Where to start?

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itsjosh

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Josh
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Okay guys,
i understand you must get threads like this all the time and for that i do apologize. However, i am just wondering where should i start?
i have the nikon d60 and a 18-55 VR lens.
i have been pointing and clicking but obviously there are much better results you can get by using the different modes on the cameras etc.

I was thinking of enrolling on a Night or at home photography course?
or finding e-books?

Where do you guys think is a good place to start?
Any input is welcome

Thank you!
 
I think it depends on how you learn best! I, for example, am the kind of person who likes to fiddle about a lot with buttons, so I'm pretty much self taught with photography. Some people like to follow what others do, some people learn from books....how do you feel most comfortable learning??

There are plenty of courses available, I'm sure there will be members along soon to recommend some!

Books, are another huge area, each has it's own way of teaching which will either suit or not, so perhaps call in to Waterstones and have a browse :)
 
I think the first thing to do is digest your manual I know it can seem a bit of a mind numbing experience but it is worth it.

Then it would be worth getting a copy of Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson, it is a very good book that will put you on the way. isbn number is 0-8174-6300-3.

Once you have an understanding of the camera it is going to be a matter of trying to improve your compositional skills.

You can also review old threads on here and do specific searches there is a load of information and question that have already been asked.

Hope that helps a bit.

Nigel
 
purpleclouds said:
I think it depends on how you learn best! I, for example, am the kind of person who likes to fiddle about a lot with buttons, so I'm pretty much self taught with photography. Some people like to follow what others do, some people learn from books....how do you feel most comfortable learning??

There are plenty of courses available, I'm sure there will be members along soon to recommend some!

Books, are another huge area, each has it's own way of teaching which will either suit or not, so perhaps call in to Waterstones and have a browse :)
Click to expand...

See my main way of learning is the same style as yours, however being a newbie to DSLR and GOOD Photography :lol: i'm just a tad confused as to where to start.
i have been fiddling around with the camera, learning about shutter speeds etc, taking pictures of random things (glowsticks in nightmode) etc.
and im learning quite abit but obviously i'm sure there are a few things i can't learn by doing and would be handy to be told?

and thanks nigel, i will look into that now, and yeah i have the manual next to me right now!
 
First step, read the manual. I am completely self-taught and found the following books a great -

Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Understandi...=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1224622544&sr=1-2


Collins Digital SLR Handbook by John Freeman

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Collins-Dig...=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1224622573&sr=1-3


Buy a notebook. Experiment! Shoot the same scene with a combination of shutter speeds and different apertures and jot down your findings.

Here are a couple of websites -

http://www.popphoto.com/howto/1175/twelve-essential-photographic-rules.html?print_page=y

http://stopshootingauto.com

Hope this helped :)
 
I think that there are two sides to photography:

1: technical - exposure, lighting, etc.

2: artistic - composition, concept, etc.

But you don't say what aspect of photography you are interested in ?

I would recommend that you have a good look through the photo post sections - esp the in-depth critique and anon sections. Look at the pics and think about them. Think about how the images could be improved, about how the tog captured the image, what alternatives did they have? Did they set the shot up or capture what was there?

If you have a good eye for a pic you can learn the technical stuff through reading/experimentation/playing and again looking at how people have achieved particular images is very useful. It is more difficult to develop an eye.

Oh - get yourself a plug in for viewing exif data on pics in your browser. That will let you see what settings somebody used to get a specific image.
 
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