Not making progress

Astraeus

Astraeus

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1,063
Name
Ciaran
Edit My Images
Yes
Folks,

I bought a Nikon D40 last summer with the intention of breaking through the wall that limited my photography with a P&S camera. Since then, I've been out-and-about with the camera and I'm competent (if not an expert) at getting DoF etc. correct but I still feel I'm only using my camera as a P&S.

I've read Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Exposure" but still find myself at a loss as to several concepts - most simply the correlation between shutter speed, ISO and aperture. I can not get my head around it.

Now I'm feeling demotivated with my photography because it doesn't seem to be progressing. I managed to take shots with my Casio Exilim which are as "good" and emotive as some of the shots I'm now taking with my D40.

Is there any other books you'd recommend to get me using more than the basic features of my D40? I never even toy with white balance, such is the level I've stopped at.

All guidance is much appreciated. :help:
 
Have you tried shooting with another photographer?

I found that bouncing ideas off a couple of other (novice - the same as me) togs brought my technique on in leaps and bounds.
 
Astraeus said:
Folks,

I bought a Nikon D40 last summer with the intention of breaking through the wall that limited my photography with a P&S camera. Since then, I've been out-and-about with the camera and I'm competent (if not an expert) at getting DoF etc. correct but I still feel I'm only using my camera as a P&S.

I've read Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Exposure" but still find myself at a loss as to several concepts - most simply the correlation between shutter speed, ISO and aperture. I can not get my head around it.

Now I'm feeling demotivated with my photography because it doesn't seem to be progressing. I managed to take shots with my Casio Exilim which are as "good" and emotive as some of the shots I'm now taking with my D40.

Is there any other books you'd recommend to get me using more than the basic features of my D40? I never even toy with white balance, such is the level I've stopped at.

All guidance is much appreciated. :help:
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I'm now where you were a year ago - I've had a look at the link above, and it explains stuff really well :clap: thanks Harvey Nikon !:)
 
I learn best by doing when it comes to stuff like this. How often do you go out with the camera? I notice you've not uploaded anything to Flickr since May and before that, March. The best advice I can give is get out there and take some photos. See if you find stuff you've learned from the book coming in handy. If you don't, never mind, just enjoy yourself and take some nice photos.
 
I would read basic photography by michael langford, it explains things really well, the penny will drop with the shtterspeed iso and aperture and then it is simple and you will start thinking in "stops" I am rubbish at writting it down, if you want it explained pm me and I will pm you my phone number and I can explain it to you, it is really easy, honest.
 
When I have a lack of inspiration I find Flickr a fantastic source for sparking the old creativity in my mind.

I also find trying to recreate other peoples photos is good for a number of reasons. Firstly, because you're trying to recreate something it forces you to learn more about the settings which are required to recreate the image. Secondly, it might be a subject which you otherwise wouldn't photograph, and so it forces you to look at that subject in a different light.

Now, copying is probably frowned upon, which is why the third reason it is a thing I like doing is that I rarely 'copy' someone elses photo as by simply trying to recreate it, my creativity kicks in and I end up doing something in my own style.

I hope that makes sense.

Also, go exploring, I had about 4-6 months off photography at the end of last year, and in January this year what kicked it all off again for me was getting up at 4am on a freezing morning and just going exploring in my car to take photos, the results were ok and it sparked me off and got me taking more photos. I have taken probably twice as many photos so far this year than I did in all of last year. I am very fussy and so I maybe only process 5-15 from any one shoot.

Now, I have found that I love portrait/fashion photography, and all my efforts are currently going into that.

Not sure if this helps, I am just typing out some of my thoughts :)


EDIT: Oh, one more thing, I sometimes just get my camera out around the house and go taking photos of things. I mostly don't process anything but I find it fun just taking pictures. More often than not I process photos that I take of my cats :) - http://www.flickr.com/photos/scarysquirrel/sets/72157617914003653/
 
Harvey_nikon said:
Have you seen this website:

http://www.kamerasimulator.se/index_eng.php

Someone else posted it on here and even though I understand it I still found it very helpful to see the way they effect each other.
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THIS IS BRILLIANT :clap: I'm almost tempted to offer to buy you a beer :clap:

To the OP, I know how you feel but I'm beginning to form the opinion that photography is like painting or writing music, what I mean is, it's an art form in the truest sense of the word and I for one don't have an artistic bone in my body. To that end I'm just going to try and become as technically proficient as I can whilst ensuring I don't stop having fun and then, perhaps I'll try to get 'arty'.
 
AB22 Easy Tiger said:
Have you tried shooting with another photographer?
Click to expand...

No. That's probably a good idea. I think I'll put the feelers out for some more proficient snappers up around my area and see if I can head out with one sometime soon.

Harvey_nikon said:
Have you seen this website:

http://www.kamerasimulator.se/index_eng.php

Someone else posted it on here and even though I understand it I still found it very helpful to see the way they effect each other.
Click to expand...

That's really useful, thanks for that! :thumbs:

bobiscuit said:
This is where I started: http://digital-photography-school.com/learning-exposure-in-digital-photography

Then I just kept following more and more links on that site - all very well written and useful :)
Click to expand...

Have started to have a look through on your recommendation - certainly looks like it'll give me a better knowledge. Cheers! :thumbs:

The Matt said:
I learn best by doing when it comes to stuff like this. How often do you go out with the camera? I notice you've not uploaded anything to Flickr since May and before that, March. The best advice I can give is get out there and take some photos. See if you find stuff you've learned from the book coming in handy. If you don't, never mind, just enjoy yourself and take some nice photos.
Click to expand...

I have stopped uploading to Flickr because my computer doesn't have the ability to allow me to edit photos - it crashes when I run Lightroom or Photoshop. So I'm planning a massive overhaul of my photos and a massive upload once my new PC arrives in October.

As for how often, I'd say I'm out with it at least once a week and have spent many hours this summer on holiday using it, only to find I have washed-out skies and no real "pop" to my photos.

Davec223 said:
I would read basic photography by michael langford, it explains things really well, the penny will drop with the shtterspeed iso and aperture and then it is simple and you will start thinking in "stops" I am rubbish at writting it down, if you want it explained pm me and I will pm you my phone number and I can explain it to you, it is really easy, honest.
Click to expand...

Will have a look at that and probably make a purchase over the weekend. Thank you. :thumbs:

ScarySquirrel said:
When I have a lack of inspiration I find Flickr a fantastic source for sparking the old creativity in my mind.

I also find trying to recreate other peoples photos is good for a number of reasons. Firstly, because you're trying to recreate something it forces you to learn more about the settings which are required to recreate the image. Secondly, it might be a subject which you otherwise wouldn't photograph, and so it forces you to look at that subject in a different light.

Now, copying is probably frowned upon, which is why the third reason it is a thing I like doing is that I rarely 'copy' someone elses photo as by simply trying to recreate it, my creativity kicks in and I end up doing something in my own style.

I hope that makes sense.

Also, go exploring, I had about 4-6 months off photography at the end of last year, and in January this year what kicked it all off again for me was getting up at 4am on a freezing morning and just going exploring in my car to take photos, the results were ok and it sparked me off and got me taking more photos. I have taken probably twice as many photos so far this year than I did in all of last year. I am very fussy and so I maybe only process 5-15 from any one shoot.

Now, I have found that I love portrait/fashion photography, and all my efforts are currently going into that.

Not sure if this helps, I am just typing out some of my thoughts :)


EDIT: Oh, one more thing, I sometimes just get my camera out around the house and go taking photos of things. I mostly don't process anything but I find it fun just taking pictures. More often than not I process photos that I take of my cats :) - http://www.flickr.com/photos/scarysquirrel/sets/72157617914003653/
Click to expand...

I find that, after a look on Flickr, I'm most inspired to start doing studio shots. So might have a look around but think, in that regard, I'm limited by not having the flash units etc. So will focus my "copying" more on long exposures and such which get me thinking technically.
 
Astraeus said:
I have stopped uploading to Flickr because my computer doesn't have the ability to allow me to edit photos - it crashes when I run Lightroom or Photoshop. So I'm planning a massive overhaul of my photos and a massive upload once my new PC arrives in October.

As for how often, I'd say I'm out with it at least once a week and have spent many hours this summer on holiday using it, only to find I have washed-out skies and no real "pop" to my photos.
Click to expand...

Shame about your computer. I hope you get your new one soon. Photos do tend to look a bit lacklustre if they've not had any editing so maybe this is contributing to the problem. If washed out skies are your problem you should consider getting a set of ND grad filters. The alternative to those is exposure blending which will be out of your reach until your computer is sorted unfortunately.
 
Hi Astraeus

The shoot with a tog buddy is pretty good advice.
Also, join photo club / course if it's your bag.

Personally I just experiment. Take a few shots of same thing with different settings and after a while you'll know generally what works for you.

Check out EXIF on shots you like and especially those you'd like to be able to shoot and go out and have a go yourself. Check results and if they don't work mess about a little more with settings and have another go.

The D40 is a very nice camera. I started with that and I liked it a lot.
Good luck with it.
 
The Matt said:
Shame about your computer. I hope you get your new one soon. Photos do tend to look a bit lacklustre if they've not had any editing so maybe this is contributing to the problem. If washed out skies are your problem you should consider getting a set of ND grad filters. The alternative to those is exposure blending which will be out of your reach until your computer is sorted unfortunately.
Click to expand...

The ND grads are en route as we speak. That's the real bane of my photography so I've got myself some Hitech grads which will hopefully offer me up a few more options. And yep, the computer problems are seriously frustrating but it's all money, money, money. :'(

Rockshifter said:
Hi Astraeus

The shoot with a tog buddy is pretty good advice.
Also, join photo club / course if it's your bag.

Personally I just experiment. Take a few shots of same thing with different settings and after a while you'll know generally what works for you.

Check out EXIF on shots you like and especially those you'd like to be able to shoot and go out and have a go yourself. Check results and if they don't work mess about a little more with settings and have another go.

The D40 is a very nice camera. I started with that and I liked it a lot.
Good luck with it.
Click to expand...

Love the camera. Even for one with as "few" options as this compared to other models, I'm still not using all of the functions on it which disappoints me somewhat. The 'tog buddy is coming soon! :thumbs:
 
Hi, I'll add my two cents here.

Perhaps the best way to understand photography more is to get to grips about the sciences behind light. With that in mind, it might help to approach photography from a different angle.

I'll use my own experience to give you a better idea on what I'm on about. Like you, I was happily shooting away using just the auto settings on my D40, until it got to a point where I wanted to move away from the comfort zone of the Auto and delve into the dark murky depths of manual settings but felt too overwhelmed by it all.

The first thing I got to grips was the M button to alter shutter speeds. I've learnt that anything below 1/30th of a second while the camera is hand held will result in camera shake, so I got myself a tripod. Then I got myself into night time photography as I experimented with different exposure timings.

Then I got to know the A button for the Aperture. I've learnt that the high F numbers will produce a very tightly closed aperture, and the low F figures for wide aperatures. I soon discovered that everything is in focus under the high F numbers and I get a lovely depth of field effect when I use a wide aperture. The DoF effect became even more pronounced when I attached a Sigma 300 mm lens to my camera!

I've learnt how to use that light meter in the middle of the view finder, where I see that whenever the arrow meets up in the middle, the exposure would be spot on.

And if I wanted to take indoors shots without using the flash, I upped the ISO but I've found that 800 is the ideal compromise between getting good quality shots and keeping the shutter speed high. 1600 came out looking awful! :D

I probably have been talking out of my backside here but that's how I got to grips with using an SLR camera. I've still got a long way to go but it's all about taking baby steps and not to expect too much out of myself, while at the same time understanding the sciences behind light.
 
Ian D J said:
Hi, I'll add my two cents here.

Perhaps the best way to understand photography more is to get to grips about the sciences behind light. With that in mind, it might help to approach photography from a different angle.

I'll use my own experience to give you a better idea on what I'm on about. Like you, I was happily shooting away using just the auto settings on my D40, until it got to a point where I wanted to move away from the comfort zone of the Auto and delve into the dark murky depths of manual settings but felt too overwhelmed by it all.

The first thing I got to grips was the M button to alter shutter speeds. I've learnt that anything below 1/30th of a second while the camera is hand held will result in camera shake, so I got myself a tripod. Then I got myself into night time photography as I experimented with different exposure timings.

Then I got to know the A button for the Aperture. I've learnt that the high F numbers will produce a very tightly closed aperture, and the low F figures for wide aperatures. I soon discovered that everything is in focus under the high F numbers and I get a lovely depth of field effect when I use a wide aperture. The DoF effect became even more pronounced when I attached a Sigma 300 mm lens to my camera!

I've learnt how to use that light meter in the middle of the view finder, where I see that whenever the arrow meets up in the middle, the exposure would be spot on.

And if I wanted to take indoors shots without using the flash, I upped the ISO but I've found that 800 is the ideal compromise between getting good quality shots and keeping the shutter speed high. 1600 came out looking awful! :D

I probably have been talking out of my backside here but that's how I got to grips with using an SLR camera. I've still got a long way to go but it's all about taking baby steps and not to expect too much out of myself, while at the same time understanding the sciences behind light.
Click to expand...

:thumbs: thats the best, most plain english way of explaining it, ive seen. good job, well written!!:clap:
 
When I was in the earlier stages of photography one of the things that allowed me to get my head around the concept of ISO, aperture and shutter speed was attempting to replicate photo's I'd seen and liked. Things like photographing a water drop as it hits the water is a really good example. You need to nail the focus, timing and exposure to get a decent looking shot. If any of those are out the problem is glaringly obvious.
To do it either use a sink near a window, a glass vase or container under a tap or even rig something up outside with a hose pipe if you can't set up the suitable conditions indoors and snap away trying different apertures and shutter speeds to see the impact they have.
I've always found shooting the same subject in different ways and reviewing the results a great way to get to grips with the technicalities.

Where do you live by the way?
 
Definately been there with my D40...

I've been shooting 2 years now and have only just started venturing into more mannual control of the camera. I will still fall back to auto if I'm in a situation where I'm not 100% on the conditions and don't want to miss the shot. HOWEVER I try and shoot a couple on auto then replicate and tamper with the results in mannual.

i.e. if on auto the shot comes out 1/160 at F11, iso 100 then I'll pop it into Mannual and shoot at 1/160, F8, Iso 100 and see how it comes out. Just tweeking a little here and there until I like the result and utilising the histogram.

I have found I'm doing less PP now because of this.

Don't always discount auto mode though - whilst you may not have total artistic control it does give you a fair starting point and allows you to practice your composition and photographic 'eye' before you move on to getting to grips with the controls.
 
Astraeus said:
but I still feel I'm only using my camera as a P&S.

point and shoot technique also means the camera you use for that will give the same exposures as a manually set one...

....thusI managed to take shots with my Casio Exilim which are as "good" and emotive as some of the shots I'm now taking with my D40.
Click to expand...

dont get too hyped up about your technical mega jump
the subject nor the light knows who or what is taking their picture
the control is better and methods to vary
but a good picture is a good picture...Mp aside

the best effects in nature are natural..:thumbs:
 
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