Get to know your camera!

[YEKCIM]

Okay, you've got your new dSLR or feature packed digital P&S camera, memory cards and spare batteries, and you're all set for your photo shoot at Walt Disney World, right? Wrongo! That is, unless you have taken the time to study the manual and familiarize yourself with your new equipment.

Many great pictures can be made using "full auto", to be sure. But, what about when the lighting conditions are not just right, or when you want to achieve some unusual effect? What then? Do you pull out the manual, right in the middle of the Magic Kingdom, to read up on how to change the white balance? If you're like me, the manual is back in the hotel room or perhaps still six hundred miles away, at home!

One of the greatest things about digital photography is the ability to experiment with your camera almost infinitely, at zero cost. In film days, experimentation was a costly pursuit, due to film and processing costs. Now, you can zap off dozens of "test" shots at zero cost, get immediate feedback, and just delete them after you have learned whatever it was you were trying to learn.

So, before you head off for that once in a lifetime trip to The World, spend some time reading the manual, playing with the different settings, and becoming familiar with all the adjustments and nuances of your new, precision tool. If you are even remotely serious about photography, I'm betting you will not regret the investment of time.

~YEKCIM

 

[jann1033]

very good advice there is definitly some learning to be done

and if i might add... check out some sites like http://digital-photography-school.com and the photo board here for lots of good advice

could be i am more dense than some but it's taken me over a month to just feel somewhat familiar with my dslr ( and that was after using a slr for yrs) and still not "set" with digital in general

 

[Kelly Grannell]

from my photography blog:

I've bought a dSLR but my pictures are the same as my point and shoot

Well, maybe that's due to the fact that you can't take pictures to begin with. Just like a music-company's slogan used to say "Our products won't make your music better, but they will help you to create it faster".

Owning a dSLR doesn't make you a photographer, albeit a good one. Just like anything else (cars, audio system, recording gears, power tools, sewing machines), these things are just tools.

I've created (and sold) pictures taken with a lowly Fuji A345 (a $200 3MP P&S camera) and sometimes I can't sell pictures taken with a 30D and L-series lens (a $4,000 combo of lens and 8MP dSLR).

It's all about the photographer and how she (he) knows her (his) equipment.

Take your time to learn about the camera operations, buy photography magazines, look at other people's pictures. After more than 14 years dabbling in photography, I'm still learning everyday.

Remember, dSLR gives you the room to grow. Embrace it, get out of the "green zone" gutter and try to experiment.






Tuesday, May 30, 2006
you've bought a new camera... now what?

A lot of people highly recommend "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson. I agree. It's a great book. The only problem is that you've just spent a bundle on your shiny new camera. Oh and I almost forgot... you don't know how to use your camera down to its core yet.

what to do?... what to do?

Well, first: do RTFM. Read The "Flowery" Manual (you can always change the word "Flowery" with something more colourful such as "Frilly", "Fastidious", "Forceful" or ....)

second, visit Canon's "Enjoy dSLR" info site. Even if you don't own a dSLR, this is a great start. Even better this thing is free!!! Free is good thing.

Here's the link: http://www.canon.co.jp/Imaging/enjoydslr/index.html

 

[makinorlando]

From someone who was pretty clueless to all the "technical photography" terms when I got my S2-IS, but has always loved to take photos, the manual was scary. But I kept hearing Kelly say RTFM, and even then I was still sometimes clueless. However, over time, and with some help from the wonderful "peeps" on this forum, what the book says is starting to make sense. I practice with my camera often!

Don't give up on your manual and practice practice practice! I'm lucky to have the "Happiest Place on Earth" close by for great subject matter when practicing and all my crazy pets help too!

But on the "down side" - the more I understand the more I want a dSLR.......