Needed: Newb Digital Photog Advice

[Turtlegeuse]

Dear readers,

for various reasons I never bothered much with photography since the time I had a 35 M&M point and shoot as a youngster. I need to learn more (i.e.: something, since right now I have a distinct lack of knowledge) about digital photography. Not just for taking pictures of pens either but for all sorts of indoors and outdoors use. Please tell what web sites or videos you recommend for learning. Also say which good books about it youv'e read, which camera you like & cetera. I don't want something thats gonna melt in my hands - but I need to be more modern !

 

[Also: please reread the topic title before flagging. Although if you do have any n**e photo advice I'm all ears.]

[penswordnoassemblyrequired]

Read the camera's manual. Learn most of the bells and whistles.

Go to Amazon and search for a how-to book at your level.

If you have a Nikon D7200, get a Dummies Guide to that (whatever).

Take a lot of photos. Study them. Figure out what you're doing wrong.

Google the issue and see what other people have said.

 

Learn Photoshop and Lightroom.

 

I've had Nikons for my entire adult life, currently have a D7000 and a D600. I most often use a 40 mm Nikkor lens but have an 85 mm full frame and a 75-200 mm telephoto.

 

This is a very good blog where you can probably learn quite a bit. https://photographylife.com/

[Snamellit]

I also have Nikon stuff and assorted lenses (my pride and joy is the 110mm macro which I use surprisingly often).

 

On the other hand you probably have a not to shabby camera in your phone. As long as you take care to get good lighting they can produce good results.

 

the biggest step from analog to digital is the workflow : shoot multiple exposurs and throw 2 out of 3 away. This discipline will force you to evaluate what it is what makes one foto better than another, and this fast feedback will make you improve fast. and it does not cost anything, and it wil make your life easier afterwards on your PC managing the thousands of photos.

[PerryJ]

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech.htm

[sargetalon]

Don't go crazy buying expensive lenses, flashes, or other equipment. Learn to use lighting properly and natural light is the best and easiest to work with IMHO. If you can master lighting and composition, you can make great photographs with just about any camera. Once you have that down, you can start thinking about upgrading.

[OcalaFlGuy]

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=kodak+photography&tag=googhydr-20&index=stripbooks&hvadid=30718419041&hvpos=1s2&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9894029559408707599&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_1zs401pq13_b

 

Find yourself The Bible, The Joy of Photography by Kodak.

 

Now, it's 35mm targeted but the theories/info are directly transferable to digital.

 

I probably haven't Seen my copy in 10 years but I use stuff I learned from it everytime I click a shutter.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[RudyR]

To me, it was all about the lighting and the process of photography that keep my interest going. When I lived in New Mexico, I at first was shooting my camera as if it were a machinegun (Browning 50 Caliber Ma duce). I eventually learned to slow down and cut the waste factor down considerably. Learn and understand that what the camera sees and you see are two different things. How you wish to interpret this light capturing moment is up to you.

 

Study, composition. In the black and white analogue photography circles of old, it was often said that if you could turn your picture upside down and it still looked good, then you had managed to achieve good composition.

 

And then there is contrast. To best see contrast, go to high altitude Northern New Mexico and see how everything is so well defined by the direct, unscattered light conditions, then go to sea level Washington State and see how everything has just a bit of hazy softness around it (I'm talking about landscape shooting here).

 

So the three elements of photography, to me are, light management, composition, and contrast.

 

Oh, and your flash.......

spend some good money on your strobe because it really will be quite handy during the day and night; indoor and outside.

[fravin]

Fantastic post Rudy.

 

I've learned photography in a time that time was not really valuable. You could wait for some minutes watching the scenario and waiting for the perfect light.

 

In fact you don't need anything besides your own eyes to master photography. You need to spend some time just watching how the light works. How it illuminates, how it reflects, noting where the shadows is, where are the bright areas. Just watch. And move. Move yourself around your subject. Look for the position where the lights hit the subject, opposite to the shadows. Just watch.

 

And the camera will do the job for itself.

 

Don't bother on buying expensive camera now. Spend your money in books.

[Beechwood]

I have come from a very similar place to you, being reasonably proficient with 35mm film camera and having to relearn much of the controllability of modern digital cameras, even the most basic.

 

The biggest step up was shooting in large MBs and then resizing using your computer software, the second was to buy a mini studio for home use, very cheap one at GBP25 and very good value.

[openionated]

Books: Understanding Composition and Understanding Exposure both by Bryan Peterson, for the processing after the picture (Photoshop, etc.) Scott Kelby's books are newbie friendly. All of these are available through Amazon or your local bookstore.

 

For visual learning (videos), Youtube is a great source. Look at the Adorama TV and BH Photo Video channels on there. Some of it is product reviews (the channels are run by NYC camera stores) but there are also some good "how-to" videos. Youtube will suggest other videos on similar subjects after you watch a few, and then you can literally find yourself down the rabbit hole learning new things.

 

For online discussion and help I suggest http://photography-on-the.net/forum/index.php?full it started out as a Canon-centric forum but has expanded to include all sorts of cameras. It is the FPN of the photo forums.

[Mishka5050]

In the black and white analogue photography circles of old, it was often said that if you could turn your picture upside down and it still looked good, then you had managed to achieve good composition.

 

That's a brilliant advice, thanks mate!

[penrivers]

Before technical books get the history phylosophycal frame of photography: La Sontag, Barthes, John berger etc, then the technical books, apertures , speeds, composition, golden rule, rule of thirds, etc an see lot, lots and lots of photography in internet, it is so beautiful that you never get tired of it. Oh, and dont forget Geoff Dyer the ongoing moment, you wont regret to read it.

Edited March 16, 2015 by penrivers

[mislav]

For beginners I would recommend Digital Photography one on one, you can find it on You Tube. Start with episode one and just continue to watch. Good luck!