Hi all ( any help appreciated )

[ohwhatadrama]

Hi guys.

I have just joined and hoping to get some help and improve my photography skills.

First of all, I have recently lost my right arm, so trying to use a camera is challenging. I have just purchased a canon R50 with the kit lens and also purchased the nifty fifty with it. I can use the touch screen shutter without any problems trying to reach the shutter button left handed. However I am really struggling to focus, adjust any settings and still hold the camera. I have taken hundreds of pictures and they are all coming out terrible, in fact I can get better pictures with my iPhone 17 pro.

I am only trying to take pictures of my pets at the moment ( some indoor shots and some in the garden ) nothing too elaborate but I just can’t seem to get the hang of it. Ideally I would just like to leave it on auto and point and shoot, but that doesn’t seem to give me very good pictures either. I’m a complete novice and have no idea what ISO, shutter speed etc really mean or do.

I would be very grateful if anyone has any suggestions and can offer any help.

Thankyou

 

[F.O.V.104 104]

What a dreadful experience, I wish you well. I would have thought something like a GoPro on a chest bracket- operated by a remote cable.. I would use a table tripod, set your ISO to auto and camera to P (program) A 50mm autofocus lens should cover the fov. Thereafter you will need to read up on Aperture priority, Shutter priority and then Full manual exposure. Initially P mode.. Message me any time and I will help, I too am a disabled photographer.. I’m an expat living in California, originally a London lad.. Regards…

 

[zombiesniper139 4]

So sorry you've had such a traumatic loss.
I found a video that may help by using a battery grip.
It surely won't aid in the learning how to learning the modes of the camera (we can help with some of that) however it may make the physical experience of taking images easier by putting more of the controls closer to your left hand.

 

[ohwhatadrama]

Thankyou for the replies, I will be sure to look into some things to improve my photography and am currently practicing a lot and getting used to the camera and settings.

 

[benhasajeep72 70]

First of all welcome.

There may be a couple possibilites you can try. There is Canon Camera Connect App that can fully control the camera via your phone. This would be available if the camera were on a tripod for single handed use and taking still shots. Also again with a tripod with I would think a video fluid head on it and the old Canon wireless remote BR-E1 (or thrid party copy). But I think with video heads having the longer handle you could move the camera around with the remote in your hand while holding the tripod handle for moving shots. And can trigger the camera that way. I looked up and there is no wired option for your camera as it doesn't have a connection port. There may be third party wireless remotes that do more than the Canon, but I don't know, I have not shot a Canon camera for 20 years now.

As for setting, you should start slow and work with just one user setting till you get the hang of it. Basically think of it as a triangle each leg is as important as the other. If you adjust 1 you have to at least adjust 1 or both of the others. Each leg is - ISO - Aperature - Shutter. Those are the basics for Exposure. In full auto your camera takes care of all 3. But if you want to control Aperature there is A mode. You select the aperature you would like, the camera adjusts the other 2 for you to make a correct exposure. Then there is S mode or shutter priority. You choose the shutter speed, the camera adjusts the other 2 for you to make a correct exposure. Aperature Priority is for chosing how much of the fore to aft area of the scene is in focus. Small F numbers means shallow focus area, large F numbers means a lot of the scene will be in sharp focus. For shutter a fast shutter speed will stop motion like a wheel turning on a race car going by. Low shutter will show motion, same race car going by will show motion blur. ISO is the same as the old film days. a low number means it is less sensitive and takes more time to record the image and very fine detail, high ISO means it's really sensitive and doesn't take long to properly expose but has less fine detail (in digital it means more noise, which is electronic artifacts in the picture). In old days you would use 100 iso (or 200) film outside. Inside you might use 400 or even 800. In sports we used to use 3200 iso film so we can keep shutter speeds up.

If you are not the reading type, there are lots of people on youtube that have a lot of knowledge. Find one you like and watch them for a while. There is so much on youtube no need to buy books or videos, just find someone you can stand.

 

[JoeW]

That's very tough, losing an arm--my condolences to you.

Also, starting out with photography, you're going to generate a lot of bad photos--initially. The great French photographer Cartier-Bresson said "Your first 10,000 photos are your worse." Don't get discouraged.

Start by looking at subjects you can use a tripod on. That will limit the amount of variables you'll need to focus on (no pun intended) and simplifying the act of taking good pictures. The suggestion about a battery grip is a good one. I know a couple of professionals who damaged their righthand/wrist and used a battery grip to shoot left-handed until they recovered.

Finally, where did you lose your right arm--at the shoulder? The elbow? The forearm? I ask because that determines if you are able to use any part of your arm to help stabilize the camera. If you can't, if you have to shoot one-handed, then what that means is you'll want to shoot with a very fast shutter speed. How fast depends upon your subject but I'd say that shooting a portrait of someone standing (not moving) and you're relatively close, you'd need to shoot at about 1/400th of a second and possible faster to avoid shake and blur.