Starter kit learning stuff. He

[Dogmatix]

Hey all.

I'm new to photography, and want to learn as much as possable.

I have a "Nikon D5000 for dummies" book, which has helpped me
amazingly!

Yeh. I have a D5000.

But I want to learn more how to actually see a picture and how to capture it.
Can anyone recommend any decent books or
DVDs I could purchase?

Also, what sorta, photo editing software would be ideal for sorting out flaws and tweaking a few things, and letting me
do hdr and raw editing?

Cheers all.

 

[philthejuggler]

Hiya & welcome to the forum.

I would recommend the book 'The photographer's eye' by Michael Freeman to help with composition / seeing pictures.

Software I would say, Adobe Lightroom for collecting, organising and doing basic / intermediate editing to images. I use Lightroom alongside Photoshop Elements for more complex editing where you need to use layers. Photomatix is the best HDR software as far as I can tell.

HTH

Phil

 

[wrx_dazza]

I picked up a little book called "The Photo Book" published by Phaidon

it contains 500 images of everything with a paragraph of text about the photographer, the image and the composition/thoughts etc.

probably not exactly what you're after, but a great reference book and i think it was only about £5 from Waterstones IIRC
i keep picking it up and flicking through it, hoping something will sink in !!! lol

 

[Dogmatix]

Alot of people talk about elements, what's the better out of paintshop pro x2 and elements?

I was thinking if getting "colins complete photography corse" but it's out of stock with amazon :-(

 

[wrx_dazza]

I was thinking if getting "colins complete photography corse" but it's out of stock with amazon :-(

play.com have them

 

[Dogmatix]

Nah still out of stock there too, but Play.com had a few other books which seemed interesting and cheaper, so I've got it on back order

 

[mickdaniel]

First of, it's important to remember that photography = 20% gear + 80% you. Your camera doesn't make you an artist. Your creativity does. So focus on developing your vision, read great photography books, look at inspiring photography. For photography books, photography.pro is a great resource to start with. For a "tell all book", see Photography by Barbara London. It's a very comprehensive textbook. For "tips and tricks" book go with The Digital Photography Book by Scott Kelby.