Nikon D3100 Tips?

[DizFan101]

Hello.
Before anybody says "there's already a nikon thread" I know. I'm not looking for pictures I'm looking for help... Tips on how to get better pictures with a Nikon D3100.

I just have the lens that came in the box and another one that zooms up to 200 or so.

I am looking for tips to make pictures better, night pictures day pictures etc.

 

[photo_chick]

Learn what shutter speed, aperture and ISO are. Learn how they affect your image and how they work together to make an exposure. Understanding those things will tell you what settings you need when.

Learn your auto focus system. Read that section in your manual. Learn about the different AF modes your camera has. Also get a feel for manually focusing because auto focus won't always get the job done right.

That's really all there is to taking good photographs from a technical standpoint. The rest is art, and that's subjective.

 

[SunDial]

Agree with the triangle of shutter, aperture and ISO. That is the key. I am still shooting with a D40 and work all 3 differently and the pics come out great. My next body will probably be the 7000 next unless something better comes along without breaking the bank.

 

[boBQuincy]

Read Ansel Adams book "The Negative" to understand how the meter works and why (and when) we should deviate from what it shows. Even in Manual, just setting the ISO, shutter, and aperture to what the meter reads will only result in the same exposure that we would have gotten in Auto.

It is our interpretation of the meter reading that helps to make a photograph, adjusting the settings is how we use that information. Processing is the next step, taking what the camera provides and modifying it into the vision we have for the finished photograph (it is a rare image that does not improve with some processing).

 

[photo_chick]

Read Ansel Adams book "The Negative" to understand how the meter works and why (and when) we should deviate from what it shows. Even in Manual, just setting the ISO, shutter, and aperture to what the meter reads will only result in the same exposure that we would have gotten in Auto.

It is our interpretation of the meter reading that helps to make a photograph, adjusting the settings is how we use that information. Processing is the next step, taking what the camera provides and modifying it into the vision we have for the finished photograph (it is a rare image that does not improve with some processing).

Excellent book. That set, "The Camera", "The Negative" and "The Print" were the very first photography books I ever read way back in 7th grade. Still great books that are often overlooked. Even though they were written in regards to film, the majority of the underlying concepts are directly relateable to digital. Even the darkroom work in "The Print" can be translated to what we do in post processing today.

 

[boBQuincy]

Even the darkroom work in "The Print" can be translated to what we do in post processing today.

Absolutely! Our modern papers and printing processes are still not that far from what Adams used in terms of dynamic range. Most papers and inks can't deliver much more than 100:1 so we have to compress our images to fit that, Adams books provide the knowledge on how to do that (and Adobe provides the tools).