Photography for beginners

Carol3

Hi, I am based out of the Midlands during the week and I am interested in doing a photograpy course, either group or private tuition - any one know whats available in this part of the country? or has anyone any info on excursions where I can sign up for to learn on photography fieldtrips?
Itching to get started!
thanks
C

oeb

I'm a beginner myself. I am finding the best thing to do is just go out there and start taking pictures. Most of them come out crap, but atleast I am learning something along the way.

I am under the impression that things like what Apature, Shutter Speed, ISO etc to use will all come with practice. And I don't think anyone can really teach you things like composition etc.

Ricky91t

oeb is right
You learn what can be learnt and alot had to be picked up yourself.

I recently sat in on a local "teen" photoclass in a view to teaching it myself in a few years as my nan works in the kdys which it was run through.

I learnt absolutely nothing from it and allthough it was a basic course it really was for beginers.I couldn't see myself doing a course for beginers cause after browsing here for about a year iv learnt alot.And more has been self taught.

you'd be best off asking questions on here and then doig one of those hime courses as you'll learn more from that :cool:

helios

Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO will come with practice, but it wouldn't do you any harm to research how they are related to each other when it comes to correct exposure. It will also give you options when actually taking photos...

nilhg

Hi Carol, welcome along.
As the others have said its important to get out and take some shots, you really do learn by doing, try to give your self a theme so as you have something to focus on, but be ready to take any opportunity that might arise.

As for formal classes, you could look out for evening classes, they will be starting up in September or maybe there might be a camera club close by, I think there might be a list in the sticky FAQ.

This online course is pretty old at this stage but its a good primer to the basics and something you could work on in your own time.

Don't forget to post a few shots up here for C&C, explain what you were trying to achieve and where you feel you need help and I'm sure you'll get loads of help

oeb

I think that probably the best advice I have got so far is
"Expect nearly every photo you take for the first 6 months to be crap"

Now, please correct me if I am wrong guys (Because as I said, I am a total newbie), but this is aimed at the OP, and this is about all I know about camera opperation, and it is enough to get me started. So maybe it will help her(?) out too.

Three settings you might need to play with on your camera.
Apature: This is how 'open' your lens is. The lower this value is the more light is left into the shot. If your picture is coming out dark, try decreasing this, if it's coming out too bright, increase it.

Shutter Speed: This is how long the shutter stays open for. A quick shutter speed will allow you to 'Freeze' motion. For example a jumping person will appear frozen in mid air. A slower speed will show movement as blurred. Either can be useful, it just depends on what you are trying to acheive. It is worth noting, that the quicker a shutter is, the less light can get into the shot. This can be counteracted by decreasing the apature, and vice versa.

ISO : This is how sensitive your sensor is to light. I have not messed with this too much yet, but from what I gather it is just another way of handling lighting with your shots. Poor light may require a higher ISO value. It is worth noticing, that at higher ISO values, lots of noise is introduced to the shot.

On the 'Mode' dial on your camera there are a couple of options. The ones you will probably be using most are the 'S' and 'A' modes. These stand for 'Shutter Priority' and 'Apature Priority'. What these do is allow you to set either the apature, or the shutter speed, and the camera will set the other one for you. So, if you want to 'Freeze' something that is moving quickly, it would be best to set the camera to 'S' and then set it up for a quick shutter speed. The camera will then judge what Apature size to use.

It is also worth noting, that if your lens has a zoom feature, zooming in will reduce the amount of light that is let into the sensor too, so you may have to adjust for this too.

*Dallas

practice makes perfect.

You should read through the Stickies on here, i find they are very useful.

Carol3

thanks very much for all the tips! especially picking a theme
Do people post their pics on this site? how do I access?
whats the best camera to buy for a beginner?
I have a digital camera for years but want to make an investment in something better
C

nilhg

Carol3 wrote: »

thanks very much for all the tips! especially picking a theme
Do people post their pics on this site? how do I access?
whats the best camera to buy for a beginner?
I have a digital camera for years but want to make an investment in something better
C

We just knew you might ask questions like these

paddylonglegs

oeb wrote: »

And I don't think anyone can really teach you things like composition etc.

Newbie here too but huge interest,just waiting for the spons to come through to get a decent slr.

I would have thought composition is a massive part of photography.A bit like graphic design,positioning of a certain item will convey a mood or tone and be visually pleasing,not just the settings used.Rule of thirds,Golden mean http://www.shutterfreaks.com/Tips/RuleOfThirds.html and all that

MartMax

You could also get and read some photography books. I would really recommend one of them, Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson. It does help me understand how things work.

mcdonnells

Hi,
I used Digital Beginners intermediate training and found it great,
I see now they are now doing a Distance training.
Might suit your needs
S

Pansy Potter

There might something of help here.

http://www.shortcourses.com

fifomania

The excellent child photography Anne Geddes was self taught so anything is possible! I'd love to teach myself it's just getting the time and patience! :rolleyes:

Carol3

Hi, thanks a mil for all the extra info. It's my first time getting info on a bulletin board and its been a great experience!
I will check out the web-sites,
thanks again
C
ps wen I am brave I will post a few pics!

Fajitas!

Carol3 wrote: »

ps wen I am brave I will post a few pics!

Do - if you join a site like Flickr (www.flickr.com) it'll give you somewhere to put your pics online, so either you can look at them yourself, or send them to your mates, or post them on to forums like this!

Best of luck anyways!