best way to learn basic photography

Your local or county library has many,many books about photography--I can guarantee that. If you want to learn how to operate your camera, the manufacturer's instruction manual can teach you all you need to know, as can your brand new Nikon camera's Guide Mode.

You wanna learn about photography? The important, essential, basic aspects of amateur photography have not changed much since the 1980's,they really have not. But most people today will not believe that, and they insist on something with the word "digital" in proximity to the word "photography" in a book title, so here, here is the author whose books I recommend for beginners, more than any other single author.

This man's books have hundreds and hundreds of small illustrations and diagrams. He was the first full professor of photography ever at the Royal College in London. This guy's books are like field manuals. This guy's books are unlike almost all others.

Spend $10 and buy a used paperback copy of this book, or any of his multiple other photo book titles.The Art of Digital Photography John Hedgecoe 9780756623548 Amazon.com Books
 
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Didereaux said:
Take loads and loads of pictures, turn knobs, flick switches and STUDY the resulting shots.

And you will have a huge collection of random junk, and zero idea of what it is that you do NOT know. This is, I'm afraid, utterly bad advice. Random, unstructured, ignorant, willy-nilly clicking is the way to "learn photography?"

Uh, sorry, but no. That's the way to learn how to click a camera. Photography is part science, part craft, part artistry. It has a huuuuge knowledge base underlying it, and books like Hedgecoe's many instructional books give the uninitiated an overview of what the field entails, what it is about, with some structure and some actual, educational, useful material.

Sorry, but the just go out and do it school doesn't produce very many successes. Imagine if the US Air Force taught pilots that way, or if we taught our children how to drive by saying, "Get out there, and just drive, damnit! You can do it! It's easy!" Sorry, but there are proven ways to learn how to do all sorts of things, and random clicking with no teaching is not a proven way to learn photography.

You're only as good as your teacher, and if the teacher is a newb, how good is he gonna become? There's a thousands of years old tradition of master/journeyman/apprentice/novice.
 
What's the best way to learn to fly an airplane? Jump in the pilot seat and away you go! ==NOT==

I've seen too many threads on this website where some newbie somehow 'magically' learned how to use the camera beyond the full Auto mode and can't figure out why their pictures are dark, all washed out, blurred, or a useless waste of zeros and ones filling their computer.

In short, Derrel is 100% correct in pointing the original poster (OP) to a good book that teaches the basic 'rules' of photography, starting with the exposure triangle. Without understanding the effects of changing the shutter speed, aperture, or ISO speed, and the positives and negatives of each change, ones' photos will be more 'luck' than knowledge, planning, and experience.

jarg007 - you can 'play around' with the controls and try to figure out what they do and how they work. It's like looking at all the parts of an automobile on the ground and trying to figure out how they go together. Or, like a good mechanic, or a photographer, they start with some 'schooling'. It may be a knowledgeable friend, one or more books and websites on the subject, or even a paid teacher. The choice is yours.

Here's a website to look at for some good 'starter' information as well: Cambridge in Colour - Photography Tutorials Learning Community
 
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What I tried to do when I was first getting into photography was try to recreate a picture that I really liked. I'd try to imagine what the original photographer had done to set up for the shot, and put my own spin on it. Also, (not sure what you're going to shoot) try to get creative with your angles and/or edits to try to help draw interest to your work by doing something different.

Other than that, you really just have to shoot and learn from each picture you take. The D3300's a good camera for someone starting out, but once your skills grow to the point where you want to take over the ISO, shutter speed, aperture, focus, and etc the camera will still give you plenty of room to improve your skills even more.
 
You'll want to learn how to use the exposure triad of camera settings, how light direction and quality make or break a photo, tried and tested guidelines for good composition, and the features, functions, and capabilities your D3300 has available for you to take advantage of.
Your D3300 will come with a Reference Manual PDF file on the software disc.

Here are some short tutorials that will help you get started by covering the basic subject used to make good photographs.
Digital Photography Tutorials

Books have more information and generally more information organized in a logic way.
Your local library is a good resource for borrowing books about photography.
 
I just went through my library, and found another EXCELLENT book. It's a 1977 first publication date,1979 second edition. The Photographer's Handbook, again, a John Hedgecoe book. I payed $2.99 for this, used.

Here's the chapter Working With Light: Pages 74, to 102.
shooting into the sun,
the sun throughout the day,
night photography,
available light,
controlling light direction,
controlling light quality,
one lamp,
two lamps,
multiple lighting,
lighting for portraits,
lighting interiors,
special lighting techniques,
flash techniques,
special flash techniques,
special problems.

I just counted, from Page 72 to 102, that chapter has: 33 diagrams, and 101 photos showing HOW things are done with lighting. The diagrams are fantastic. As they are in all of his books.
 
Taking a lot of pictures is good, it's the willy-nilly part that's not. Read about a technique or talk with another photographer about a technique and then take a lot of pictures to learn the technique. You'll also learn the controls of the camera and any post-processing tools.
 
hi guys,

are there any resources out there for learning basic photography? I'm about to get a basic DSLR
Nikon D3300 DSLR Camera with 18-55mm VR Lens Black - Fumfie.com

camera and want to start learning photography as a hobby. Please advise, thank you.

If the best photographer is the one having fun, that implies the best photographer will also be the one not becoming frustrated by their equipment.

Whichever camera you select, understand your equipment first and foremost. While the basic rules and formulas of photography are similar and unbending, your camera is unique. Becoming absolutely familiar with your camera will mean you can make setting your camera second nature and without pauses to find the correct settings. That means spending a night or two or three with your camera and the owner's manual. Know what your camera can do to assist your intentions and provide the best results possible. It's fairly easy to sit in your kitchen and focus the lens on various subjects around the room while changing aperture, ISO and shutter speed. You should rather quickly get the idea of what the technical aspects of your camera are about. If you don't, read the manual again. Changing exposure compensation is easily understood in your kitchen, as is shifting focus points or metering values. If you feel it is necessary, copy a few pages to carry with you on your first photography outings.

Whatever lens you are using, read the on line materials regarding that lens. As a student of photography, you don't know what you should learn. Take as an example, the typical zoom lens and its common issues at various focal lengths. Learn to actually look at the corners of your image and at the smaller details of your photo. If you can't look at the correct things to evaluate your progress, then you won't be making much progress at all IMO. If you are using a fixed focal length "prime" lens, then learn what makes it special, at what settings it will perform best and why you would want that focal length. It's all available on line and until you understand the equipment you intend to use, you will be like the carpenter who doesn't truly understand a hammer.

Depending on your chosen equipment, you might come across forum threads such as;tutorial for Powershot SX50HS - Canon Community

Once you feel you are getting a handle on your equipment and how to quickly access its functions, place the model of your camera into a search engine and add the phrase "tips and tutorials". Now you will have access to dozens of lessons from people using your camera to do something. Some of the things they do may never be what you will do but by watching how they do their lesson, you'll likely pick up a few ideas none the less. By this point, without ever leaving your house or yard, you should have a fairly good idea of what your camera can (and cannot) do to make good photographs. Now you need a plan to put this knowledge to use. If you really need the help at this time, buy a cheat sheet for your camera. From something rather generic like how to attract wildlife;Wildlife photography in any environment free photography cheat sheet Digital Camera World to something specific about your camera;PhotoBert CheatSheets

By now you should actually have a fairly good grasp of "photography" though your understanding will be like watching "ET" and thinking you know how to make a film. So get out and shoot some photos. Take what you know about your camera and how it operates and use that knowledge in different settings. Take a bowl of apples out into the yard and take photos of the apples at various times of the day. Move to various angles of view and distances away from or close to the subject. Shoot beyond the apples at a subject behind the bowl. Be creative in how you express the idea "apple".

You may think you understand aperture and depth of field but until, you can see how your camera actually manipulates DOF, you won't really understand DOF. So take your camera out into your street and just shoot the same scene at various f stops. Then, if you have a zoom lens, notice where your lens will shift its aperture setting as you extend the lens. Now repeat the same aperture exercise with that focal length and the next focal length. To understand shutter speed, take shots of moving objects, like cars at an intersection. Your camera will keep track of each shot (if you are using a digital camera) and will record basic image data for you to review later. Keep a small notepad of additional information such as your location or weather conditions which might be useful later. Just as a student musician learns a tremendous amount by recording their own playing, you should be learning by reviewing your photos and paying attention to what changes occur in the image when you change something on the camera. Or when you change your position relative to the subject. Pay attention to what you see; what's behind the subject, in front of the subject and to the sides of the subject. Seeing the environment in which you are shooting is one of the first steps to being a good photographer. By the time you've finished taking notes on all of this specific to your camera, you'll have the idea of what a good photographic recipe, a listing of basic ingredients, should taste like in the end.

Now you can begin learning how various recipes make various meals different from one another.

This is, IMO, a good series for learning the basics - and the advanced subjects - pertinent to photography; Cambridge in Colour - Photography Tutorials Learning Community It is, however, not where I would tell you to begin. I would say you should begin by learning some classic rules of composition and the manipulation of light and shadow. You do that without your camera anywhere near you. You can do it in books or through a trip to a museum or gallery. Dozens and dozens of ways to learn the classic thought process of making an image or an idea interesting. By looking at other photos by travel journalists, photojournalists, advertising, "fine art", candid photographers, etc and backward engineering what you think they did to get that shot you will increase your thought process which leads to a good image. Now you are watching "ET" with a very different intent, to see exactly how the film was constructed and how the moment to moment actions become a whole with a satisfying end.

Finally, begin to study a program which will develop your hands on experiences and knowledge into your photographic work. However, as you would do by following my plan, you must have a plan of your own. As you would in becoming a cook, you should understand which bits go into the stew first. Learning (and the act of taking a photograph) builds a foundation first and then expands from there. Whichever course you take, follow the course. Don't jump around, just follow the course. If it's a good course, you'll learn about ISO before you are thrown into the exposure triangle. You'll learn about aperture before you need to study hyper-focal distance. You will understand values before you are presented with dynamic range. So just follow the course and always look at what you've accomplished by keeping track of what you've done. In six month's and one year's time and forward you should be able to look at your progress as shown in the continued improvement in your results.

Simple, huh?
 

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