In way over my head :-)

[40piggies]

Camera is ready to go, but I am more than baffled and feeling like I am in way over my head. Posing, colour, lighting and the like do make sense when I am read about it... so much to learn, but it is in plain english. It is the technical side that leaves me really confused. I have yet to take a picture because, and I could be very wrong here, I don't want to shoot in automatic mode... I may as well have bought a P&S. ??? Truthfully though, with my extreme lack of knowledge is this area I feel overwhelmed. I read a sentence in the manual and then reread and still have ???. A course is definately in order, but until that point how to start? F stops, ISO, and on and on, I am most eager to learn, but it is almost like I don't know how...lol. If there are any tips or websites you could direct me to I would be most grateful.

[Photo-John]

Your thinking too hard. Just put it in program and start taking pictures. have some fun! You're not going to go from beginner to pro in a week. Ease into it slowly. There's plenty of time to explore the manual controls later. Don't waste time and miss photo opportunities! Just get out and play with your new camera!

[mjs1973]

John's right. Put it in auto mode and start shooting. There is nothing wrong with shooting in auto mode. I have heard pro's say that the P on their camera stands for Pro. Just start shooting and have fun.

[rylan]

you can also play with the programed modes like portrait,sports,landscape and all those fun ones too!

[Old Timer]

It is a whole lot like the first time you sit down to a computer and are afraid to push a key thinking you will screw something up. But you learn pretty quick that about anything can be corrected. So go for it! Don't be intimidated. The real fun is in the result regardless of how you get there. Start out in Program and then look at the results and look at the corresponding data on how the camera achieved those results and start to learn that way. The most important thing is have fun don't let the process rob you of the joy of the end result.

[Frog]

I agree! Put it in auto or program and take pics.
You'll get some good ones and some bad ones and eventually you'll figure out why they were bad and what to do about it next time.

[Alison]

Camera is ready to go, but I am more than baffled and feeling like I am in way over my head. Posing, colour, lighting and the like do make sense when I am read about it... so much to learn, but it is in plain english. It is the technical side that leaves me really confused. I have yet to take a picture because, and I could be very wrong here, I don't want to shoot in automatic mode... I may as well have bought a P&S. ??? Truthfully though, with my extreme lack of knowledge is this area I feel overwhelmed. I read a sentence in the manual and then reread and still have ???. A course is definately in order, but until that point how to start? F stops, ISO, and on and on, I am most eager to learn, but it is almost like I don't know how...lol. If there are any tips or websites you could direct me to I would be most grateful.

Welcome to the world of DSLR's

That's exactly how I felt when I first started with my 350D. I joined this forum shortly after getting my camera and have never looked back. The community here is so friendly, so giving and like family to me.

You'll get there. Read, read, read, practise, practise, practise.

And you can practise using dolls and teddys. It works, trust me. Beauty part is, they don't complain and they sit still :thumbsup:

Post something in Constructive Critique. The comments you receive there feel harsh at first, but, you WILL learn from it. Trust me, it's honest cc that helps you enormously. It helped me. You don't want to hear "great pic" comments. You will NEVER learn anything that way.

PS Thank you so much for the pm. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy

[Len J]

Spend $20.00 and 1/2 a day reading, and you will feel much more comfortable shooting.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...kstorenow57-20

Best book on Exposure I've ever seen.

Len

[40piggies]

Thank-you to all who took the time to respond. I actually found a type of a started guide online that helped this afternoon... well at least helped enough that I TOOK SOME PHOTOS! Terrible ones, but still my first so I am thrilled! And in manual mode... and you can definately tell...lol.
Photo-John~I do think too hard, a big fault of mine. Thank-you for the reminder to enjoy more and worry less.
MJS1973,Rylan,Old Timer,Frog~I will most definately try the automodes once I fiddle a bit more with the manual... Old Timer, I never thought of using them and then looking at the results and data. I think that compared to my first few manual shots the auto ones will look to lovely and I may never venture back. lol.
Alison~I had to lol as I did use my daughter's teddy bear for my first few shots... the young kids were sleeping and the two bigger ones were playing quiet so the teddy was it. I meant every word in the pm I sent. Thank-you for the encouragement. I will definately post some pics once I figure out how to.... a whole other chapter. I haven't even put the program in the computer from the camera box yet. :-) Thanks for the warning on harsh comments... you are right that is how we learn. Plus I am SOOOOO new at this that I wouldn't expect anything but how to improve... invaluable, thank-you.
Len~I ordered that very book yesterday... I hope it arrives before the weekend. Thank-you for the reference.

Much thanks.

[Squidward]

I'm the opposite in that when I bought my D70 I used it for a few years in Auto, despite having shot my old FE2 on Aperture Preferred or manual mode for years before that. It had nothing to do with being in control but the desire to get the shot that I wanted. Occasionally, I would put the camera into Shutter Preferred or Aperture Preferred when the camera wasn't doing what I wanted it to (in Auto mode the flash pops up automatically when the shutter speed drops past a certain point but I have found that I can hand-hold about two stops beyond that point and I don't like to use the flash in certain situations). The different exposure modes give you control over the situation, like when you want to open up the aperture to blur the background or slow the shutter speed to induce blur to give the feeling of movement. If the object is static, I usually trust the camera to do what I need it to do.

The point I'm trying to make is that it is all about getting the photograph that you want. The camera is a tool that is used to get it, it should not get in the way of that goal. Putting too much thought into it can prevent you from getting that once in a lifetime photograph because your exposure was set wrong or you hesitated because you were thinking of how you can do it differently. Been there, done that.

The UV filter is there to protect the lens. Buy a good one that you will not want to remove all the time as that can lead to dust or, worse, you forgetting to put it back on. That's what a lens cap is for anyway. I've had two occasions where the UV filter has saved my lens.