Photography tutorials for a complete newbie??

[scrapperjade]

Oh my goodness guys, I am SO excited! DH and I were browsing through some Black Friday sale flyers the other day, and I stumbled upon a Canon Rebel T3 for a REALLY good price (about $200 less than regular price). So we bought it as a 6 month early anniversary gift, lol!

I am SO impressed with it, and have only really taken a dozen pics with it since we got it last night (DH is like a kid with a new toy, I can barely get it out of his hands, haha)... I've shot a couple in manual, a few in P, and a few in CA.

But I REALLY want to learn how to use this camera well. I want to understand what f-stops are, aperture, all that stuff. I've always had automatic cameras before, where I didn't need to know that, and I have been unimpressed with my photos for years. I want to start taking some GOOD pics, and need a good tutorial (or several) to walk me through some basics!

Thanks so much!!

[KristinCB]

get the book "understanding exposure" !! Your library may even have it

I'm sure some of the other girls will come in with some great tutorial sites but I found this is a really realy awesome book for just learning the basics - it is written very well and is easy to understand

[NeverendingJen]

Understanding Exposure
Photography for dummies(they even make camera specific versions)
thepioneerwoman.com/photography
pinterest has tons of tutorials as well

The biggest thing I can say is to take photos CONSTANTLY. the more comfortable you are with the camera in your hand, the better your images are going to turn out as you learn how to use it in manual or one of the priority modes(I shoot in Aperture Priority almost always).

[scrapperjade]

Thanks girls! I'm going to go searching for that book & the suggestions you made as well Jennifer!

[kelley]

I also would recommend Understanding Exposure. Also, go on youtube and search manual mode tutorial and you'll get a bunch of stuff too. Same with searching aperture, ISO, and shutter speed.

I almost always am shooting people/portraits. I keep my shutter speed no lower than 160 - preferably 200 or higher, and I like my ISO (shutter speed) as low as possible to keep graininess down. I prefer to have a shallow depth of field, so 90% of the time, I use as low an aperture as I can. It really reduced background busyness. I almost always keep my aperture (f-stop) set to the lowest possible setting for my lens, then I adjust my shutter speed to 200 usually, and the ISO is what I normally change to get the lighting I need. I just look at the in-camera meter and adjust. That probably sounded like a lot of psycho-babble, so sorry about that! I know somewhere there is a tutorial thingy where you can play with the settings online and it shows you the results just like you are looking through the camera. I loved playing with it. I will try to find it, but I don't think I have the link anymore.

[kelley]

Here: http://www.dryreading.com/camera/index.html

[glumirk]

Also, read the manual that comes with your camera. It will teach you a lot about photography.

I didn't get exposure and always underexposed until I learned a little bit about the zone system and how to tell what I want my meter to read. For example, white should read at +2, our fair skin meters at +1, primary colors at 0, our dark couches at -2, etc.

I was also afraid of raising my ISO, but a properly exposed photo at a higher ISO will have less noise than an underexposed photo fixed in post processing.

[origami]

We're planning on buying a new camera too. I'm bookmarking links and adding books to my wish list! Thanks!

[MamaBee]

I recommend Scott Kelby's books - http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_kk_2?...qid=1353805707

Also, if you have the opportunity, check out your local camera stores... mine had a class that I could attend to learn how to use it, even though I didn't buy it from them.

Happy clicking!

[scrapperjade]

Originally Posted by MamaBee

I recommend Scott Kelby's books - http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_kk_2?...qid=1353805707

Also, if you have the opportunity, check out your local camera stores... mine had a class that I could attend to learn how to use it, even though I didn't buy it from them.

Happy clicking!

I will check those out! I would LOVE to take a photography course, but unfortunately I live in a TEENY town in the middle of nowhere - and over an hours drive to the city (darn being so far away from anything!!!).

[navaja77]

I read all the tutorials and some of the books. I thought I could figure it all out on my own. What made a difference to me was signing up for Clickin Moms and then taking a beginning photography course through them. It was a study along course. It does cost money but it was so worth it! And if you need more confirmation - here is a recent shot of my DD. Last year, I would've probably shot this with a flash and lost all the beautiful back lighting (and nice catchlights in her eyes). I did some very minor editing but that's it!

I would highly recommend getting a 50mm prime lens since the kit lens is always not the best in all situations. I have a 50 1.8 and it costs about $100 right now

ETA removed photo

[gerich]

Congrats on the camera! I'd highly recommend doing an (online) class with Katrina Kennedy, I did mine this time last year and have not taken my camera off manual since! She's done some posts at the Daily Digi you might want to check out, she has a knack for breaking it all down and making it easy to understand. I did the understanding exposure course (which was more detailed and you need an SLR for) but she also does Your Life Through the Lens classes - pretty sure she has a Christmas themed one starting soon where she explains how to take photos in low light, to get bokeh etc. She also posts tips on her site Capture Your 365.

[farrijc]

Originally Posted by gerich

Congrats on the camera! I'd highly recommend doing an (online) class with Katrina Kennedy, I did mine this time last year and have not taken my camera off manual since! She's done some posts at the Daily Digi you might want to check out, she has a knack for breaking it all down and making it easy to understand. I did the understanding exposure course (which was more detailed and you need an SLR for) but she also does Your Life Through the Lens classes - pretty sure she has a Christmas themed one starting soon where she explains how to take photos in low light, to get bokeh etc. She also posts tips on her site Capture Your 365.

I just took Katrina's class and would definitely recommend it. I was hesitant to do an online class, but with the forum and gallery in addition to the lessons, you learn a lot! I am signed up for her next class that starts this month, I think it's called holiday through the lens.