Newbie Advice

[RobbieB]

Ok, as some of you might remember from my other thread I was buying a 350D. This arrived on Monday and I've been playing around as much as possible and reading as much literature on it (and photography) as I can.

So it turns out, in my girlfriend Fashion course at uni she needs to go out and take pictures of things in nature. Landscapes, trees, plants etc etc. So immediately she suggests we spend this Saturday at a forest (Epping forest is close, and if I leave before cars / people start flashing me and the missus it's quite nice) and test the new camera.

Now I am *very* new to this and until I can justify forking out for the lens that was recommended to me, I'm borrowing a 35mm-70mm lens from the IT guy at work. Can anyone give me some tips on what settings I should be playing around with to get some decent quality photos?

I was under the illusion that using AF / landscape setting will be fine for exactly what it says on the tin, but what about closer up pictures? Should I use M & sports setting for any unfortunate animals that come near me? Should I be using AV / TV?

My girlfriend is very aware I'm inexperienced at photography, but I don't want to come back with 300 pictures out of focus and fuzzier than a Nun's party zone.

Thanks

[nick_bbb]

If you're completley new I would use the green square and concentrate on composition and let the camera do all the exposure work.

[beano500]

Hmm!?

One simple tip is just go out and use it.

Next best thing I can suggest is to set your camera to Aperture Priority. You take control of which aperture you set and then take a series of shots using f/2.8, f/4, f/8, f/16 and see how it effects focus. Using a little number will isolate your subject that you have focussed on from the background. (You could also go manual focus to take control of where you are focussing too.) This might be a very useful first thing to learn about for your circumstances.


Whatever you do - have fun!

[Kit80]

I would stick it in P mode as advised to me until your more expereinced. Although the best way to learn I have tried so far is find a picture you want to take..landscapes dont tend to move much, and try it on a few settings. If your worried about fuzz get a tripod.

[Felters]

See if the IT guy has a tripod you can borrow. Landscape stuff is often done at a higher F stop (smaller aperture) meaning that the shutter speed will be slower. Hand held cameras and long exposures don't mix... apart from that just go for it. Rattle off lots of shots and see what happens.

If all else fails try this

http://www.rps.org/learningzone/landscape/landscap...

[jon-]

nick_bbb said:

If you're completley new I would use the green square and concentrate on composition and let the camera do all the exposure work.

I don't see any harm in doing as the OP suggests and using the "creative" auto modes, like the landscape mode. This will balance out exposure for the right aperture for depth of field where the green square might not.

Like wise with portrait mode, this usually goes for a wide aperture to give a shallow depth of field which would be a little more arty when shooting things like flowers as you'll get good background blur.

[nick_bbb]

Well I guess it depends how much the OP wants to lean at once. After moving from a P&S I started using the green square until I got used to focusing, focal lengths and composition. I then worked clockwise round the mode dial and never went near the "creative" modes. Why? Because if you understand what they are doing you understand the triad relationship between Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO and may as well go semi (Av or Tv) automaticn or manual.

If you've never used an DSLR I personally think it's too much to learn all of that in one day in the woods but it's a while since I went through this learning curve so I may be out of touch.

OP if you want to know more have a play with this... http://dryreading.com/camera/index.html

[Simpo Two]

RobbieB said:

she needs to go out and take pictures

Hmm...

[mcflurry]

I am going through a similar learning process at the moment since upgrading from a P&S to Nikon D5000.

First I tend to look and compose "the shot" using the auto selection, then play with the various Aperture settings, specific scene choices and shutter buttons afterwards. Shooting raw and jpg combined does eat memory though, but allows adjustments later

Once they are back on the computer the effects of each can be seen on the exif tag, for example landscapes = high f numbers, arty shots = lower f numbers

[RobbieB]

Thanks for this guys. I'll let you know how I get on, and if I get any pics I actually like I'll upload them for some feed back