Beginner New to photography looking for advice

shannensdaddy

shannensdaddy

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Darren
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Hi
I am new to the forum ,recommended to join here by a friend at work who has been on here for a few years.
I have always had an interest in nice images of different things with no real specific area or theme. I am currently pondering on the brink of buying a Nikon D5200,not sure of which lens to start out with. Can anybody recommend any good books to start off on for information and technical hands on to get a specific type of image. I have been looking through shots taken on here by various people and am amazed by the different of images but I need to camera walk through of settings on the camera of how these images are acquired the basics.

Any advice would be appreciated .
 
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A friend of mine gave me the dvd of A perfect Picture by the BRYAN PETERSON the author of the book you suggested, I have scanned through it and it looks very informative .
Thanks Steve I will have a look for that .
 
Hi,

Welcome to TP :)

If you're not set on a specific make or model yet - which you may be - I would suggest a wander down to Jessops, PC World or a local camera stockist and try out the different models and see what feels right - personally I went Canon, but hat was because someone let me have a play with theirs for a bit, one of my best mates Nikon, because thats what worked for him In short what system feels best will help you - in that price bracket is the 70D so thats the one I'd try and compare in teh shop if possible - sadly I don;t know Sony that sell so cannot easily help.

Books wise - yes understanding exposure is a very good book, but nothing compared to just getting out there and playing with a kit lens and see what you think from there.
 
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Oh, and never overlook youtube as a resource - lots on there and all free.

Also have a poke round this site (link) - it has all sorts of short guides - almost never goes into quite enough detail for me, but it does point you in the right direction and gives ideas.
 
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check out bryan peterson on youtube he's typical american a bit ott, but has some good advice his understanding exposure is a must read hth mike.
 
Hi and welcome.
TBH why don`t you ask your good friend, the photographer that suggested this site to help you, good hands on and all that.
Good luck with the camera whatever you get.
PS, i`m kinda new and most of what I have learnt is by a little help and lots of trial and error. (its kinda fun)
 
In the Harry Potter books the wand chooses Harry; use the same principle to select your camera. Go to a camera store that has a good selection of ALL the marques, not just Nikon and Canon. Handle the cameras within your budget; ignore the salesperson - he/she will be biased. The right camera for you will bring a smile to your face; buy it and have fun.

For me, recently, i.e. digital, it was Olympus, Canon, Casio, Pentax and Fuji.

Previously (film) it was Practica, Fuji, Minolta, Canon, and Pentax.
 
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JohnX said:
In the Harry Potter books the wand chooses Harry; use the same principle to select your camera. Go to a camera store that has a good selection of ALL the marques, not just Nikon and Canon. Handle the cameras within your budget; ignore the salesperson - he/she will be biased. The right camera for you will bring a smile to your face; buy it and have fun.

For me, recently, i.e. digital, it was Olympus, Canon, Casio, Pentax and Fuji.

Previously (film) it was Practica, Fuji, Minolta, Canon, and Pentax.
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Sensible comments...... And another way to improve things is perhaps buy 2nd as you'll get more camera for you £s
But definitely recommend trying out different camera bodies and see which works for you. Don't envy you, when I started there was the choice between 3 cameras, the canon 350D, 20D and Nikons D70s, I chose the canon 20D because the controls were in the right place and easy to access, weight and size felt comfortable to hold and personally it was the best camera of the 3. Today there's many more options to choose from, so pick one that you feel works for you, not one that someone else tells you to get.
 
Thanks for the advice , I have tried out a Nikon D5100 belong to a friend but have been recommended by another friend to look for a Nikon D90 second hand , I just had a look about and on here and came across a site for Hdew camera and they have a Nikon D5200 with a 17-55mm VR kit lens for £359. Has anybody had any dealing with this company . Its a cracking price to a pretty up to date model with all the bell and whistles.
I an going to take a trip to jessops tomorrow and has a look about at different models available there .
 
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Not personally - but theres 10 pages or so on them here - link - I understand they're good - I can't recall if they're import or not.

Great price too - they even beat Panamoz
 
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Thank John for the link " I never heard of a grey import before this " Hdew camera sure have stirred things up price wise .
I am not 100% about which camera to get but I think I will give them ago for sure ..3 yr warranty sounds good to me ..
 
Graham I like the sentiment amateurs built the "ARC" experts built the "TITANIC" think about it.
Everyday is a school day and I am looking to learn , Thanks Guys for the advice . I will keep you posted on the camera choice I make ..
 
My advice, given that you are new to photography, is to enter the market with a reasonable price (to you) model. Make doesn't matter, as eluded too previously, go for the brand that suits you or the brand that you get borrow lens from mates :D

If you do "get into" photography, you'll have learned enough to know what your needs are and can then sell your well kept equipment on this wonderful forum.

A word of warning.............. photography can be an expensive hobby............... if you let it be :exit:
 
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shannensdaddy said:
Graham I like the sentiment amateurs built the "ARC" experts built the "TITANIC" think about it.
Everyday is a school day and I am looking to learn , Thanks Guys for the advice . I will keep you posted on the camera choice I make ..
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You have to remember that the Titanic actually exists, and was built down to a price.

Whereas the Ark is a fairy story where the specifications were handed down by an all knowing deity (just saying)

The serious point is, particularly in photography, you need some talent, a means of polishing that talent which is usually knowledge and experience. Professional or Amateur, makes no difference to whether or not you're any good.
 
Phil V said:
You have to remember that the Titanic actually exists, and was built down to a price.

Whereas the Ark is a fairy story where the specifications were handed down by an all knowing deity (just saying)

The serious point is, particularly in photography, you need some talent, a means of polishing that talent which is usually knowledge and experience. Professional or Amateur, makes no difference to whether or not you're any good.
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Not to sure about having talent but its something I always wanted to do and as an interest its a good one .we all need interest to make life a little less boring .
 
Phil V said:
You have to remember that the Titanic actually exists, and was built down to a price.

Whereas the Ark is a fairy story where the specifications were handed down by an all knowing deity (just saying)

The serious point is, particularly in photography, you need some talent, a means of polishing that talent which is usually knowledge and experience. Professional or Amateur, makes no difference to whether or not you're any good.
Click to expand...

Not sure if I'd like to carry that analogy further. The Titanic sunk! lol
 
I've found the Scott Kelby books to be extremely helpful - I didn't know anything when I first got a DSLR, and his book is almost like a shopping list... it assumes you know nothing, and explains how to 'do' certain shots... e.g. landscape, portrait, misty mornings, macro etc. All you do is look up the type of shot in the index and apply the settings he suggests, and note the reasons behind it...

I found it more helpful than the camera manual, because the manual doesn't tell you about the 'creative effect' that the different settings have. For instance, it tells you where to change the aperture but it won't tell you that a large aperture will decrease your depth of field - Scott Kelby's book explained this to me, and you can pick them up very cheaply on Amazon (he also has a youtube channel)

Other than that, join a camera club or a local college - great fun, like minded people, and everyone is very willing to help you and/or give you advice.

And don't forget, it's not how much money you spend on your kit it's your creative eye that will make the difference! ;) x
 
No probs I will have a look on amazon for Scott Kelby books and also YouTube . I think I need to read up a good bit before I start . Sometimes its hard to ask the question that you really need answers for as you think they are daft but they bug you a little because you just don,t know.
Thats what i,m on here for , and thanks for the advice ..
 
On the topic of HDEW cameras I was going to buy my Canon 5D from them as they were by far the best price at the time. The 'grey import' issue did put me off though and I ended up getting it from Jessops who had an offer on and i got cash back too by buying through Quidco. Still paid a bit more than the HDEW price but I knew the warranty would be OK.

Having said all that many people are happy with HDEW - see this thread http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/hdew-cameras-yes-another-one.406883/.

Good luck with the photography. Best way to learn - especially in this digital age - is to take photographs! And I'd recommend YouTube too. Just search for "Photography tips", "Photography for beginners" - anything. You're bound to find something useful!
 
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