I've taken the plunge - any advice for a beginner?

B

bombfrog

Suspended / Banned
Messages
190
Edit My Images
Yes
So, I've finally upgraded to a DSLR and I know little more than how to point a camera at something and press a button. After much research and amazing help from some in the equipment forum I've ordered all of this lot today...

Canon EOS 50D
Tamron AF 17-50mm F2.8 XR Di II LD Lens
Canon EF 50 mm f/1.8 II Lens
SanDisk 16GB Extreme CF Card
UV filters for both lenses

I've already scoured the forums and I think I've learned a lot already but as I know you're a friendly bunch I thought I'd ask to see if anybody had any "top tips" for a beginner?

I know with my job (web design) that I can think of quite a few mistakes I made in my first couple of years and could save a beginner a lot of heartache with a few obvious things that I missed.

Bombfrog
 
dont try to master all at the beginning

choose a topic - seascapes? - take photos

post here - ask for advice about exposure, filters, grads etc

there's lotsa knowledge here to guide you
 
1. Understand your pictures may be worse to start off with than with a compact.
2. Stick it in AV mode with your 50mm. Practise DOF lots until you understand it.
3. Stick it in TV mode practise different speeds blurr v freezing movement
4. After understanding the above try manual for a bit, then use what you prefer!

Understanding Exposure book by Bryan Peterson worked for me, and many others for the above.

Take photos, post here, learn, improve, simples! Tutorials section here is useful as well.

Some people find the challenges section on here really helps develop you - you need some self motivation though!

Welcome and enjoy!

Al
 
I am just learning at Oxford Brooks, evening classes. Last night was DOF and I think I may have a grasp now. Once you get it, there is no turning back to auto!
 
Firstly extend your overdraft...

No really, what I would do would be put the 50mm lens on your camera (great combo BTW). Then practice put it in AV mode adjusting the ISO to see what effect has on your pictures. Next experiment with your aperture start of around f5.6. Move up to around f11 to get stuff sharp or down to f2 to get that blurry background effect!

Next experiment with shutter speeds...

Read the manual.

Read everything you can.

Practice and learn from your mistakes!
 
KISS - Keep It Simple, Stupid!

Have to agree with what's been said above; read, practice, then read and practice more - don't get downhearted if you don't get what you expect, it's all part of the process of knowing your equipment backwards, forwards, and inside out, and having a head full of information that you'll forget when you need it most... have fun. Sleep tight and watch the lens lust doesn't bite! :D
 
And the great thing with digital, is the "prints" are free. Take 1000s, delete 99% if they are crap, but learn from them
 
DekHog said:
Have to agree with what's been said above;
have fun. Sleep tight and watch the lens lust doesn't bite! :D
Click to expand...

:lol::lol: Sound advice too, especially this one :clap::clap: :thumbs:

Oh, and good luck, keep posting :wave:
 
akr said:
1. Understand your pictures may be worse to start off with than with a compact.
Click to expand...

Good point. I guess they will be worse to begin with as I switch from using auto most of the time. Hopefully having the live view should mean that I would be able to see if I was completely under/over exposing the shot etc but I'll probably take some pretty awful photos to begin with.
 
jmsjabb said:
And the great thing with digital, is the "prints" are free. Take 1000s, delete 99% if they are crap, but learn from them
Click to expand...


Oh I will,

If there was a way to keep the camera plugged in to the PC so I could immediately see the shot I'd taken then I'd just sit at my desk taking thousands of my living room to experiment with the different settings.
 
Start saving!

And avoid the temptation to keep buying gear unless you really need it. For example, I bought some filters, thinking I really need them, but I rarely ever take any landscape shots. Only minor, but I've looked at loads of lenses which I'm now glad I didn't buy, despite really wanting them at the time! A £1k+ lens won't help you take a better picture. Just a sharper one (although that seems to be the main driver for some).

Get to know what kind of pictures you enjoy taking, then take it from there.

Oh, and enjoy!
 
Some good advice. Im also a total rookie bombfrog. I work in IT also and the photoshop stuff is frazzling my brain at the mo. So much to learn! :bang:
God luck, wish I had the finances to purchase all that kit ***!:thumbs:
 
What ever you decide though, it seems so friendly on here, you can ask anything
 
I'm also new to this, and I found reading the manual made my eyes glaze over, so I downloaded it....So much easier to read than all that small print.;)

...Don't worry about a bag for that lovely 'stuff', best to keep it out and keep shooting.:thumbs: Have fun.
 
I printed the manual out A4, and re printed the 6 or 7 pages I needed to brush up on. I have these in a waterproof pouch to take everywhere to refer to if needed
 
bombfrog said:
Oh I will,

If there was a way to keep the camera plugged in to the PC so I could immediately see the shot I'd taken then I'd just sit at my desk taking thousands of my living room to experiment with the different settings.
Click to expand...

I believe you can do that with the canon 50d
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by bombfrog
Oh I will,

If there was a way to keep the camera plugged in to the PC so I could immediately see the shot I'd taken then I'd just sit at my desk taking thousands of my living room to experiment with the different settings.


I believe you can do that with the canon 50d
Click to expand...

Yes you can, its all on the CD that comes with the camera!!
 
jmsjabb said:
What ever you decide though, it seems so friendly on here, you can ask anything
Click to expand...

anything apart from advice on shooting your first wedding only a couple of months into the hobby :lol:
 
bombfrog said:
I thought I'd ask to see if anybody had any "top tips" for a beginner?
Click to expand...

I read this somewhere, ages ago so no link, but it might help. Find a landmark, something very commonly photographed, and take a pile of photos of it. Different angles, different styles (taking in all the different things you can vary - from different lenses to different settings) and then get home and go through them. Use the EXIF data to work out what was what, and then evaluate them properly - maybe a preset grid to fill out, or something simpler like "I should have stood two feet to the left, and the shutter speed was too slow" for instance. Work out why you like the good ones, and what's wrong with the bad ones.

Once you've done that, go on to Flickr (or similar) and search for photos other people have taken at the same place and do the same thing, apply exactly the same approach to theirs. Some should be better than yours, some will be worse - and it helps you to look at the same thing through different eyes.

It should all make you more aware of what you like, what you should be doing etc.
 
Hi,
Welcome!! + 1 for Understanding Exposure. Brilliant book, try things out see what works and what doesn't. Then figure out why. Practice practice and practise! Enjoy. Oh and be propared to have deep pockets, don't forget to post them on here, we will be gentle I promise.

Dunc
 
bombfrog said:
Hopefully having the live view should mean that I would be able to see if I was completely under/over exposing the shot etc
Click to expand...


I thought live view is just a continuous video signal from the sensor (I don't have live view on my camera), I doubt that it will tell you much about the exposure of a shot, it may tell you a bit about your brightness setting on your lcd though.

You need to look at the histogram after taking the shot to judge the exposure. Go find out about histograms sooner rather than later ;)

Camera metering systems are generally pretty good, unless you are confusing them with large differences in light levels in the shot (eg backlit subject). To start with use the built in metering by working in Av and Tv modes as akr suggested to learn what the other controls do. By the time you've worked out that lot you should also be beginning to understand how the camera has balanced the settings with its metering, you can then consider taking control of exposure by either offsetting the cameras metering (exposure compensation) or taking full control of metering yourself in Manual mode.

good luck
 
tdcist said:
Yes you can, its all on the CD that comes with the camera!!
Click to expand...
I have full control of the camera from my laptop, and can view the image on screen after the shot.
Canon 20D and Canon EOS viewer software, which came with the camera
 
From one newbie to another, I find the best thing is to take a million photos, find the ones I like and read on up on why the ones I don't like aren't so good.
There's so many tutorials and videos on the net, but nothing compares to actually getting your hands dirty yourself - well, I learn better via experience anyway.
Happy snapping!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top