For Beginners: I'm curious to know...

[shmne]

When I was a fresh beginner I actually learned and shot in full manual, I know many pros recommend aperture priority mode though I find it to be more of a hindrance in situations I was shooting in (which were generally no flash, just ambient shots). Knowing how steady I could hold the camera I could decrease the shutter duration to overexpose the image slightly, or if I chose I could increase the shutter duration for a darker image.

I'm glad I was born and raised as a manual man, though I will admit it took me many months to really get a good handle on making sure I was properly exposing every image without a doubt.

 

[y0aimee]

Wow, thank you everyone for sharing! It's just interesting to see everyone's learning process when they first got their hands on a camera and started shooting. I rarely use 'A' and 'S' mode because it feels mroe comfortable, to me, to shoot in 'M'.

And yes, those shots I posted were taken at Balboa Park. A great spot to take tons of pictures =]

@jackieclayton: For the last shot of the flowers, I was using the lens that came with the camera... a 18-55mm. It's interesting to look at it now because back when I had no idea of how to capture the subject, I kinda had a natural "eye" for the rule of thirds.

@Dominantly: I'll take you up on that offer once I can figure out when I'm not too busy... school just started for me. But I'm not gonna complain because I'm taking a photography class and we'll be shooting in b&w film. I'm a newb to film and slr so I'm super excited!!! :heart: I just picked up a Nikon FE off a seller on CL for $15. What a deal!!!!