Starting out.

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CLARKO

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Name
john clarkson
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Hi

Being a complete newbie, I was wondering if anyone new of threads or publications to help me learn. I have just finished collins digital photography
course book, and i intend to get understanding exposure as it seems quite well thought of.

So far i have read a lot theory about light and exposure, but not practical tips about operating a camera when out and about.

So far i have been happy playing on full auto, but iam ready to have a go on manual now. where do you start, i have assumed the shot must be in focus so that has been my priority so far.

Iam assuming with experience you know what to do in different lights. but iam struggling with the aperture, iso or shutter speed decisions when it comes to exposure, cos i havnt got a clue?

So far i have just gone for iso 400 as i know as its a good all rounder when not in bright sunlight after tha iam stuck.

any advice would be gratfully received.

cheers

john
 
The book understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson is very good and should cover all the areas you mentioned.
 
CLARKO said:
Hi

Being a complete newbie, I was wondering if anyone new of threads or publications to help me learn. I have just finished collins digital photography
course book, and i intend to get understanding exposure as it seems quite well thought of.

So far i have read a lot theory about light and exposure, but not practical tips about operating a camera when out and about.

So far i have been happy playing on full auto, but iam ready to have a go on manual now. where do you start, i have assumed the shot must be in focus so that has been my priority so far.

Iam assuming with experience you know what to do in different lights. but iam struggling with the aperture, iso or shutter speed decisions when it comes to exposure, cos i havnt got a clue?

So far i have just gone for iso 400 as i know as its a good all rounder when not in bright sunlight after tha iam stuck.

any advice would be gratfully received.

cheers

john
Click to expand...

Ah mate - such a lot of fun ahead of you!

Read, experiment and look critically at your work. Good that you got the passion to learn. Best advice I can give is think about what the situation is and try different things to see how they turn out.

Try finding some pictures you like, and try reproducing them with a range of shutter speed, ISO and aperture... keep going like that and you get pretty good "gut feel" on what to do in any situation.

Or just experiment...
--e.g. want to know about depth of field? stick a bunch of objects along a table (wine bottles are good), focus on the middle one and change aperture.
--want to know about ISO? sit in a dark room and try different ISO settings.
--what's a good shutter speed to freeze action? try different ones and drop a tennis ball in front of the camera, or catch cars going along a road...
---difficult lighting (like into the sun or a silhouette) - use exposure compensation to bracket two stops each way.

And if all this sounds scary - don't worry - it will become easy with a bit of playing. Remember, your camera manual should be in your camera bag and can become your best friend!

If all that sounds baffling choose ISO400 and either f/8 and 1/250th sec - they'll give you a pretty good start in most situations - then experiment by turning the camera dials a bit to see what else works.
 
Some may advise you to go from auto to aperture priority or shutter priority, which is the way I went. I played around in aperture priority and looked at the results and the settings for ISO and shutter that the camera assigned.
 
Like Whooshdemon says above, the best way is simply to just keep playing with your camera - for me atleast. I did have a book on beginner photography, but if I'm honest I didn't get much further in it than explaining the basics of operating a camera (ISO, AV, Tv) and then went playing from there.

It would start off, see a scene - picture how i wanted it - take a shot -> check shot on screen -> make adjustments -> repeat til desired image appears! Got it down to normally a test shot in what ever light there is that day, and then just shoot from there with little tweaks now and then.

Maybe just start on semi auto if you like, with Av or Tv priority to help you get used to playing with the settings. I've had the added benefit of studying photography for 1 year as part of my degree, but most of this was spent on self development and not tutorage (except the studio stuff).

The simple answer: just go and play, think about what is the best composition and lighting, and try and adjust your settings for til you get something close to what you want.
 
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