Newbie Help?

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widge milward

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Name
Steven
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Hi, ive always had an interest in photography but only other peoples, ive finally taken the plunge and bought a cheap DSLR (Nikon D60)

does anyone have any hints / tips / advice to improve my photography. i have only had the camera a week and used the auto function and then one or two of the set functions like "landscape" "portrait" etc

Ideally id like to take pictures of landscapes but also of my family (mainly my son)

What settings would be best for this type of photo's. im only using the lens that came with the camera at present to get used to everything and try to get a base knowledge.

Kind Regards
 
I love this book - Understanding Exposure.
It has a solid introduction to photography and is a great place to start in order to get yourself off of that 'Auto Green Box'. Have a read then take as many snaps as you can. Give yourself an understanding of your camera and then start looking at upgrades on your glass.

If you are after more of a quick guide then this Scott Kelby book is very good IMO. Some people dont like his quick fix crib sheet style but in terms of giving you a running start at photography tis awesome.

Good luck! You are going to love the journey (although the same cannot be said for your bank account :lol: )
 
I'm still very new to this too so i'm sure many more people here will have better advice.

I started out with a D60 and found it a relatively good base point. If I were you I'd resist using the presets and move into a creative zone - my preference would be for aperture priority (the camera will then adjust the shutter speed). The key is to practice as much as possible, even take shots of things you wouldn't normally consider. Another key thing is not to let a few bad photos dent your confidence and put you off.

DSLR'S for Dummies is a really helpful book to read, I often refer to my copy, and it's not badly priced.

Welcome to TP, do jump right in and ask as many questions as you want... one thing I've found is that everyone is very friendly and willing to offer advice :)
 
Hi widge,

Glad to see you took the plunge into dslr you'll love it trust me, however it is a very steep learning curve. Can't really give advice on specific settings as there are a lot of things to consider for each shot you take, but when i started i used to take a shot in auto mode, look at what settings the camera had used then switch to manual use the same settings then just alter one at a time taking a shot each time and see what difference they make to each shot.
You'll be surprised how fast you pick things up, Also very important READ THE MANUAL it's amazing how many people don't.
Apart from that make good use of this forum there are a lot of very clever people on here and just keep shooting.
Practice makes perfect as they say !:)
 
Thanks everyone, ill definately go and read the manual and take a look at the books mentioned.

Just a quick question, the camera is automatically set up to shoot to JPEG. Should this be changed to shoot to RAW? or not? what are the advantages or both etc?

Thanks for your time people.
 
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