Brand New to photography... HELP!

[ltfitz89]

Hi there! I have just purchased my first SLR camera, a Canon Rebel T3, and I don't really know anything about photography. I have owned a number of point and shoot digitals and I really enjoy taking photographs but my pictures don't come out looking all that great. My father has tasked me with taking interesting pictures of our town for a community pamphlet that he is working on and I was hoping for some suggestions on technique or really anything that could help me. I have been trying to read as much as I can about photography and what everything means but i guess you cant really know until you practice. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!!

 

[dgadams2]

I am fairly new to Photography myself. I can tell you where I started and thats about it. I would start by learning the functions of your camera. Know what it is capable of. After that I would start familiarizing yourself with the effects of different ratios of ISO, Shutter Speed and Aperture (=f/4.6 as it will read on your camera). You will find tons of videos on youtube on techniques. Honestly what I do is cruise the web and different photo galleries, find a picture I like and try to duplicate the look. Don't know if thats the most efficient way to learn but I don't have time for classes or anything of that nature. Other than that, practice. Take your photos and post them on this site for comments and criticism. And listen to the advice you get. There are some awesome users on this site that will help you in the right direction by telling you what you did right and wrong.

Youtube your camera and find videos that will help you learn how to use it. (I am assuming you are new enough to not know how. if you do then skip that step)

good luck!

 

[Dao]

Since you just bought the camera, I think you should first (you may already did) read the camera manual. You may run into something you may not understand. Then google it and see if you can find the answer, if not, feel free to ask here. Once you did you own research first before asking, it will make you understand faster.

Of course, keep practicing as you mentioned.

Take a look at the following link. Although it is made for the old Digital Rebel XT, but most of the information can apply to your camera especially those related to Photography in general.
Comprehensive How-To Lessons for Creative Photographers

 

[OrionsByte]

Read your manual, research the exposure triangle, and practice. If you have to take 100 pictures of your left shoe to help you understand exposure and your camera's functions, do it.

 

[analog.universe]

Learn all you can about the exposure triangle and then some. In my opinion when you first learn to shoot, getting proper exposure is the most complicated thing you need to figure out. Learn how to enable and read your camera's histogram, it's the most accurate feedback you can get of how you're doing right after you take the shot. You need to be comfortable shooting in full manual if you want to get pleasing results. That's not to say you can't get pleasing results with automated functions, but it will be very difficult unless you understand what's being automated and how and why. Youtube, as mentioned, is a quick way to get a handle on the basics, but people have written entire books about this kind of theory... don't assume that a 10 minute video will do any more than scratch the surface.

Also, something I noticed at the very beginning... It's very tempting with digital to just keep on clicking, and take 1,000 shots in a day. This isn't going to teach you very much, despite probably producing some decent shots out of sheer volume and probability. Take 100 pictures of your left shoe (i usually subject my poor cats to these experiments), but only if you've really thought about the setup of each one, and what all your variables are controlling. Taking the extra time to imagine the shot before you snap, based on the settings you've chosen, and then finally taking the shot once you're confident you might get somewhere is the best way to learn I think.

Good luck, and welcome! There are a lot of helpful people and info in this forum