Photography Tips Needed

[paramel]

I am just getting started in photography and am looking for tips, advice, quotes....anything you think I should know when it comes to photography. I am wanting to learn as much as I possibly can and your help would be appreciated!!

Thanks,
Melissa

[copper]

WOW! That is a huge order.

Welcome aboard...

I would sugest that you read this forum, to gain knowledge. There is so much to learn here. I wouldnt know where to start since you did not say what type of photography you are looking into. There is a huge amount of talent here with alot of helpful people.

I would suggest that you "Lurk" read and read and read and then ask questions about things that you dont understand.

[humminboid]

Welcome! You will like it here!

Hie thyself to your local library and pick up a basic photo text or three. They all say the same things for basics. The National Geographic Field Guide for photography is excellent, as is any basic photo book by John Hedgecoe, among others.

There are many others that do as well. Photography for Dummies also comes to mind.

Read your camera manual through...once, although it may be the single most confusing document you will ever read..akin to, perhaps insurance policies, the writings of Isaiah, or "some assembly needed" instructions. Keep it for reference.

First, learn to use the most useful features of whichever camera you choose. Auto, the little icons, flash. If you need another function, open the manual and see what it says.

Avoid the highly-technical stuff, at least at first. Confuse yourself later.

You may not ever wish to progress beyond the basics, and if you don't, they will be sufficient to produce great photos for the rest of your life.

Point and shoot cameras are great! Look at the MILLIONS of marvelous photos shot with them. Full-auto is used more often than will ever be admitted, especially by the "pros". Heehee.

I'd say most people have no interest in photography that is more complicated than turning it on, looking at the lcd screen, and pressing the shutter release. And that is O.K., too. .

See if you can find a basic photo class through a school district's continuing education program. It will pay dividends, and you will meet some very nice people.

Learn the basics; Camera controls...how the lens aperture, shutter speed and film speed/ sensititvity interact for proper exposure, how the meter can and will fool you some of the time, and proper use of the built-in red eye generator, also known as flash. Basic composition, too.

It's all about light. Study light, not by getting one of the lighting texts, but by looking at how light acts during the day.

While you are doing this, be taking pictures , and writing down settings and impressions in a small notebook. When you have your first pixes processed, compare what you have with what you wanted to get, which will be really different a lot of the time, and then figure out what happened. Your photo instructor will be a valuable resource.

Forgive my wordiness, please! I tend to tell people how to build the bicycle, when all they want to know is how to change a tire.

Photography is a magical pastime, and needs to be enjoyed as such...at least at first.

[Tom]

Read a lot. Buy books by Joe McNally and Scott Kelby. Browse the forums.

[LEO III]

Ditto on the Scott Kelby books. Buy the two-volume The Digital Photography Book boxed set. I found it at Fry's Electronics for $40. Take copious notes as you read the books. In fact, I'm only through about half of the first volume, and I've already decided to go back to the beginning and outline each topic. (When you get them, you'll see what I mean. Generally speaking, each page is a separate concept that can be broken down into two or three bullet points per concept. The concepts are grouped into chapters. Easy to outline and stick into a binder for quick reference.)

Haven't gotten to Joe McNally yet.

Also, look under "Quick Links" on the right hand side of the banner at the top of this page. At the bottom, under "Site Information" is a link called "Forum New Member FAQ." Lots and lots of stuff there. Some of it is kinda technical, but if you'll take some time to look through it and familiarize yourself with its contents, you'll be able to go back there later for answers to many of your questions, once you get moving along in your education and actually know what questions to ask.

Buy a tripod! Nothing is more frustrating, depressing and discouraging than having blurry photos. As is stated on this forum time and time again, if the photo is blurry due to camera shake, all of the technical aspects in the world are for naught. I haven't been able to afford an expensive tripod yet, but I did pick up an inexpensive, yet serviceable one, and it makes all the difference in the world.

Lastly, don't be afraid to simply Google a word or phrase or concept that you don't understand. You'll be surprised how quickly you can figure out some of the postings on the forum, once you learn the jargon. Much as Wikipedia gets bashed, if there is a Wikipedia entry for something you've Googled, it is generally short and sweet and easy for even me to understand. Oftentimes, there are some pretty good links there too.

Practice, practice, practice...shoot every day...and have fun!

[CaptainTom]

try out the search button before asking a question. Most questions have been addressed at one time or another.
The search may not hit your question (like us, it isn't perfect) so if you don't get an answer there, fire away with us and we'll do the best we can.

Welcome to the TPF. This is probably the best resource for friendly information and instruction on the net.

[John Godwin]

A Lot of good advice so far.

When I started out I kept a notebook of every film photo taken. Time of day, iso, shutter speed, aperture, cloudy, subject name, location and any thing else that I thought might be nice to know later. Now a days almost all that data is in the exif file, what is not I can record on a small audio file using that feature on the digital camera.

Pet peeve. Try to stabilize the camera in any way shape or form that you can. If nothing else is available then try to keep your left elbow against your body when shooting. That is a lot more stable that having both elbows in the air.

Remember, to mash that shutter button, get more batteries, memory cards and a bigger hard drive to store all of those fabulous photos to come.

[dminton]

Take off the lens cap.

If your picture isn't good enough, you're not close enough.

[Ken]

Welcome!
One resource (aside from this site) that I learned alot from is kenrockwell.com.
I would also recommend getting to know your camera well, if you don't already. Reading the owners manual can be helpful.
Happy reading.

[paramel]

WOW!!! I want to thank everyone for all of the great information that you are giving me!!!! And the ones that haven't added anything yet! I live in MO right now but am hopefully going to be back to Texas within the next 3 months....never should have left!!! So when I do get there I hope that maybe I can find a photo club or something like that to get with more people to shoot with.....Hope to see you soon!!!

Melissa

[Tom]

Originally Posted by Ken

Welcome!
One resource (aside from this site) that I learned alot from is kenrockwell.com.
I would also recommend getting to know your camera well, if you don't already. Reading the owners manual can be helpful.
Happy reading.

A lot has been written about Ken Rockwell on other threads, but his stuff isn't very accurate, he reviews stuff that he has never touched and his website is just up for people to click through to buy things from adorama, bh and amazon - where he gets kickbacks.

There are much better sources to learn from - like right here at TPF.

[toverman]

Welcome to the forum, Melissa. Get on back down here!

If you are near one of the large metro areas here when you move, there are get-togethers among forum members that can be social or for shooting.

I've found my local library, as small as it is, has a great collection on many aspects of photography. I've ended up buying books after checking some of them out.

[Daniel Bates]

Originally Posted by Thomas Campbell

A lot has been written about Ken Rockwell on other threads, but his stuff isn't very accurate, he reviews stuff that he has never touched and his website is just up for people to click through to buy things from adorama, bh and amazon - where he gets kickbacks.

There are much better sources to learn from - like right here at TPF.

Ditto. There is some good information on his site, but it's tough to sift the wheat from the chaff (as it were).

Welcome to the forum, and feel free to ask us anything you want! I'm actually in the process of teaching basic photography to a bunch of equipment repair techs and multimedia illustrators in my current job, so between that and my past few years with TPF, I've heard just about every question typically posed by a beginning photographer.

[paramel]

Originally Posted by Daniel Bates

Ditto. There is some good information on his site, but it's tough to sift the wheat from the chaff (as it were).

Welcome to the forum, and feel free to ask us anything you want! I'm actually in the process of teaching basic photography to a bunch of equipment repair techs and multimedia illustrators in my current job, so between that and my past few years with TPF, I've heard just about every question typically posed by a beginning photographer.

Love the "Real First Name"!! I work for Ft. Leonard Wood EMS in MO so I know about the Army life...well as much of it as I want to know!!!!

[Teddington]

Two sources online that I like are:
Craig Tanner at www.tmelive.com (The Mindful Eye)
and http://digital-photography-school.com/ from Darren Rouse. Darren does a weekly newsletter with tips, product reviews, and other info.

Both of them provide information that is easy to follow and helpful for newbies and experienced folks alike.