Houston DSLR course???

[bubstang]

I'm about at wits end trying to get a better keeper ratio in my photo's. Are there any really good books you can recommend or local courses you can vouch for?

My frustration is that on most shots, a full auto shot comes out better than one I try to do in creative mode.

I have decent gear; XT, Sigma 70-200 2.8, 85mm 1.8 and 50mm 1.8.

Any direction is certainly appreciated. I'd even be up for paying a tutor if there are no formal local or online classes worth doing.

Thanks
Robert

[suzyjazz]

Try this:
http://www.llu.com/1000.htm#Photography

You have to scroll down to the photography section because the bookmark seems to be broken. As a person who knew nothng about photography, with an SLR or without, I found the Basics class to be very worthwhile. I think I was taking decent photos in Av mode and manual mode after that. I took it from Kathy Adams Clark but there is/used to be another instructor who I heard is good, also.

There is another thread about this from someone who was about to take the class (probably took it Saturday July 15). He might post feedback there.

[Clayton Wallace]

There are many good resources for improving your photography. Unfortunately, different people learn in different ways, and reading a (even good) book or website isn't always the answer. I do private tutoring, as do others in the area. If you decide to hire a photo tutor, consider making a list of skills you want to concentrate on to make the best use of your time. Also, you may find some tutors will give a discount if you bring a friend or two. In that case, make sure the friends are on roughly the same skill level as you so you all are benefitting the same. I have a page on my site called phototips (not linked from other pages) where I have started a 'beginners' article for improving one's photos. The link is http://claytonwallace.com/phototips/ It doesn't specifically address DSLR issues though, more of a general article.

Good luck!

[bubstang]

Thanks Suzy and Clayton. I am interested in the technical aspect of setting the camera properly as to get a technically correct photo, supposingly as desired by how I see the picture. And then on to the comosition. What is bugging me is that my manual pics are not as good as automatic pics.

I really appreciate you comments and links to resources.

Robert

[suzyjazz]

Originally Posted by bubstang

Thanks Suzy and Clayton. I am interested in the technical aspect of setting the camera properly as to get a technically correct photo, supposingly as desired by how I see the picture. And then on to the comosition. What is bugging me is that my manual pics are not as good as automatic pics.

I really appreciate you comments and links to resources.

Robert

I believe this Basics of Photography class will help you then. It's one resource you might consider. I personally took the Saturday workshop and it was great. It touches on technical settings as well as the artistic side (composition). Good luck and enjoy the journey!

[msthomas]

Robert - you are not alone. I do think people like Suzy and Clayton would be a great help in compostion and more. I have just about finished my class at NYIP. And I have asked the same question. Looking out the window and thinking about this question - what does the auto mode know that I do not? You can view the setting the camera used in the auto mode.
Set the camera to the same setting and play with it. You are shooting digital, so what if you shoot a 1,000 pictures of a building.
I have talked to some pro in wildlife, they get ride of 3/4 of their shoots the fist go around.
One of the troubles that I have, I do not shoot enough, but with the temp now in the 100s where to you go?
I am also doing more with the Plano Photo Club. You might join one.
Good luck.

[suzyjazz]

Originally Posted by bubstang

I have decent gear; XT, Sigma 70-200 2.8, 85mm 1.8 and 50mm 1.8.

The suggestion to look at the settings the auto mode chose when you see a shot that you like is a good one. In looking at your list of gear, I noticed they are all fast lenses with a shallow minimum aperture. Be careful not to shoot everything too wide open. I also noticed that your lenses are all telephoto and the longer the focal length, the more shallow the depth of field is. Your XT has a depth of field button that you may not have noticed. I It's to the lower left of the lens attachment. When you press it, you will see a darkened image in the viewfinder because the lens has stopped down to the aperture it is set at, and then you can see what is in focus. I have no idea if this is one of the aspects that you say the auto mode is doing better, but it's something to think about.

[kiranhk]

I just attended the class on Sat and have posted my comments of it here.

http://www.texasphotoforum.com/forum...386#post229386

From my experience i have learnt that reading a little abt some of the photography aspects on the internet and understanding it theoritically will help you a long way. first read abt the stuff you are interested in then take your camera out and start clicking. I have been doing the same thing for the last 6 months and i have sometimes got appreciation for my photographs :) which i never thought i would get. check out my fireworks shots ;)

good luck to you. if you need any help in what to read etc, i can send you the links which i have been reading.

Suzy thanks for your comments on my other thread, i have posted my exp of the class there.

[bfphoto]

Robert,
I see you live in the Spring area. We have just started a digital photograplhy special interest group as part of the 1960 PC User Group. We had our first meeting in July and will have our second meeting Aug. 3rd. We are meeting at the Cypress Creek Christian Church on Cypresswood just east of Stuebner Airline. We meet from 7-9 in the middle building. You are free to visit and if you like what you see, then you can join our little club. We will meet every month and hopefully cover all aspects of photography as the months go by. For August we will be looking at the creative controls of the digital camera, eg. shutter, apertuer, etc. More information is on our web site at: www.1960pcug.org.

[kandace]

This is my first post, and counting down (4 more to go) until I can post on the buy/sell thread. . .

I have been photographing underwater for two years. For topside photography, I purchased my first DSLR camera in January, 2006, and took a course on Basic Photography at Leisure Learning with Kathy Adams Clark. I have since taken four more courses with her, and through her courses, I have learned a tremendous amount about my camera, the relationship between aperture / shutter / ISO, flash, and much more.

For Mother's Day, my daughter gave me an excellent book, Understanding Exposure, Revised Edition, by Bryan Peterson. For a novice, this has proved to be a value asset to compliment my photo classes, and to help me better understanding the complicated relationship with light and exposure.

I have enjoyed Kathy Clark's courses so much that I plan to do her Big Bend photo trip in October.

[Duffy Pratt]

I suggest you look at the exif information on your pictures. Try to figure out what the difference is between the manual shots that you don't like and the auto shots you think are better.

I also think you could help yourself by doing some tests in difficult situations. For example take a strongly backlit scene and run the exposure as the camera recommends, then run it through several different apertures on aperture priority, several different shutter speeds on shutter priority, and then try overexposing and underexposing it on manual. Take a look at the differences and decide what you like.

Do that in a bunch of situations. Try it while panning subjects. Try it on waterfalls or other moving objects. It's digital, so the marginal cost of taking all those "bad" pictures is nothing, and it will give you a great idea of what your camera will do in different situations, what is in your control and what isnt.

Remember, when dealing with exposure, there are only 4 variables: aperture, shutter speed, ISO and total exposure. The relationship is basically Total Exposure = ISO x Aperture/Shutter Speed. So, it should not be that difficult to isolate any of these variables and see what effect it has in an actual shooting situation. For me, the lesson learned from this experimentation has had a much larger impact than most of the stuff I learned from class or books.

Duffy

[aggarcia]

Most of the classes at Leisure Learning are pretty good value for your money. Of the instructors, Kathy is the best. I have taken almost every class she offers. As others have mentioned, if you are having a problem between variuos shots take a look at the data attached to the photo and experiment. Good luck.