Totally new to the world of DSLR....

Paulmack

Paulmack

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Paul
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Hi guys,

Im looking for some help to get myself into the world of DSLR, in particular an understanding of the basics when shooting.

I have a Canon 40D and have read the manual cover to cover so I know what the buttons do but composing a pic is something totally different, understanding exposure, setting shutter speeds, aperture etc etc etc....feeling a little lost to be honest.

So then my question is where to begin? whats the first thing I need to understand to get started and would you recommend any reading material to do so?

I am only in this as a pure hobby to be able to take some great photos of my family as we grow so I am happy to take it slow, just dont know where to begin.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
 
Welcome Paul , in my limited experience i would suggest picking up the camera and just shot things around the house or garden get used the the way the camera feels , set the camera to P mode ( think its on the 40D ) and play , post results here let us see what they are like hope this helps
 
Hi Gary, thanks for the comments. I have played with the camera loads and give it a good run out recently but I just feel like im missing something, like the pics i take dont look as good as the many you see about on here.

The most of the pics i have been taking are of my poor little girl so when i have loaded a few up onto our family website will post a few for C&C.

Cheers

Gary Wood said:
Welcome Paul , in my limited experience i would suggest picking up the camera and just shot things around the house or garden get used the the way the camera feels , set the camera to P mode ( think its on the 40D ) and play , post results here let us see what they are like hope this helps
Click to expand...
 
The thing is Paul its a start we all have a different style and we do things different , your pics dont have to be the same or like the ones posted on here , PM me when you post i will have a look and try and help ok
 
I think most people think like that (I know I did). Most people aren't going to become the next David Bailey overnight - it's going to take lots of development & practice.

What I found was by posting a few images on here, getting feedback from the more experienced members and listening and learning to what was said that mine slowly improved. I wouldn't count myself as in the same league as some of the guys on here, but when I look back over my photos from the last 18 months or so, I feel they've improved.

Some of the improvements come from post-processing the image (e.g. in Photoshop or Lightroom) and some from taking a better shot in the first place.

So don't be shy and post a few, but don't be hurt by constructive criticism; listen and learn. But don't be surprised when different people have different opinions :)

Paul
 
to post images on here do i need to host them elsewhere or can i upload them straight onto here?
 
Its easier to host them on something like photobucket and then link to them.

I like am a relativ newbie to the tog world but the guys on here are fantastic and I feel that I have come on in leaps and bounds since joining.
 
Hi, and welcome. I would agree that it takes time to learn and that the advise here is second to none.

I believe you need to host your pictures elsewhere (I use Flickr) to post here (I may be wrong).:)
 
You can upload to your gallery on this site and then link to the images in a thread.
 
right i am trying to use photobucket but god is it slow....and im not even uploading yet!!
 
Right ok managed to get some up now.... Probably the best two I got so far

2584209375


2584201817
 
Can anyone see those pics as they aren't showing up to me?
 
ok well if that dont work i have tried putting a link in my signature to my flickr account so lets hope that works??
 
Tried using photobucket but it crashed constantly when I tried to stick some pics up so gave up and tried flickr which has worked fine but cant get pics to show on here now!! bad start to the night hey?

Gary Wood said:
Paul I use Photo bucket dead easy copy the link paste job done
Click to expand...
 
When you reply to or start a new thread you have a couple of rows of icons above your text.

Near the middle is the "Insert image" icon.

Click that and you will get a box where you have to put the address of the image into.
 
Ok I read the thread on rules of third and I kinda get it. Basically try and get the focus of the image away from the centre give it a purpose, lead the eye to wander instead of being the main and only focus??

Will take a look into the book, cheers!

marky_h said:
Composition-wise, I would highly recommend CT's Rule of Thirds guide. I found the book Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson to be very good too.

:eek:...where's my manners :( - welcome to TP :thumbs:
Click to expand...
 
Yeah thats what I am doing and the result is as above...odd??

hypnotic said:
When you reply to or start a new thread you have a couple of rows of icons above your text.

Near the middle is the "Insert image" icon.

Click that and you will get a box where you have to put the address of the image into.
Click to expand...
 
have you added ".jpg" to the end of the link ... I have to on pbase...
 
ok i think i got it now. i was pasting the address to my photostream on flickr instead of the single images address.

Thanks for the help

So any pointers anyone?
 
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