Emily from Santa Cruz...

[soul2kiss]

Hey there everyone...

I am TRULY a newbie to the photography scene!
In fact, my very first photography class will be in the fall
and in the meantime, I'll be "playing" around with my camera that I recently acquired.

I have a Nikon N6000 and I'm wanting to learn about photography from the ground up.
My class will be in B/W, using a 35mm camera with adjustable f-stops and shutter speeds.
I have NO idea what that means. I got a great deal; on the camera, 100 pages of glossy 8x10" B/W multigrade RC paper,
5 rolls of B/W 400 film, 40 pages of pearl print paper and about 60 negative sleeves for $150... Can't complain!

I'm assuming that the class will properly teach me how to use the camera, besides just the ol' point and shoot.
Learning to develop film and really getting a quality shot is what I'm looking forward to!
So anything you all can possibly help me in my endeavor, will be most appreciated!!

Signed the VERY enthusiastic NEWBIE
Emily...

[Ahh!]

Welcome Emily! Class sounds like fun. I am sure you will enjoy it. My first camera was BB (Before Batteries) and required a separate light meter, which was also BB. The camera is still working great, but alas, the light meter needs a tune up.

[Killjoy]

Hi Emily, welcome to the forum. :)

I'm sure that your instructor will be happy to help you figure all of that stuff out, but if you really want to know ahead of time, we'll be happy to get you started too!

[Lilikoi the cat]

find a ~10X loupe (magnifier-Ebay is cheap) so that you don't have to print up pictures just to see that they are not in focus.
If you have a "depth of field preview" button play with that to understand what f-stops do.
Low number= lots of light going in but very narrow focus range (person in front of a mountain- the mountain will not be in focus.)
High number = little light going in (meaning long exposure time and possibility of blurring) but both the person and mountain will be in focus.
Go through the gallery and look at the photos, some will have everything in focus and some will have the main subject in focus.
blahblahblahblahblah.....................
download a EXIF viewer to see what exposure and time pictures were taken at.
If you carry a rectangular card stolen from a picture frame and carry it around you can get used to trying to "frame and compose" an image.
Enjoy your class and if you have questions as they come up ask someone.
The pearl paper is nice stuff, not shiny/glossy and not like an orange skin.
Welcome!
and I yakyak

[Abel]

welcome to the forum emily!!!