Looking for help as a beginner taking pictures

[anpeck]

We're going to WDW in September and I figured now would be a great time to start learning the ins and outs of getting good pictures on an actual camera. My DS will be turning 2 on our trip and I want to be able to capture all of the moments that a photopass photographer won't be present for, like him having his birthday cake at Be Our Guest

Can you recommend a good beginner camera? I've done a little bit of research and it sounds like a good starting point would be the Sony RX100, but I'm looking for any input and recommendations that you're willing to share. Also, on the blog I was reading it recommended getting the book Understanding Exposure. Has anyone else read this and found it helpful?

TIA!

 

[havoc315]

We're going to WDW in September and I figured now would be a great time to start learning the ins and outs of getting good pictures on an actual camera. My DS will be turning 2 on our trip and I want to be able to capture all of the moments that a photopass photographer won't be present for, like him having his birthday cake at Be Our Guest

Can you recommend a good beginner camera? I've done a little bit of research and it sounds like a good starting point would be the Sony RX100, but I'm looking for any input and recommendations that you're willing to share. Also, on the blog I was reading it recommended getting the book Understanding Exposure. Has anyone else read this and found it helpful?

TIA!

You're on the right track. The rx100 is very capable, and Understanding Exposure is an excellent primer.

 

[klmall]

I too have read some good press about the Sony RX100 and a friend has one which she really likes as she learns photography.

I'm a big Canon fan so I recommend any camera from the "Canon G" line. I started with a G5, moved up to the G9 and then G12 before switching over to Canon DSLRs. I see them on eBay and other resale sites sometimes for decent prices. Virtually any picture I took on Auto seemed to come out well even most night scenes. The "G" line also allows taking raw format pictures without investing in a DSLR which increases the learning curve but does allow salvaging some poorly shot pictures.

My other big advice is to take carry your camera everywhere before your trip! Take pictures of anything and everything and view the results. It doesn't matter if you delete the majority of these or whatever. Get comfortable taking pictures in different situations such as crowds, poor lighting, candids, and night time. Try all the different camera settings and get a comfortable strap and bag or whatever for carrying your camera in the parks. If it helps, create some 'cheat sheets' with notes about what setting works best for you as you learn. That way when you have to quickly set your camera for something different you don't have to refer to a manual.

Have fun with your camera and enjoy your trip!

 

[Skywise]

The Sony is a good camera line to start with (I'm a Canon DSLR guy now myself but I started out with a Sony P&S).

- Definitely get a spare battery you can take with you to the parks. In personal use I tend to burn through the first battery by mid-late afternoon.
- Get as large a memory card as you can - in fact you might want to get two (just in case you start filling up the first one and definitely if you have no way of offloading the pictures before you get home from vacation).
- Take LOTS of pictures, if you don't get it right, take it again! You can always delete the shots you hate but a missed shot is gone forever! Also experiment with settings for things like landscapes and such to get a feel for how they work in your camera (basically your camera responds and behaves in a particular way and to get the type of picture you want (colors and lighting and such) you may have to switch to certain settings to get the look you want. For instance when shooting things like Christmas Tree lights or the lights on Main Street my camera tends to auto-expose dark scenes at a brighter point than I like (Because it's trying to show the whole tree/buildings and not just the lights so the lights get blown out) - Rather than set the exposure manually (which I suck at) I let the camera pick the exposure but then set the camera to adjust that up or down with an override.
- If it stands still photograph it, if it moves or plays music - VIDEO IT (then use photo editing software to pull the picture out!) Pictures of your getting your 2 year old with the cake are good - Getting video of your 2 year old seeing the cake as its brought out are better! Same with recording the parades, fireworks, shows, too, etc;
- Take lots of pictures! (Yeah again) - It's amazing what pictures you take that you'll end up liking after you get home. There are times I've spent lots of time planning out a shot to get it just so and then I get home and it's just... bleh... Then I've got the shot where it caught my eye, I had the camera out and shot taken in like 10 seconds and that's the one on my wallpaper! My last trip I took about 500 shots and ended up pulling out about 25 that I show off.

 

[katt789]

I'm a big canon user, I had a canon powershot point & shoot with manual and other various setting modes before I moved up to a T5 dslr. I loved it for it's zoom capabilities, and the options to use certain settings that were better off in situations that involved less light with no flash. (ie, folk, or anything indoor really).

In terms of learning, check out a ton of books from your library, specific to the type of camera you have (ie, dslr, or point& shoot) and then specify the brand/make. I spent a solid 3 months learning more this way between trips, and the pictures I have from the most recent one are AMAZING. Also if you are willing to make the jump, check into some post editing software, I just switched over to Lightroom, and despite it being pricey, it IS INCREDIBLE, again, takes a bit to get used to, but it has tutorials all over youtbue.

In general, take as many pictures as you can on a regular basis, the more comfortable you get doing something, the better, and it will help you start to really get an eye for things!