Just got into photography,help please?

Hi, I have messed about with my normal digital camera for a year or so now and after a long thought i got some money together and bought a D40x with a AF-s Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED 2 Lense.
I was just wondering if you could give me some beginner tips, maybe some links to tutorials and things like that.
I also have photoshop so tutorials for computer photo enhancement would help too.
I just want to really get into photography and get the most out of it.
I have already had a play around with my D40x when i went on holiday and i got quite a few pictures im really happy with, now all im looking for is some tips to make those better.
Here is a small sample of some of my shots:
http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/5996/glassfo6.jpg

http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/8096/sunsetxo2.jpg
I didn't know much about the ISO at this point if i had known more and it had of been lower could of been alot better picture.

http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/5061/hillsom4.jpg

http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/3276/mummypg7.jpg

First and last has DOF problems maybe not depending on the desired results, The simple rule is the longer the lens the less DOF, the lower the F number the shallower the DOF. If you have an animal in a field with a telephoto lens 200-300mm at F4 or F5 the foreground and background will not be in focus just the animal not you may not get it all in focus even stopped all the way down F32. As for the sunset I don't see any technical problems. The mountains maybe an UV filter if you did not have one installed when the photo was taken, a polarizing filter may of helped getting rid of the haze.

There are some photo lessons and how-to articles here on this site, look for the Learn tab at the top right of this page. To get the most from photography, I'd worry less about the capabilities about Photoshop for now. In my experience, you'll always get the best images by starting with the cleanest, sharpest capture that you can get and then applying a little magic in Photoshop. If you don't have a clean shot, Photoshop really can't help.

Don't get me wrong - I do think Photoshop and any other image editing software is and can be a very vital tool for photographers, but it's the icing on the cake so to speak.

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Originally Posted by freygr

First and last has DOF problems maybe not depending on the desired results, The simple rule is the longer the lens the less DOF, the lower the F number the shallower the DOF. If you have an animal in a field with a telephoto lens 200-300mm at F4 or F5 the foreground and background will not be in focus just the animal not you may not get it all in focus even stopped all the way down F32. As for the sunset I don't see any technical problems. The mountains maybe an UV filter if you did not have one installed when the photo was taken, a polarizing filter may of helped getting rid of the haze.

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Yeah, the plane of focus is fixed on a DSLR so the entire mummy-thingie (the technical term for bad spellers) will never all be in focus. You would need a tilt lenses to do that.

The haze in the landscape is normal. Visibility seems to get lower every day! Neither a UV (does nothing) or a polarizer or any filter for that matter can get rid of haze. Your best bet is to shoot in early morning or in late afternoon light when the angle of the sun is lower.

You have a good start here. Start reading some books about exposure, f-stops, DOF, etc. to gain control over what you are shooting.

For photoshop tips i recommend: http://www.photoshopuser.com/ also: http://www.russellbrown.com/tips_tech.html

Cheers,

Jim B.

Callum, a few months after I got my 350D, my wife gave me a copy of Digital Photography for Dummies. Best book I have on the subject. Covers just about everything you need to know to get started and carry on. I still go back and review bits of from time to time. HTH.

Cheers,

WesternGuy