Beginner Advice!

[B1GR3DDD]

Hey everyone!

This is my first post on the PhotoForum and I'm really excited to get started learning even more about photography!

A few weeks ago, I got a Nikon D3100 off of eBay for a fairly good price. Came with kit lens and a 18-70mm lens. I have never taken a single picture with a DSLR prior to getting this camera. Shipping had great timing, as it arrived about an hour before I left for a family vacation to the beach. I had a lot of fun that week learning how to work my camera and starting taking some pictures!

Here's a link to my gallery with a few of my favorites!
Album Beginner Photos Photography Forum

Just wanted to get some feedback into these beginner pictures as to how I can improve on them in the future!

Also, when adding pictures to this gallery, a few of them weren't able to add due to "not having permission to add to gallery." This was weird as it was only a few photos. Any one have some ideas?

Anyway, I'm really excited to get involved with this community! It looks awesome already!

Thanks!

 

[Derrel]

A very good start! Photos might be too high in storage size to post...reduced-size images are usually easier to upload. I always suggest the John Hedgecoe photography books as one of the best learning sources to teach/show/explain PHOTOGRAPHY. Not "digital imaging", but real, honest-to-goodness photography. Look for them used on-line or in bookstores.

"You don't know what it is that you don't know," is an old maxim. This is why I suggest that specific author's many books. He was the first-ever full professor of photography at London's Royal College, and his teaching materials in his books are superb at providing a broad overview of many,many things that a good many people do not know. Forget YouTube videos...learn from a full professor and amazing teacher of the subject.

 

[JoeW]

Welcome.

1. I totally agree with Derrel's suggestion about Hedgecoe. And if you have difficulty finding his books, Bryan Peterson is good (lots of books that are approachable, lots of short videos on Adorama TV).

2. Read your manual. Then read it again (I know, it will bore you to tears). Then get an off-brand book (i.e.: something not by Nikon) on your camera body. Not b/c Nikon's manuals are bad, but something by an independent author will take more stands (like: "never use this feature, it's a waste of time" or "while the manual says using this approach, I prefer this other way instead") and will often provide better examples. Then ask a lot of specific questions here on the forum (not generic, too simplistic for us to be helpful questions like "how can I be good?" or "what lens should I buy?" but instead "what situations is aperture priority make sense vs. shutter priority?" or "I want to shoot landscapes--what is a good budget lens for me and what other equipment would be critical?"). You won't need to know everything in your manual and you won't use 60% of your camera's capabilities. But you can't ask smart questions without knowing more about the details (photography and your camera) and #1 and #2 will make it possible for you to ask smart questions and learn a lot.

3. Give yourself weekly assignments. Like:
--Take a common object in your house (a pencil, a paperweight, a wine glass) and find 30 different ways to depict it (without using post processing). Shoot it from different angles. Distort it with your lens choice and shooting angle/distance. Change the lighting and color. Change the aperture. Most of the pictures won't be worth a sh*t but you'll be really learning the difference between shooting at f1.8 and f4.5 and f11 or shutter speeds or white balance.
--Look for natural "S" curves and shoot them (winding road, a stream, a piece of cooked spaghetti, a line of people waiting to buy tickets, a coastline/beach).
--Go troll for shots during the "golden hour" (sunrise, sunset when the angle of sun produces a golden light that is generally flattering).
--Mount one lens and keep it at that focal length (i.e.: no zooming allowed) for one full week. Notice how you compose by using your feet (get closer or further away). See if you turn away from some shots b/c they won't work with that focal length. What you're discovering is how the focal length affects what you see. My favorite photography quote of all time is by the great Dorothea Lange..."the camera is an instrument to teach people how to see without a camera." You'll discover that one specific focal length affects how you see. Doesn't mean you'll only be able to see in 80mm or 35mm...but you'll gain insight how you have a set of eyes but that totally different from your eyes is your VISION or PERSPECTIVE. And a smart photographer has the ability to fine-tune and adapt their perspective...they see things that common people don't see when looking at the exact same setting.
--Try to convey speed or movement with your shots for one week.
--Capture or depict emotions.
--Look for visual jokes or visual humor.
--Look for interesting shadows one week. Don't shoot the person, shoot the shadow that they cast.
--Play with DoF. If you don't have a lens with a wide-open DoF (like an f1.8 or wider), borrow one and spend a week focusing on....eyelashes or drops of water or insects or a lock of hair.

4. Post photos and ask for critique and comments. Don't do this just to say "I'm proud and I'm fishing for compliments on how I'm the next Yusef Karsh or Ansel Adams." You can be proud of your photo and still get insight on how others would tweak it and improve.

5. Take tons of photos. And keep taking them. Henri Cartier-Bresson once said "your first 10,000 photos are your worst." So you want to get to 10,001 quickly.

6. Resist the urge to buy more gear. Once you get an idea of what it is you like to shoot, you'll be able to invest more intelligently in your gear. An example: most photographers benefit from a good tripod. But until you know what it is you're mostly shooting (architecture, family selfies on vacations, landscapes, hiking for long distances with your gear to shoot wildlife, astrophotography and light painting) you can't make a perfect judgment on what tripod is best for your various needs and constraints (which is why I own 5 different tripods...got each one at different times in my photographic career when I was shooting different things or didn't have a clear understanding of what I needed). You know the old "measure twice, cut once" line? Most amateur photographers would adapt it to be "don't plan and purchase 5 times" variation...we buy a ton of gear (most of which gathers dust). A great photographer is in the perspective and then the mastery of their tools, not on having the best tools.

7. Did I mention to read your manual? Seriously, go back to it again a year after you first read it and I guarantee you'll find stuff and go "how did I miss this the first time? I didn't know this was in here--wish I'd known this 11 months ago!"

8. And have fun.