Where to go to learn?

[ScrapperKimmyD]

I have a dSLR.

I almost always use it on automatic, but I wanted it because of the zoom (I know I like the shots when I'm far away from a person and zoom in on them and everything in the background is blurry).

I want to learn how to use it properly, but when DH starts talking about ISO, aperture and f stops, all I hear is blah, blah, blah. That's when I say "endoplasmic reticulum" and he then understands that I'm just not getting it.

Anyway, I need to be able to read the info in simple terms while trying it out. Is there a good website to go to that gives easy to understand tutorials? Or do I need to buy SLR Photography for dummies?

 

[DizneyNutz]

If you have a DSLR and have been using it already in "auto" mode, but want to learn more, then you really must consider the things your husband has been telling you because that is the MORE you need to know about, to operate the camera otherwise. Take some time studying (ISO, Shutter Speeds, Aperatures, etc.) and how they affect the outcome of pictures taken. For instance the picture you were referring to about having a subject in focus but the background blurry can be achieved by using a large aperature and having a little distance between the subject and the background. Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson is a good resource for learning more about using the settings on your camera for different picture outcomes.

 

[mhm]

Check with your local rec center, community college, camera store, or photography club. I just took a class for $50 through our rec center in conjunction with a local photography club. It was an 8-week course, 2 hours once a week plus 2 Saturday morning field trips. In the first class, they had us bring our camera & divided us up by camera make (e.g., all the Canon users in one area, Olympus another, Nikon another, etc) and really went over all the functions of the camera. Then each subsequent week was a different topic (light, aperature & shutter, nature photography, sports photography, portrait photography, and two others I can't think of right now). They also had people bring in pictures to share & made suggestions as to how to improve the shot, which was usually followed by a Photoshop lesson while improving one of the student shots. I have found now that I can understand people's suggestions much better, and while my best shots haven't gotten any better (they were probably dumb luck to begin with), I'm taking fewer bad shots. Now I just need time to practice. . .

 

[MarkBarbieri]

If you have a DSLR and have been using it already in "auto" mode, but want to learn more, then you really must consider the things your husband has been telling you because that is the MORE you need to know about, to operate the camera otherwise. Take some time studying (ISO, Shutter Speeds, Aperatures, etc.) and how they affect the outcome of pictures taken. For instance the picture you were referring to about having a subject in focus but the background blurry can be achieved by using a large aperature and having a little distance between the subject and the background. Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson is a good resource for learning more about using the settings on your camera for different picture outcomes.

I agree. Sooner or later, you've got to understand exposure of you'll be stuck in Auto mode forever. Auto mode is fine for a lot of circumstances, but it definitely restricts your creativity.

Always feel free to ask questions here. Ignore my long rambling explanations and focus on the concise answers that some of the more sensible people here give.

 

[meyernl]

I got my first dslr in December and I found some great videos that walked me through everything on my camera (I have a Nikon D40). I also found a book called a "field manual" for my specific camera which was much more helpful than the manual that came with it. I also went to my local Ritz/Wolf camera store and they had a whole series of classes I took for free.

 

[ScrapperKimmyD]

Okay, maybe I needed to say it differently...

I want to learn how to use it properly, but when DH starts talking about ISO, aperture and f stops, all I hear is blah, blah, blah. That's when I say "endoplasmic reticulum" and he then understands that I'm just not getting it.

Anyway, I need to be able to read the info in simple terms while trying it out. Is there a good website to go to that gives easy to understand tutorials? Or do I need to buy SLR Photography for dummies?

I do not learn well when DH is the one trying to teach me. I need something that I can read and immediately do a hands on here at home when no DH or kids are around.

 

[Lizziejane]

Pick up a copy of Bryan Petersons "Understanding Exposure". Until you get a grasp of how ISO, shutter speed and aperture work together to give you a perfect exposure, it will be hard to move off auto.

 

[Master Mason]

Okay, maybe I needed to say it differently...




I do not learn well when DH is the one trying to teach me. I need something that I can read and immediately do a hands on here at home when no DH or kids are around.

Understanding exposure has already been recomended, that is a great easy to read book that walks you though various examples of what making changes will do for you. I would recommend it much more so than the dummies book.

 

[ScrapperKimmyD]

I will have to check out Understanding Exposures. Thanks!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

You are welcome to join us here on The Learning Curve thread. We're all learning together.

 

[ScrapperKimmyD]

Thanks! I'm subbing to it.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

Now you've got me thinking (which is always dangerous - I might post some more math if you're not careful). One of my biggest gripes when I first started using an SLR (some 20+ years ago) was that there were no good guide books. They seemed to be in two categories.

First, you had your manual and manual-wanna-be books. These told you wonderfully useful things like how to set your flash in second curtain sync mode. They didn't tell you why you would want to do that, just how to do it. They seemed almost useless because I figured that anyone that knew what all the stuff in the manual meant could probably figure out the camera on their own. Anyone that couldn't figure out how to use the camera would have no idea what they were talking about when they told you what all the buttons did.

The other type of book was the artsy-fartsy stuff. They talked a lot about shooting styles and soft light and all that stuff, but not much about how to make my camera do all that stuff. It sounded great that you used a gelled flash to freeze the action while letting the ambient light expose the background, but it didn't help if I didn't know how to gel a flash, use it to freeze action, or let ambient light expose the background.

What I wanted was a book that took me step-by-step from being a total newbie to someone that knew the fundamentals of how to use my camera appropriately. I wanted something that told me when I should use shutter priority, not just how to set the camera to that mode. I wanted something that told me how to get a long exposure, not just that I wanted one when I took a picture of a waterfall.

The market has improved a lot in 20 years. There are lots of forums, blogs, and websites that handle this information better than ever before. I still think, though, that there is a good market for a book like this. Make it both model specific (like the Magic Lantern manual-wanna-be books) but have it also explain why you should do things (like the Understanding Exposure and The Digital Photography Book).

Maybe that would make for an interesting blog or set of how-to-video clips for Youtube. We could build a list of concepts and then parse out each concept to owners of each camera and they could show how to make the camera do that.

 

[ScrapperKimmyD]

Now you've got me thinking .

A dangerous pastime...

(which is always dangerous - I might post some more math if you're not careful). One of my biggest gripes when I first started using an SLR (some 20+ years ago) was that there were no good guide books. They seemed to be in two categories.

First, you had your manual and manual-wanna-be books. These told you wonderfully useful things like how to set your flash in second curtain sync mode. They didn't tell you why you would want to do that, just how to do it. They seemed almost useless because I figured that anyone that knew what all the stuff in the manual meant could probably figure out the camera on their own. Anyone that couldn't figure out how to use the camera would have no idea what they were talking about when they told you what all the buttons did.

The other type of book was the artsy-fartsy stuff. They talked a lot about shooting styles and soft light and all that stuff, but not much about how to make my camera do all that stuff. It sounded great that you used a gelled flash to freeze the action while letting the ambient light expose the background, but it didn't help if I didn't know how to gel a flash, use it to freeze action, or let ambient light expose the background.

What I wanted was a book that took me step-by-step from being a total newbie to someone that knew the fundamentals of how to use my camera appropriately. I wanted something that told me when I should use shutter priority, not just how to set the camera to that mode. I wanted something that told me how to get a long exposure, not just that I wanted one when I took a picture of a waterfall.

The market has improved a lot in 20 years. There are lots of forums, blogs, and websites that handle this information better than ever before. I still think, though, that there is a good market for a book like this. Make it both model specific (like the Magic Lantern manual-wanna-be books) but have it also explain why you should do things (like the Understanding Exposure and The Digital Photography Book).

Maybe that would make for an interesting blog or set of how-to-video clips for Youtube. We could build a list of concepts and then parse out each concept to owners of each camera and they could show how to make the camera do that

So....you gonna write the book??? You could make lotsa money!

 

[JR6ooo4]

I'm the same way. WHen I read something I need to stop and try it on the camera. It helps me understand it and remember it better.

Mikeeee

 

[DizneyNutz]

Okay, maybe I needed to say it differently...




I do not learn well when DH is the one trying to teach me. I need something that I can read and immediately do a hands on here at home when no DH or kids are around.

People are different and learn by many methods. Some learn by seeing, some by hearing and others by actually doing it themseves. And while I understand that the method your husband is using obviously does not suit your method, the information that he is trying to impart is nonetheless the information you most need. The book you have already agreed to purchase was a help to me and I am certain it will be to you as well. It will explain how to understand what the camera is telling you in your view finder in relation to the setting you currently have set. Then you will be able to read it and see what he is explaining in your camera viewfinder immediately. Try it and I believe you will love the book.

 

[boBQuincy]

One key point to remember about aperture is "what you see is NOT what you get". SLRs leave the aperture wide open until the moment of exposure so what you see looking through the viewfinder is the widest aperture your lens has. That nice single point of focus becomes a much larger area of focus when the exposure is made.

Many SLRs have a "depth of field preview" button that previews just what the range of focus will be when the lens closes down for the exposure, don't forget to use it for true "what you see is what you get".