Nature

pitliong67 · Jul 14, 2009

I am new to this and I am really enjoy trying to catch the beauty around us. Still learning and hope to improve myself as soon as I can get myself to figure how to upload some of the pictures I it would be great.took

mooimeisie · Jul 17, 2009

Welcome to TPF. I've done a few things over the past few months to help me learn about photography.

The first thing was to join this forum, which you've done. Next, read every thread, one by one. Take a look at the photos posted and see what you like about them and what you don't. Read the comments posted and decide what you agree with and what you don't. Try to understand everyone's point of view. If someone seems rude in a post, just remember that sometimes some people are more blunt than others. When someone posts a link to a site where you can learn more, follow it and take a look at that site. Hopfully, someone will follow this post with a some links to get you started.

The next thing I did was get a Flickr account. Do a search on groups that you might be interested in. Find some and join them. Take a look at photos on Flickr, lots of them. Decide what you like about a photo and what you don't. As well as looking at the pictures, read some of the discussions.

Buy the book, Understanding Exposure, by Bryan Peterson. Excellent book. Go to the libray and take out photography books. Even the old film books are an excellent way to learn about composition.

Take an evening course or two. I have taken 2 courses this spring. The first taught me how to use all the menus and buttons in my camera. The second course was on exposure. I no longer use Automatic when taking a photo and am getting more confident with my exposures. I am still learning about composition. I know that there are many more aspects of photography that will take years to learn, but that's part of the fun of this. Learning and the rewards that come with it.

benlonghair · Jul 17, 2009

I'll second getting "understanding exposure". I thought I knew about exposure until I read this book. Awesome examples that are easy and quick to learn.

Dagwood56 · Jul 17, 2009

Welcome to TPF. Your posted photos are a bit too small to see well enough to comment on. Mooimeisie has offered some great advice and I will third the suggestion to buy Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson and also suggest you get his other book Learning To See Creatively.

dak1b · Jul 17, 2009

welcome! as others said....read read and do some moer reading of photography...theres much to learn!!! go shooting as much as possible to start training ur eye and upgrade ur skills daily...good luck!

beala · Jul 17, 2009

When did you take these pictures? I'm not sure about the second, but it looks like the first one was taken in harsh light around midday. Try shooting at sunrise or sunset. I wasted many a roll of film between the hours of 11-3pm before I accepted this.

Also, these sorts of shots would benefit from being much closer to the subject. You'll need a zoom to accomplish this.

Good luck and keep shooting!