You Just Bought a DSLR - Where to Start

Kintarō Hattori

When I bought my DSLR back in early 2008 I had just graduated from a compact camera and I really didn’t know what I had to do to start taking better photos with my DSLR. I thought a short guide for newbies from someone who is still very much a newbie to this whole thing might be useful for some. I’m not saying I’m a great photographer but I’m happy with what I’ve achieved so far and perhaps this might be useful for some wondering what direction they should now take.

If you think of something useful for a newbie why not add it in. Just try to be relatively detailed so they can follow what’s being said.



The Kit Lens

The lens that comes with your camera is called a kit lens. It’s a jack of all trades and a master of none. To help you take better photographs you’ll need to invest in some new lenses. As good as your new camera may be it’s only as good as the glass that you stick on the end of it. Initially buying a good quality new lens doesn’t have to be expensive. One lens that always comes highly recommended is the humble 50mm F1.4 or F1.8. This lens has a fixed focal length of 50mm (it doesn’t zoom) and it can be used in very low light situations. Because it doesn’t zoom it’s known as a ‘Prime’ lens and these lenses are usually very sharp. The 50mm (also known as a nifty fifty) also generally has excellent ‘Depth of Field’ where the foreground and background objects are out of focus with your subject in focus.
The nifty fifty can be bought anywhere from €100 to around €200, shop around. There will be several versions for each of the major camera manufacturers.

Post Processing

A lot of the fantastic images you see on forums (such as Boards), in magazines, flickr etc have been post processed. This means they have been taken into a software programme and edited in various different ways. If you want to stun yourself with excellent images chances are you’ll need to learn how to edit your images with software.
The most popular and famous software is called Photoshop from a company called Adobe. It’s very versatile and can be quite complicated to use, it’s also damned expensive at near €1000. It’s so good that it has become the industry standard in image editing software and you might have heard the term ‘Oh that has been Photoshopped’. Learning how to use this program will help you immensely.
Don’t worry though there is a cheaper version called Adobe Elements which has a lot of the features found in Photoshop but it isn’t as versatile or powerful and you are restricted in what you can do. It retails for around €130 though.
There is also an excellent freeware image editing program called ‘The Gimp’ which is very powerful and a lot of the higher end functions found in Photoshop can be achieved with this program. One downside however is that it isn’t perhaps as intuitive to use.

If you want to get on the road to quick and relatively easy image editing Adobe also have another program called ‘Lightroom’ which retails for about €250. This lets you catalogue and edit your images. While not as powerful as Photoshop it is a lot easier to use and some of the end results you can achieve are quite stunning.

Hunting for Photographs

If you want to take great photos you have to go look for them, they won’t come to you. You have to go look for photographic opportunities. When you have spare time why not take your camera somewhere potentially interesting such as the park, a drive in the countryside or even the city centre. There are potentially great photographs lurking around each and every corner. Personally I take my camera almost everywhere I go, even when I’m walking into work and back home. I’d hate to see an amazing sight/great sunset or whatever and not have had my camera with me. Just don’t start taking it to places that maybe you really shouldn’t!
As a photographer you have to view the world around you in a different way to most other people. Where normal folk see nothing of interest you might see an interesting photo opportunity. Your new camera is a powerful tool. With portrait/macro/telephoto lenses and more there is a lot going on around you and you need to visualize how a photo might look.
Quite often here on boards people organize informal photo opportunities. They’ll arrange to meet at a certain time and place to just wander about and take photos. It’s a great opportunity for you to meet like minded people and ask questions.

Get to Know Your Equipment

There is little point in buying a DSLR and leaving it on automatic as a lot of folk seem to do. Take it off of automatic and experiment with the manual settings. Yes there are a lot of options and it can seem scary and daunting at first but approach it with a calm attitude and take baby steps. Focus on one option, learn how it works and then move onto another manual setting.
Only just today I learnt something new and I’ve had my camera 18 months. There is no rush so take things in your own time. Your camera is so much more flexible than a compact can ever be so don’t worry. If you want to achieve a certain style of photo go look for examples and read-up on how other people achieved their results. You’ll find most photographers are only too willing to help you understand how your camera works and to help you develop.

Anywhoo that’s me done. These are some short simple points that might make for some useful reading for a newbie. I found the whole scene terribly daunting when I first bought my camera and didn’t know where to start. Hopefully this will make a useful starting point for some folk.

Like I said, if anyone who’s had their camera awhile has anything to add just jump in.

DBIreland

Nice idea, hoping to get my first DSLR around christmas and this thread my prevent the glut of stupid questions I will have!

Rb

Great idea Kintaro.

Just thought I'd throw a link in to a post on lense types for newbies since yer on the topic
click!

Snap Happy

Nice thread - Will defo be using the info

Adriatic

I've had a high end compact for the last two years and know a fair amount about the controls and photoshop but really want to invest in a DSLR for christmas, I'd love the Canon 500D.

It's so restricting with a compact because of the lack of quality if you want to push the boundaries let alone take a snapshot in comparison to a DSLR which has more features, controls and quality which in turn means you can confidently take more satisfactory photos in more situations, thus learning more in the process. I could write a letter on how much I want a DSLR. Thanks for the lens info too.

Freddie59

Like the OP, got a DSLR in April 08. Was utterly gutted by the 'terrible quality':D in auto, until I got THIS BOOK IT IS AN ABSOLUTE MUST HAVE.

m_s_nixon

great write-up, fair play for taking the time to do it, will be a lot of help to new members

DBIreland

I thought I'd stick this question in here rather than start a new thread...

What do people mean when they say a 'noisy' photo?

I recognise the words but in that order they make no sense!!

KarmaGarda

Noisy comes in different forms, but usually means "grainy". It can also mean a bit pixelated too. Wiki is your friend: Image Noise

Patricide

Thanks, a good read!

littlebug

Thanks. That's really useful
So far for me it's been like when I learned to drive 20 years ago and having to think about gear, clutch, mirror and steering all at the same time :eek: though not as scary!