Anyone have any good suggestions for learning photography?

[alarimer]

Web sites or books, for example. I just got a new camera. There are features (like the super macro feature) that can only be used on certain settings. It can't be used in the AUTO (which is what I mostly use). I really know nothing about apertures and f-stops and all that stuff and I would like to. The auto settings and the scene settings are good, as far as they go but I would like to get the most out of this camera that I can. It is a Canon S3, if that helps.

[DS1]

1. Take cat pictures and post them in the lounge

You'll be a rock star in no time.

Same goes for clouds, trees, grass, fences, and rocks.

[Kali]

2. ...

:spray: :rofl:

[alarimer]

4. I think I have posted some

but none of the others, at least not yet.

[taterguy]

3. Check your local community college

Mine features cheap one day seminars on photograhy, and other more involved classes

[alarimer]

5. that's a good idea

thanks

[Oeditpus Rex]

6. I can think of two basic must-knows

The rule of reciprocity — If you're shooting with manual exposure (not just manual focus), you need to know the relationship between aperture (f-stop) and shutter speed. Reciprocity tells us that if one is changed, the other changes inversely.

Let's say you set the shutter speed at 1/250th of a second and the light meter tells you the aperture for a proper general exposure at that speed is f8. It's important to know that if you increase the shutter speed to 1/500th, the aperture must be opened one stop, to f5.6, to get the same exposure. If you decrease the speed to 1/125th, you must close the aperture one stop to f11. (A lower aperture number means a wider lens opening.)


Depth of field — There are two basic things to remember about how much of your photo will be in focus from front to back:

•A larger aperture (lower numerical f-stop) yields less depth of field; smaller yields greater.

•Wide-angle lenses yield the greatest depth of field, and depth of field decreases as lens focal length increases.



PM me if you have any questions. :hi:

[alarimer]

10. Good to know

thanks.

My camera has a lot of auto settings but I want to get beyond that and experiment at some point.

[edbermac]

7. I belong to a camera club.

Joined 4 years ago, about 200-300 members, 50-60 will show up every weekday meeting. Everyone is very helpful. They do offer some courses in basic photography. Might want to check and see if there are any in your area.

[alarimer]

11. I will. Thanks. n/t

[bikebloke]

8. Online sources

With digital photography it's easy to experiment without the cost of processing and printing.

Here are a few sites with online tutorials:

http://www.photoxels.com/digital-photography-tutorials.html

http://www.imaging-resource.com/

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/

[CC]

9. First learn what all the buttons and

controls do. A great place to start is here. F. Gordon once recommended Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera to the photogroup and it is a great book to learn with. You might be able to find it at your local library. The library is also a great place to look at different photography books and see what works for you. Another great thing specially with digital is to take pictures. Lots and lots of pictures. You learn a lot from what you have done and it does teach you how to see like the camera sees.

Good luck and hope you enjoy your camera.

[unpossibles]

12. there is some good advice in this thread, but here are two important things

ok, three.

1 - shoot LOTS of pictures. Take your camera with you everywhere and shoot a lot. It will make you a faster shooter, and also improve your eye. Also, if it's something you don't want to not have a shot of later and will be hard to recreate, take several of the same event from different angles, exposures, etc. This not only gives you more to choose from, but helps you see the differences in things like the shutter speed:f-stop relationship (depth of field, sharpness, etc.). Like music, it's practice, practice, practice. If your camera is film, find somewhere that will develop cheaply and even consider not printing all of them, just a contact sheet and the ones you like. Which leads me to:

2 - expect a good number (ie: the majority) to not turn out that well or at all, especially at first. Even pros throw away more than they keep. Many times it takes some time to develop a better 'eye' for what will happen on the film/pixels, so don't stress if you get a lot of bad shots. learn from them if possible. And remember that there is some amount of subjectivity to photography, like any art.

3 - have fun. :)

[alarimer]

13. Thanks

that sounds like good advice and with a digital camera, it costs nothing to take lots of pictures, even if they are bad.

[jmowreader]

14. Look at other people's photos

As you do, ask yourself two questions: what's good about this shot, and what's bad about it?

Take, for instance, this classic image:



Good features of this photo: it's a humorous shot, the background being nicely blurred (a wide aperture was used on the lens) keeps it from competing with the foreground.

Bad features: Bush leads the eye out of the image. By turning him a bit, the shot would be far more effective. Also, the kitten should be held below his chin, so it doesn't block his mouth. Advertising product shots are always instructive here: in an ad, you'd rarely see the kitten blocking his face. Also, the lighting sucks ass. It's coming from over his shoulder, so his eyes are blocked up. You would want to use a fill-flash--yes, use your flash in the middle of the day--to keep his eyes easy to see.