Just bought my first camera...now what?

[Bluepowder]

HEy guys,
Am new to photography and this forum....I learn everything through the net so here i am...

Ive always been interested in photography and especially in capturing what my eyes see....so i took my friends suggestion and bought a canon s5is....the shopkeeper suggested i get the latest fujifilm but i like canon as a brand....

So now what do i do...frankly Im still trying to figure out the manual...i know i have a huge way to go..and any help/advice would be greatly appreciated....

ps.Im interested in photographing people, general landscapes and scenery, the sky...i like black and white and sepia photography as well....i guess i can use GIMP for that....

great to be here

cheers
sid

 

[WDodd]

The first thing I did was learn about exposure and how to operate my camera in manual mode to manipulate this. Understand Exposure is a book that comes highly recommended by a lot of people on here.

 

[Bluepowder]

hey....thanks a lot....i guess a book couldnt hurt...i would love some internet resources too...i can then slack off at work and read a bit...

 

[Paul Ron]

Take lots of picture and ask lots of questions no matter how silly you may think they are. Also look at alot of other peoples work and get ideas of things to try yourself. You'd be surprised at how much you learn just by doing.

 

[Jon, The Elder]

Try really, really hard to wear your new camera out by taking tons of images. Take time to review your efforts and then come back with SPECIFIC questions and lots of detailed info as to what you did and what you wanted as a result.

If you do this, in a few weeks/months you will find out that photography is not like learning to drive a car. It can and often is, a life long rewarding experience.

 

[Mike_E]

If you want to speed thing up, then take notes. Notes on what the light looked like, how much of it there was, what time of day it was, the weather conditions, whether you were in the sun or the shade, what you hope the shot turns out like...

If you rely on memory then after the 20th or so photo your memory will likely let you down and you won't know what you did-wrong or right.

 

[Seefutlung]

HEy guys,
Am new to photography ...
So now what do i do...frankly Im still trying to figure out the manual...i know i have a huge way to go..and any help/advice would be greatly appreciated....

ps.Im interested in photographing people, general landscapes and scenery, the sky...i like black and white and sepia photography as well....i guess i can use GIMP for that....

great to be here

cheers
sid

So now go out and shoot. Then shoot some more ... and when you think you're done ... shoot again.

Gary

 

[lifeafter2am]

Seefutlung has it right! I was always told to burn film. Take lots of pictures, and you will get some good ones. Have fun with this addicting hobby!

 

[Mike_E]

Oh yeah, go here and read everything you can get to...

http://super.nova.org/DPR/#HotShoe

 

[Bluepowder]

hey thanks a lot guys....i guess i need a question before i can get an answer...

**watch this space for stupid question of the day**