Feeling overwhelmed

Sammie_Lou · Jun 30, 2011

I've had my D3000 for a couple weeks now and I'm starting to feel overwhelmed. I bought some books on how to operate the camera and all of that, like you all suggested. I now have an okay understanding of aperture, shutter speed and ISO. I get how they work...it still takes me a few shots and a few minutes to figure out what settings I should be using a and tweak them. But the more I read the forum (the beginner forum!), the more discouraged I get. I keep reading of metering, different filters, white balance and all of that stuff...the books I read must have been VERY beginner books, because they don't really go over that. I guess what I'm asking is this...when did it start getting easier?? Was there a time that the huge amounts of information being thrown your way finally clicked and you got it?? I sure hope so, because I'd really like to get the hang of this...

subscuck · Jun 30, 2011

A couple of weeks isn't long at all. You'll slowly process the information and things will suddenly click into place, but it is a process that takes some time.

480sparky · Jun 30, 2011

There's no standard timeline for learning this stuff. Some people can understand it right out of the gate, others struggle with it for years before the light bulb comes on. Don't worry about how fast you are learning..... just keep trying to learn.

iolair · Jun 30, 2011

I think that if after two weeks you've got a good grasp of the theory and practicalities of aperture, ISO and shutter speed, you're doing pretty well.

There are a LOT of aspects to photography; maybe just focus on one at a time ... make sure you can get well exposed images, then go for the next topic ... maybe composition ... work on that for a while, rather than trying to do everything at once - which will be overwhelming.

Sammie_Lou · Jun 30, 2011

Ok, so if I'm working on the well exposed images...what is metering?? And white balance...how important is it that I learn to manually set white balance sooner rather than later?? So far, I've just had it on the auto setting. I've put the camera in manual and have been forcing myself to use it that way so that I have to mess with the settings to get pictures that turn out. I switch it into auto mode or aperture/shutter priority sometimes just to see what the camera pics so that I can duplicate that and tweak it to make it work. Does this sound like an okay method for trying to figure it out or is there another way I should be going about it??

Sammie_Lou · Jun 30, 2011

For example, does the exposure in these few pics look okay?? I know they're oversaturated. It was hard to see the colors on the LCD screen, but I did also shoot them in raw, so I can adjust once I get my laptop back from the Geek Squad.

#1

DSC_1280 by SHerren88, on Flickr

#2

DSC_1151 by SHerren88, on Flickr

#3

DSC_1254 by SHerren88, on Flickr

subscuck · Jun 30, 2011

Auto WB is fine the overwhelming majority of the time. When it's off a little, it can always be adjusted in ACR if you shoot RAW. As far as getting a proper exposure in M, just zero out the meter and take your shot. If you need a little more exposure, set your meter to the + side of zero. If you need less, set it to the - side of zero. You do know how to read the meter in the view finder and zero it by adjusting ss, aperture or ISO, yes?

Vtec44 · Jun 30, 2011

I learned all the important functions first, then slowly test the others. Upgrading from a 10-year-old DLSR to a D7000 is a overwhelming, but I got the basics down pretty well and trying to learn how the camera behaves in different light settings. The basics are all the same regardless, ISO/shutter speed/aperture/white balance/etc. There's always Google when you don't really want to go through a 200-page manual.

subscuck · Jun 30, 2011

Exposure on your pics looks fine. Focus looks good too. What's the problem?

tyler_h · Jun 30, 2011

The white balance question comes down to do you shoot raw or jpeg. I shoot in raw all the time and it just stays on auto white balance and I correct it in post processing if it is wrong.

On metering:
Understanding Camera Metering and Exposure
should get you started. The whole series of tutorials there are considered pretty good so have a read.

As for M vs A/S: I tend to shoot in aperture priority because DoF is my main concern (landscape/macro). If you were shooting sports or wildlife with a long tele that's when you might use S to maintain your required shutter speed. While many will say it is good to use manual to play around with it's not always useful. There is no point using manual setting and manual focus just so you can say the camera didn't do the work; use the tools you have.

Sammie_Lou · Jun 30, 2011

subscuck said:
Exposure on your pics looks fine. Focus looks good too. What's the problem?

I just feel like I'm missing a lot. lol And I'm totally not sure about the metering thing. I just take practice pictures until it looks clear and lit enough. lol I figured there was probably an easier way to do it and everyone kept talking about metering, but I have no idea what that means.

There is no point using manual setting and manual focus just so you can say the camera didn't do the work; use the tools you have.

I totally agree. I just thought that forcing myself to learn manual would make me see the way that aperture/ISO/shutter speed are tied together and how I have to adjust to make it work for me. Once I get that, I plan to only use manual when I have to.

Destin · Jun 30, 2011

It took me about a year to get a good handle on all aspects of photography. It's now been 3 years, and I'm still trying to perfect most of them.

As far as your 3 photos, yeah they look properly exposed. The white balance looks *SLIGHTLY* cool, but it's plenty close until you advance your skills.

Tkot · Jun 30, 2011

I felt the same way as you until recently, but I started watching these tutorials called Digital Photography 1 on 1 with a guy named Mark Wallace. They're really good and have helped me a lot, you should check them out!

In fact, here's a link for ya: YouTube - ‪Digital Photography 1 on 1: Episode 1‬&rlm;

Enjoy, good luck, and even if you get discouraged, DON'T GIVE UP!

Sammie_Lou · Jun 30, 2011

Thank you guys! Lots of great info to process. =) The books I read were just so dry...not easy reads at all. Especially when you don't know the terminology that they're using.

Kerbouchard · Jun 30, 2011

Sammie_Lou said:
I just feel like I'm missing a lot. lol And I'm totally not sure about the metering thing. I just take practice pictures until it looks clear and lit enough. lol I figured there was probably an easier way to do it and everyone kept talking about metering, but I have no idea what that means.

The camera meter is what determines the exposure in an automated mode and what gives you a reference in manual. Look in your view finder. At the bottom, there will be a bar graph of sorts. While looking through the view finder, fiddle with the shutter speed and watch the line at the bottom move. When it is in the middle, you are shooting at what the camera thinks is the right exposure. That is the meter most people are talking about.

There are also external light meters which you don't really need at this point.