how they work together. Getting the photo to come across as you want it to relies on an understanding of these three things and their relationship with each other, so time spent properly familiarising yourself with them will help enormously. As you're shooting digital I'll also tag learn what the histogram is, how to read and how to use it when shooting. Digital can be a bit of an unforgiving beast and you sometimes need to stick within fairly set technical limits to get the best out of it. All this sounds daunting but it really isn't once you start getting the hang of it. :)

Second, realise that mistakes are awesome things and there's no need to be afraid of making them. Unless you're on a paid or otherwise serious shoot screwing things up is invaluable because learning what doesn't work is just as valuable as learning what does. Embrace mistakes and learn from them rather than beating yourself up over them.

Third, be whatever you want to be as a photographer and do whatever feels right to you. Take ideas from others and even steal them if you want, but try shoot for yourself and develop your own way of seeing things rather than trying to emulate someone else's.

That's all I can think of for now, look forward to seeing your images! :)
 
Dunno about three but I can think of two...

Really look at the subject and what you see though the camera as that's going to be the image.

And...

Check your camera settings.

Thought of another... Be willing to both spend time on an image post capture and also know when it's time to stop fiddling with it.
 
I suppose from my point of view it would be:
Patience
Understand your lighting
Use the M button

:)
 
1) go out and take pictures..

2) go out and take some more pictures

3) when you have done 1) and 2) then go out and take pictures.


Seriosuly.. I tried to learn reading books and looking everyhting up.. hopefully you can pick up things quicker then me (most can) But I really didn't learn anything until I started taking pictures.. I am still learning.. we all are.. but you absoloutly 100% learn more taking pics than any other way... one night a week wont hack it.. take your camera everywhere. trial and error.
 
On the Huh said:
3 pieces of advice? Practice, practice and thirdly, practice.
Click to expand...

KIPAX said:
1) go out and take pictures..

2) go out and take some more pictures

3) when you have done 1) and 2) then go out and take pictures.


Seriosuly.. I tried to learn reading books and looking everyhting up.. hopefully you can pick up things quicker then me (most can) But I really didn't learn anything until I started taking pictures.. I am still learning.. we all are.. but you absoloutly 100% learn more taking pics than any other way... one night a week wont hack it.. take your camera everywhere. trial and error.
Click to expand...

this - whilst I love reading, I am dreadful at learning from books [or web pages, etc]. Very much a hands on learner. As someone said earlier, make the most of the mistakes, you will learn as much from those as you will from the successes. If you can learn from just reading, that great, but test out what you have learnt, see how it works in the real world and what effects different settings have on the same scene in front of you.

Most of all - enjoy it! :thumbs:
 
First of all, like many others here, I truly believe that a large part of good photography
is all about light. When is the best times (generally nearer the beginning or end of a day rather then midday), how to use lights to best effect etc.
If you were to buy one book, let it be about lighting. However, do peruse the book before you buy it to ensure that it is addressing your appropriate level and equipment requirements - I know this because I have made this mistake.
Secondly, whenever you see a good picture (defined as one that you really like), try to work out how it was taken, what the settings, equipment and lighting conditions might have been. Then try and do similar - this will help you to learn a lot.
Finally, when you are taking a shot, then try and take it with different settings on the camera and then see how the results change. Pictures often carry something called exif data (google of search for it on this forum to find out more) which will tell you the settings used for that picture and more. Many pictures on this forum contain that data for you to read. Doing this will help you learn, grow and get more from photography.
Most of all, enjoy it.
 
My advice would be:

1. If the weather is bad shoot still life indoors. The subject does not move and you can control lighting (use reflectors or something to block light from certain directions), grouping (is 1 object better than 2 or 3 etc), placement (triangular, in a row etc), depth of field (practice with different apertures), colour (what colours work together and which clash) and so on.

2. Take a piece of card (A6 or A5 size) and cut out a rectangular hole the same ratio as your sensor. Hold it up and look through it, you should notice things (particularly at the edges) that you miss when looking through a viewfinder. Hold it near your eyes for a wide angle view and at arms length for a telephoto view. You may think that you look stupid doing this but don't worry - you will look stupid :D. Hopefully you will get better pictures though.

3. When people go on about the exposure triangle, Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO (which does not control exposure but allows you to change the first 2 which do set the exposure) think about the exposure square instead :) Aperture, Shutter Speed, ISO & Light. You can change the light with your camera by adding a flash or you can add external lights but you can also add reflectors, shades (opaque or translucent), change your position, wait for better light or take a reference picture and return at a better time.

Above all enjoy it and don't spend too long on Forums :D
 
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danny_bhoy said:
Hi Gary. Welcome to TP.

You'll get loads and loads of sound advice on this forum, helped me immensely when first starting out.

I'd say that firstly YouTube is your friend (for the most part). Loads of really good, basic tutorials on there about the relationship between Shutter Speed, Aperture, ISO etc. Search for a guy called Jared Polin - he has some really good tutorials and speaks plain English.

Secondly don't get hung up on kit. You can do some amazing stuff with almost any body/lens combo.

Thirdly try and get out and about when the light is nice and flattering (early morning or late evening). You'll hear this a lot but its all about the right light!! :)

Most of all enjoy yourself :thumbs:
Click to expand...

Whilst having had my camera for a couple of years, I still consider myself a complete beginner, but I'd have to agree with these points.

Youtube has been fantastic for me. Watch videos about your model of camera and learn how it works. Yep the basics of taking photos are super important, but it makes it easier if you know exactly how to operate your camera.

And really, really, really try not to get camera/lens envy. It should be way down the list of priorities. Stop getting camera envy. Just stop it.

(Think I may have been trying to convince myself in that last paragraph!!)
 
KIPAX said:
1) go out and take pictures..

2) go out and take some more pictures

3) when you have done 1) and 2) then go out and take pictures.
Click to expand...

This :)

Try to put one technique that you're reading about into practice at a time and don't overload yourself with kit when you go out. I've made the mistake of going out with a selection of lenses and a couple of bodies so that I'm sure I can cover all eventualities, only to spend most of my time thinking about changing lens or using the other body and ending up missing the picture I wanted. Keep it simple.

Once you've learned a technique or a 'rule', try breaking it to see what happens. You might end up with a whole load of images that you're unhappy with but at least you know why that technique is recommended.

After you've taken your picture, walk around the subject and see if there are alternative angles or the light and shadows are different depending on where you're looking from. Don't be worried about standing on walls or laying flat on the ground, try it and see what you think. This might be easier to do if you have live view and aren't taking street portraits, admittedly.
 
My Eureka moment..

I had read all I could online.. asked all the questions and was still struggling.. My problem was that i did't even understand some of the stuff/termonology in the answers... It was all geting a bit much. I was advised to keep taking it in as one day it would click (pun)

I was at a funfair wiht my kids. they got on the big boat swing. sat on the end seats.. I took a picture all smiles and waving..looked great.. the boat started to swing and got higher.. So I took a picture of them high up at tip of boat but the scene was mostly sky..... erk..it was just a black blob and a clear blue sky... Pic was great on floor.. but up in sky terrible..

So I looked at the settings from below.. put the camera in manual (scarey moment first time ever) and took a picture as they rocked up into the sky .... Much better,, I then changed a couple of things and EUREKA! Everyhting clicked into place.. i suddenly knew what i was doing and what caused what ... It...was ...well it just was :)

The big thing I realised was.... the camera isn't as clever I thought it was... In fact it's a bit dumb..
 
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