Advice for photography lessons & lens purchase

[bronzebrunette78]

As always, I'm amazed by the wealth of information you can find here on this site. This time, I'm looking for a little advice in the photography world…..so who better to ask than you guys?!

My BF bought me a Canon T1I DSLR camera for Christmas and I'm psyched to start learning how to use it….and prepare for my next WDW vaca in November. About 10 years ago I took a photography course in college, but unfortunately, I've lost all that knowledge over time. I'm hoping to find a class, book, or online demo/course to refresh my memory on subjects like aperture, ISO, shutter speed, etc. Any good sites or books you could recommend would be wonderful.

Also, if anyone has any advice on a great lens for use with this camera, I'd appreciate it. He bought me an 18-55 mm EF-S lens, but I'd like to consider a wide angle and a bit more zoom to have in my repertoire as well……hopefully, nothing too outrageously priced.

Any and ALL advice in this area would be welcomed…I certainly consider myself a complete novice, and I'm sure that I'll learn a ton just by simply reading these posts here. Thanks a ton! :goodvibes

[AndrewWG]

A great book to start with is the ever popular Bryan Peterson's Understanding Exposure. It is a wealth of knowledge to newbies and would most likely refresh your memory of your previous class. It is here:

http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-3rd-Photographs-Camera/dp/0817439390/ref=sr_1_cc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1293499500&sr=1-1-catcorr


A lens that I would start with would be the 50mm f1.8. This is a great low light lens and is rather cheap at (usually) under $110 or so. It is here:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00007E7JU/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B00005LEN4&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0KR31QGKWQ3A1TKSZJW6

Wider angle and more zoom for short money are a bit harder to come by. I will let others answer that one.

edit: I see that you are on Cape Cod. how did you like those storms? I am just off cape and was shoveling all morning..... :(

[DVC Mike]

A great book to start with is the ever popular Bryan Peterson's Understanding Exposure. It is a wealth of knowledge to newbies and would most likely refresh your memory of your previous class.

I second that recommendation.

Another book I'd recommend is The Life Guide to Digital Photography by Joe McNally.

[MerryPoppins]

Love books by Scott Kelby. Also courses taught online at Kelby Training.

[bronzebrunette78]

Thanks for those tips! I was actually checking out that 50 mm f1.8 lens….seems to get a lot of good reviews, particularly in that price range. I'll have to check out those 2 books.

As for the storm, we here on the Cape managed to escape the worst of it. A lot of wind, but the snow turned to rain and just left a slushy, icy mess. No strenuous shoveling for us….not this time anyways! :cool1:

[AndrewWG]

As for the storm, we here on the Cape managed to escape the worst of it. A lot of wind, but the snow turned to rain and just left a slushy, icy mess. No strenuous shoveling for us….not this time anyways! :cool1:

Lucky! :lmao: Not so lucky here but it really could have been worse. The shoveling was painful since it was so darned heavy (being about 4 inches of slushy slimy snow). Been through worse but certainly have been through better.

[GvilleDisneyDad]

A great book to start with is the ever popular Bryan Peterson's Understanding Exposure. It is a wealth of knowledge to newbies and would most likely refresh your memory of your previous class. It is here:

http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-3rd-Photographs-Camera/dp/0817439390/ref=sr_1_cc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1293499500&sr=1-1-catcorr


A lens that I would start with would be the 50mm f1.8. This is a great low light lens and is rather cheap at (usually) under $110 or so. It is here:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00007E7JU/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B00005LEN4&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0KR31QGKWQ3A1TKSZJW6

Wider angle and more zoom for short money are a bit harder to come by. I will let others answer that one.

edit: I see that you are on Cape Cod. how did you like those storms? I am just off cape and was shoveling all morning..... :(

^ looks like really good advice to me. Good luck and enjoy! :upsidedow

[ChiSoxKeith]

In addition to the 50 f1.8, consider the 55-250. You can get it for under $250.

Stay away from the 75-300 (which amazon has for 114.95). I guess it depends on what you want to shoot. If you're going to shoot a stationary object at a distance in great light, then the lens is ok. But I tried doing some HS football games - Freshmen year (when the games were at 4:00PM) turned out ok. Sophomore year (when the games were at 6:00PM, were ok early in the game got progressively worse) and then varsity year (games starting at 8:00) - just forget it.

Some other tips (which I didn't see mentioned elsewhere)....if you decide to move up into more expensive or specialty lenses, you can always rent them from www.borrowlenses.com or www.lensrentals.com.

Also there are lots of good photography podcasts / video casts out there.....

This Week In Photo
Photofocus (and the companion www.photofocus.com which has a daily tip / review / etc)
D-Town

[Kphoto]

Here's a couple of websites that might help:

http://www.lynda.com/tutorial/453
WWW.photographyschoolhouse.com

Good luck!
Karen
P.S. Love your avatar. I've got an Aussie named Cowboy.

[bronzebrunette78]

Thanks so much for all the tips, guys! I'm psyched to really get into all of these books and sites….can't wait to have pics I can post too!

One more question for you experts out there…..I've been reading the instruction manual that came along with my Canon T1I and some online sites, and it seems that I can't use the LCD screen as my viewfinder while in Automatic mode. Since I'm not yet sure how to best use the manual settings, I'm worried that this may be kind of limiting. That said, what do you all think? Do you recommend using the LCD? Is there a better DSLR out there that allows me to use one in an auto setting? My BF said that we could exchange the camera or upgrade it if I decide I really want that feature. Any thoughts??

Thanks again!!

[Pea-n-Me]

Many dSLR users prefer to use the optical viewfinder rather than the LCD when composing shots anyway.

http://cameras.about.com/od/advanceddigitalcameras/a/lcd-screen-limitations.htm

http://vfxfilmmaker.com/2010/11/23/buying-a-camera-optical-vs-electronic-viewfinders/

[AlbertZeroK]

Magic Lantern makes user DVD's about your camera. it also covers some basics. Most importantly, it will go through each feature and button on your camera. Highly recomended!!!