Hello all,

I am currently enrolled in a photography course in college for the fall semester. For the class I purchased a Canon Rebel Ti that came with a canon 28-90mm lens. I was just wondering as to pointers on what I should be doing to better my skills. Also what should i look into as far as additional equipment?


Thanks for the help,

Joe

Hello all,

I am currently enrolled in a photography course in college for the fall semester. For the class I purchased a Canon Rebel Ti that came with a canon 28-90mm lens. I was just wondering as to pointers on what I should be doing to better my skills. Also what should i look into as far as additional equipment?


Thanks for the help,

Joe
Hello Joe

As a first I would recommend that you study the manual that came with your camera until you know all the basic functions, how they work and what they do.
Then learn how the autofocus functions and how to use it.
The next thing to tackle is the understanding and use of the various light meter functions.
Now you are ready to start shooting. The library will help here with several books on basic composition.
Now it's practice, practice, practice.
Shoot a roll of film.
Have someone help you to analyze the results.
Reshoot to correct any technical mistakes.
Pick a new subject and repeat the above.
Pick another new subject and repeat the above.
Don't worry about any new equipment until you have conquered the great little camera you have and have learned to use the the 28mm - 90mm zoom lens that came with it.
That lens should be sufficient for 90% of all your photography, except for speciality photograpy;
macro, tele, etc.
You should get a good 6 months to a year of fun learning.
Put your money into buying film and learning to shoot.

Good Luck
PFitz

Welcome! I agree that reading the manual is a good starting point, and also don't worry about other equipment at this point. Basically, when you're ready for something you'll know it. Down the road, a tripod and a flash would be two good things to have though - but there are tons of great photographs that can be taken with what you already have.

Shoot a lot of film and look over the results. If something didn't work, try to figure out why not. If it did - how did you get that result. Feel free to post images on the Critique board here too.