Getting started

convert

Hi guys,

I'm sure that you get many of these threads so I apologise in advance.

The MIL heard me talking about being interested in photography and she gave me her old Nikon D90. This is my first SLR and it's scary!

Can anyone recommend a good place to start, I'd like to get the camera working in 'M' mode as soon as possible!

I've googled a few getting started guides but there are a lot of them and even more opinions on the subject, and I'd like to get it right from the off.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

C

rowanh

The first tip i got was at my sisters wedding from the photographer. He said start off in aperture priority, put it on the lowest F stop if you are taking photos of something like a person where you want to isolate them and a higher f stop if you want to have everything in the photo in focus.


Another good tip i got near the beginning was try and have an interesting foreground. Read about the rule of thirds, its a good place to start with composition.


Understanding exposure is a good book to explain the different elements of M mode.

Maybe the most important place to get started is figuring out what kind of photography you are interested in.

Silversun

Use av mode for capturing subjects that aren't moving and tv mode for moving subjects. Experiment with both then youl be able to move into manual mode in good time.
Google camera cheat cards and Theyl give you an idea for appature and shutter speed etc.
Go out and experiment it's the best way to learn!

Paulw

Get a copy of the book "Understanding Exposure".

Other than that, find your local camera club and join up if you can.

Failing that, try to find a local photography course.

CabanSail

The book "Understanding Exposure" is very good, however I have found the more recent "Mastering Exposure" by David Taylor to be even better. Once you understand the fundamental principles you will be better able to use any camera.

convert

Many thanks for all the replies and suggestions. The books sound really good, so I'll look into them. I'll hopefully the chance to get out with the camera over the weekend, so will try take your suggestions on board and see how I get on with everything.

cowboyBuilder

Paulw wrote: »

Get a copy of the book "Understanding Exposure".

...

This^^ I can't recommend the book enough and how much I learned from it when I first got my own copy.

Enjoy the new hobby, the start is the best time! (maybe not for results - but certainly for the thrill of experimentation )

CabanSail

I made a mistake in the post above.

The book which I find better than "Understanding Exposure" is "Mastering Exposure" by David Nightingale. I knew the author was a David and did not realise there was another book with the same title. Highly recommended.

cowboyBuilder

CabanSail wrote: »

I made a mistake in the post above.

The book which I find better than "Understanding Exposure" is "Mastering Exposure" by David Nightingale. I knew the author was a David and did not realise there was another book with the same title. Highly recommended.

I might have a gander at that book myself ... always things to learn

convert

Thanks for the clarification, Caban Sail, and thanks all for the recommendations. Looks like I'm going to have some study ahead of me!

adox

Go on to Youtube and search for videos. You will be amazed how much you can learn.

I always found watching somebody demonstrate and talk about the basics a much easier way to learn than reading text.

Bacchus

convert wrote: »

Thanks for the clarification, Caban Sail, and thanks all for the recommendations. Looks like I'm going to have some study ahead of me!

Books are great for giving you an understanding of the basics but really what it will take is "practice". The more you use the camera, the more you will fail, the more you will succeed, the more you will learn.

Just on your initial post about trying to use "M" mode ASAP. I simply ask, why? Get used to aperture mode, focus on learning to compose shots and "seeing the light"... then start playing around with manually setting the shutter speed and aperture (not to mention ISO).

Enjoy

CabanSail

Learning how the light is controlled, the interactions and secondary effects will give a good basis for starting. This along with practice and a good imagination will get you on the right path.