What now ?

brianon

Right. Well I got my Canon Rebl xti (400d) at Christmas and have 3 lens. Canon 18-5mm kit lens, Canon 50mm 1.8, Sigma 70-300mm.

Been loving it so far but have only managed to get decent shots while using the auto settings. Besically I don't know enough about DOF, f/stop etc... to be able to try the other 'manual' settings. So my question is... what do I do to figure that stuff out ?

I keep trying to run before I can walk and start looking up advanced techniques and more lens to do things I'd like but I know I need to know the basics first.

Any recommendations ? Books ? Online tutorials ?

All help appreciated

magicbastarder

a good book is the national geographic field guide to photography.

melekalikimaka

when i started out, here was great. i looked at a posted image, and asked about different elements, i hadnt a clue what they were, turns out it was dof, rear sync flash, some photoshop techniques, fromt here you ask how they are achieved, go to your manual, find the settings, shoot, come back here, chuck em up and then peeps here can tell ya whats ya did right and what could be worked on. theres not that much to learn really and fiddling round yourself helps wonders

rymus

another book.. "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson. It's a gem

5uspect

Also don't forget since its digital so you can experiment easily without wasting film ...only time.
So set up the camera in front of something with depth (coins in line with the camera's view) stick on the nifty 50 put the camera in to Av mode where you use the wheel to control aperature only (the camera decides the exposure) and see what happens.

brianon

Thanks guys. I think I will experiment so and then come back with more specific questions when I need more...spceific help.

Cheers.

BTW...how can I make my sig image also a link ? I want to have a pic with link to my flikr account?

Valentia

rymus wrote:

another book.. "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson. It's a gem

I second that. Worth a read no matter what your experience is.

mathias

another book.. "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson. It's a gem

Another vote from me , brilliant book , camera hasnt been off manual since I read this , and only $18 from amazon. Steps you through everything you need to know with simple practical exercises so you know what everything on your camera does.
Excellent.

Edit: Just checked , even cheaper these days ,
http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-Photographs-Digital-Updated/dp/0817463003/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-7687309-2581545?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176907151&sr=8-1

5uspect

brianon wrote:

BTW...how can I make my sig image also a link ? I want to have a pic with link to my flikr account?

just wrap the [IMG tags in [URL tags.

brianon

ah crap. I can't get it to work.

I've tried [url ...the url...[/url] & [img][/img]

5uspect

Quote this post to see the correct way:

DaireQuinlan

easiest way to post images is to click on the "insert image" button, and paste in the URL of the image, then select that chunk of text, including the

brianon

Got it working now

Thanks guys.

brianon

Ok. As a a start...what you make of these from yesterday evening?

My fave
http://www.flickr.com/photos/84969768@N00/464571663/

Swan
http://www.flickr.com/photos/84969768@N00/464571697/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/84969768@N00/464571727/

5uspect

The swans are nice but nothing special, but the ducks are great!
I really like the high contrast and the ripples on the water.
You've definately got the eye for the photos you just need to get to grips with the tech stuff.

brianon

Cheers. I like the ducks alright. Think the focus was just slightly off on the ducks themselves. Just a wee bit though

melekalikimaka

http://www.flickr.com/photos/84969768@N00/464091122/

love that one, a good way of learning was the ol challenges that were up on flickr boards group. used to have neat projects like selective colour, depth of field and so on, usually with a tutorrial of sorts at the start with links to interesting examples. that certainly fizzled out rapidly

Borderfox

Nice shot of the ducks

sineadw

Hey there Try this one - http://www.morguefile.com/archive/classroom.php

thebaz

i found this tutorial very usefull and easy to follow to learn the basics -- dof, aperature , exporsure etc ...

http://www.canon.co.jp/Imaging/enjoydslr/index.html

Fenster

Take lots of photos, but not too much ;]

brianon

Cheers guys. I'll do some homework so