Total Beginner!

Pixie42

TPF Noob!
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Hey guys,

Thanks for having me! I can tell I'm gonna love this forum. :blushing:

Well, I am a complete beginner besides the photog class I took in high school. I've always been in love with photography, but I've never had the best cameras. I have tons of pics that I have taken that are decent, at least I think so, but I'd like to get a better cam and some experience.

I've decided I am going to start looking around for a photographer who will take me under his/her wing as an apprentice. I would prefer not to go to college, just because... well... if you have the talent, you have it. If not, all that technical stuff can just as easily be learned from a pro. Right? Besides, if I find I don't have a talent for it, I can always go to college for something else. (My rationality speaking!)

Anyhoo I am looking for a decent cam, used of course, just to start doing some simple jobs on my own, taking amateur pics for people for some pocket cash.

I was looking at a Nikon D70 DSLR for sale. Is this a good beginner camera? I'm trying to buy something that is good for beginners, yet has great picture quality and prints will also be of good quality.

Any advice is appreciated. Oh, and I own a Canon PowerShot A430.
 
first off, welcome to the site. you will learn more here than you can comprehend at the moment, so I hope you are ready (which you seem to be).

As far as apprenticing, it will depend on how good you already are, because if you dont know much I cant see a pro wanting to hand out free classes. Usually people apprentice photographers to further their skill in a particular area (weddings, portraits, sports), and it works out well for the pro because they get an extra hand that already has enough basic knowledge to not be dead weight.

I cant say where you are since I havent seen any of your pictures, so you have to decide where you fit.

As for college, you could take a photo class or two while at college, since a photography degree doesn't get you as far as actual experience (meaning they aren't worth the money spent to get them). You'll need some electives and photography is a great filler if you are interested.

As for your camera, any DSLR can be used as a beginners camera, they all offer auto modes as well as priority and manual modes for the more advanced work. The D70 is a good camera, but it is also on the out now that Nikon has the D40x and D80. I know you said used, so the D70 very well may be a good choice, I dont know what price you are looking at or how good the D70 is from personal experience so I cant really say.

Any DSLR will give you high enough quality for prints (especially for 4x6 prints). You just need to look at all the systems and select one that fits your needs and has the functions that you want.

Happy shooting, and dont be a stranger to our galleries (avoid the critique section unless you have a specific problem that you want addressed, and if you do post there, be ready for some honest feed back).
 
yet has great picture quality and prints will also be of good quality.


Hi, and welcome.

If you send out to a modern photo lab, almost any good digital camera from the past year or so (point-and-shoots included) will produce images that look stunning when printed, so you probably don't have to worry about that aspect.
 
Thanks guys!

I'm not ready for posting photos to be critiqued yet, hehe. I will soon. I've been looking around the forum, soooo much stuff I don't understand but I am definitely ready to learn.

I'm more creative than technical. I haven't ever really been taught how to do a lot of things pertaining to cams, so I always had my digi and shot interesting photos that meant something to me. Back in the day when I took the photography class, I was good at it and my teacher was impressed but to be honest I don't even remember how to set aperture and shutter speed properly! I guess I would be dead weight to a pro photog, but I learn fast. I think I'm going to take a class or two, maybe a workshop, just to get the basics then self teach.

I was also looking at this cam http://www.photoxels.com/panasonic-fz30.html . My price range is 200-450 used. Like this link says, something for a serious to advanced newb lol.

What I'm planning to do is work my way up slow, this is something I care about so I'm giving myself lots of time to learn.

:)
 

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