First time posting.. "The Bride".

[premo]

I was mainly disappointed in myself for believing that with descent gear anything is possible.
I think that I've tried too hard to do too many things before I even knew how to work my camera (settings, etc).
Perfect example is when in December I decided to shoot the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Plaza. For a week or so I read and researched "how to" shoot in those conditions and I practiced. To make a long story short,..my wife had far more better pictures with her point & shoot. All and all I have failed in most of my weekend projects. So, I have packed up everything and I'm picking up my camera "manuel".[/FONT]

Actually, that's the 1st place you should have started. It's just like buying a new car with all the new electronics, doesn't do you any good if you don't know where the controls are, nor how to use them. Take it one step at a time, and you'll get comfortable with your camera settings, and what each one does. then you can start to explore the world of photography, and that should be with the exposure triangle: Aperture/Shutter/ISO.

You're so right about that... but I have learned my lesson.

 

[Joel_W]

I was mainly disappointed in myself for believing that with descent gear anything is possible.
I think that I've tried too hard to do too many things before I even knew how to work my camera (settings, etc).
Perfect example is when in December I decided to shoot the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Plaza. For a week or so I read and researched "how to" shoot in those conditions and I practiced. To make a long story short,..my wife had far more better pictures with her point & shoot. All and all I have failed in most of my weekend projects. So, I have packed up everything and I'm picking up my camera "manuel".[/FONT]

Actually, that's the 1st place you should have started. It's just like buying a new car with all the new electronics, doesn't do you any good if you don't know where the controls are, nor how to use them. Take it one step at a time, and you'll get comfortable with your camera settings, and what each one does. then you can start to explore the world of photography, and that should be with the exposure triangle: Aperture/Shutter/ISO.

You're so right about that... but I have learned my lesson.

Don't pack up your camera, as you're much better off practicing with it as you read through your manual. Today's cameras are very complicated in terms of what they can do, and what controls settings are needed to accomplish those functions. In the old days we had SLRs. We metered our subject, set the shutter and aperture, ASA/ISO was really determined by the film manufacture. Composed, focused, and took the picture. Film wasn't free, neither was color processing, so we didn't just shoot and shoot like you can today with digital.

Read and understand the basics, but don't try to learn the whole manual all at once. Take it in steps. Learn to use your camera in either Manual, Aperture, or Shutter modes. Stay away from Auto or special modes. Set your camera to single shot, auto focus, and learn how to change your meter from spot, to center weighted, to Matrix. Set your ISO to 100 or 200. Start with your camera mode set to Aperture. That's all you need to learn for now. Next you need understand that a properly exposed picture is a combination of shutter, aperture, & ISO. Changing one will change the others or just one. Depends on the mode you're in.

Go outside and find a simple subject that you can get within 6 feet of. If you have a tripod, use it, as it will make the learning process much easier on you. Set the camera to Aperture mode, ISO 100, spot meter, AF-S, & JPEG regular for now. Now compose. Take a series of pictures starting with the lens wide open, then close down one stop at a time and take another picture. Notice in the viewfinder that the shutter speed is changing to compensate for the change in f stop. Now set the camera to about f8 or so, and change from spot to center weighted, to matrix, and take a picture at each setting.

Now download those pictures to your computer and view them. You don't need a editing program to view them since you didn't shoot in RAW. You should see the DOF changing as you stopped down the lens. You should also see a change in the overall exposure as you changed the metering. What metering you use is based on subject type.

Once you get comfortable with shooting in Aperture Mode, and understand what controls what in terms of DOF, exposure adjustment, go out on a photo shoot and look for subjects where you can control as much of the composition as possible. Keep It Simple Stupid, otherwise known as the KISS principle. Don't concern yourself with the best time of the day to shoot, you 1st need to learn how to shoot. Go slow. Set realistic goals for yourself. Make your shoot enjoyable at the same time. Post and ask questions. You'll get more help then you can use. Read a few basic photography books. You will improve over time. I've been at it for more then 45 years, and I'm still only average at best.