my first camera

Caveman

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Name
Ben
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Just bought my first dslr after reading loads on here went for canon 500d
twin lens. loving it but totally clueless as to what iam doing but trying loads
of different settings but dont really know what they all mean yet. just wondering how to post pictures on here for advice thanks :help:
 
Welcome, Ben. When your bank balance has recovered a bit from the price of the DSLR, you might want to consider a book or two. The Digital Field Guide series is a good introduction to your camera, probably better than the manual; at least the version for my 40D was.

But the best book for learning photography, in my opinion but also the opinion of many others, is Bryan Peterson's Understanding Exposure. It teaches you the relationship between aperture, shutter speed, and ISO - the theoretical 'tripod' of photography. With this and the Field Guide (or your manual), you won't need to worry about the camera so much and you can just go out and keep shooting until you find your style.

Somewhere along the way you could also have a look at The Photographer's Eye by Michael Freeman, which basically deals with framing different kinds of subjects for different styles of photography, and The Photographer's Mind which is more about the different styles themselves.

You're already loving your camera but you may not yet realise just how much more fun you've got to come :)
 
Hi I just bought my very own camera e.g a Nikon D3100 with 18-55mm VR Lens, although I'm still a noob in terms of photography and definitely don't know how to use this thing also, anyone there who know how to use Nikon and also what type of lenses can I buy since I want to upgrade this also.
 
Don't forget that you can buy much more expanded and user friendly guides for your camera, and for cheap too. This Magic Lantern series book is a fiver at its cheapest on amazon and should give you a much better idea about what everything on your camera does and what its application is in real life.
 
Hi Ben, i was like yourself 6 months ago ,purchased a 500d with kit lens,i have since upgraded ,however my first purchase was a book titled understanding exposure by brian peterson (SIC) Not sure of the spelling, turned out to be very good,i also went for the photo magazines with the free cd with projects on.....i have found i have learnt from my mistakes and started using Manual mode , i always stuck with either TV or AV i still do in most situations , but in my oipinion once you start in manual you can actually see what all the settings do and how easy it is to change the photo,my first practice with manual was shooting the moon and changing f/stop shutter speed , iso untill i was happy with the result,i think what i am trying to say is eventually it all makes sense because in the begining thier is so much to take in and i must admit i have more respect for photographers who have been doing it for years because i can see now what makes a good picture ....
 
Welcome, Ben. When your bank balance has recovered a bit from the price of the DSLR, you might want to consider a book or two. The Digital Field Guide series is a good introduction to your camera, probably better than the manual; at least the version for my 40D was.

But the best book for learning photography, in my opinion but also the opinion of many others, is Bryan Peterson's Understanding Exposure. It teaches you the relationship between aperture, shutter speed, and ISO - the theoretical 'tripod' of photography. With this and the Field Guide (or your manual), you won't need to worry about the camera so much and you can just go out and keep shooting until you find your style.

Somewhere along the way you could also have a look at The Photographer's Eye by Michael Freeman, which basically deals with framing different kinds of subjects for different styles of photography, and The Photographer's Mind which is more about the different styles themselves.

You're already loving your camera but you may not yet realise just how much more fun you've got to come :)

Nice book list Garry. Thanks for taking the time.
A little search based on your info re 'Digital Field Guide' and I found one dedicated to the 550D which I have recently aquired.
 
Thanks loads every one will check them books out but your right waiting for bank balance to recover a bit. will have a look at camera labs web site too. cant belive only took six months before you upgraded den i am hopeing wont need to upgrade so quick. been having go on manual mode its just a job remebering what settings i had it on for the pictures i think are good takes time i guess and know what they all mean lol thanks again
 
Hi I just bought my very own camera e.g a Nikon D3100 with 18-55mm VR Lens, although I'm still a noob in terms of photography and definitely don't know how to use this thing also, anyone there who know how to use Nikon and also what type of lenses can I buy since I want to upgrade this also.

I have this camera as well. The manual is your friend - read it until you know what all the buttons do and then practise, practise, practise. Finding a camera buddy helps as well so that you can talk 'shop'. The book 'Nikon D3100 for Dummies' is good.
As far as I am aware, the kit lens is pretty good so you won't need to buy another lens while you are still 'learning' unless you want to specialise straight away in something like nature, portrait or macro etc.
Good luck!
 
I have this camera as well. The manual is your friend - read it until you know what all the buttons do and then practise, practise, practise. Finding a camera buddy helps as well so that you can talk 'shop'. The book 'Nikon D3100 for Dummies' is good.
As far as I am aware, the kit lens is pretty good so you won't need to buy another lens while you are still 'learning' unless you want to specialise straight away in something like nature, portrait or macro etc.
Good luck!

gee thanks Scots_quine, I almost forgot that I have a manual well forgive me for being ignorant, because of my excitement about this camera I forgot everything.

I am starting to explore what this camera can do and there is a amateur competition in our place and I am interested in joining, I'll posting some pictures soon to have your comments if it is good or not.

Thanks.
 
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