Newbie

[Ezylyf]

Total Newbie Here
Hello everyone, totally new to this forum. Am an avid Kayak fisherman and belong to 3 fishing forums. That is why I joined this forum because I have experienced how fast you can learn from forums. The Kayak gives me many opportunities for outdoor photos and want to incorporate photography in with my fishing. Have been and still will use my Olympus Stylus waterproof camera, but want expand for some great shots.
So after extensive research I have purchased a Nikon D-90. I want to start out on the right foot so I know I will get the answers I need at this forum. Do not want to shoot professionally, just make a fun hobby out of it.

Questions....
Courses - Should I take courses at a junior college,etc.- Or take online courses.

Photo store where purchased from has a 3 hour intro course, this seems like a good place to start.

Camera came with a Nikon DX AF-S Nikkor 18 - 105mm lens - will this lens be all I need or should I invest in others.

Want to print nice pictures - what type of printer should I have and whats the best photo paper.

Should I have a different photo program other than the one I have now which is Windows...

Thanks and looking forward to feedback, I am sure I will have dozens of more questions.

 

[Big Mike]

Welcome to the forum.

I moved your post into the 'beginners' forum because it should get a lot more views here.

You may also want to make a post in the introduction section as well. (I would have moved this post there, but I think your questions will get more replies here).

Courses - Should I take courses at a junior college,etc.- Or take online courses.

Depends on how you like to learn. Some people need face to face interaction, some don't. I have taken several courses and I like them, not so much for the content (much of which I know already) but the interaction with the instructor and the other students is great.
You can also learn just about everything you need with books, forums and just reading sites/articles.

Photo store where purchased from has a 3 hour intro course, this seems like a good place to start.

Can't hurt (unless it's expensive )

Camera came with a Nikon DX AF-S Nikkor 18 - 105mm lens - will this lens be all I need or should I invest in others.

Hard to say. The more you get into photography, the more you may want to get more and more gear. I think that's an OK lens, but it's not one of the upper echelon lenses.

Want to print nice pictures - what type of printer should I have and whats the best photo paper.

My recommendation is to use a good photo lab. After you factor in the price of ink & paper, maintainance etc. (plus the printer itself), it's not much more expensive to just use a pro lab all the time. It may even be cheaper.

Should I have a different photo program other than the one I have now which is Windows...

Your camera should have come with some software, which should get you started. I'd suggest looking at something like Photoshop Elements and maybe Adobe Lightroom. Look into shooting 'RAW'. It's the first step to getting the most out of your photos, but will require some extra processing...it's well worth the effort to learn about.

 

[Ezylyf]

Welcome to the forum.

I moved your post into the 'beginners' forum because it should get a lot more views here.

You may also want to make a post in the introduction section as well. (I would have moved this post there, but I think your questions will get more replies here).
quote]

Thanks for the move and the answers, just joined and already getting some excellent info from this forum....

 

[KmH]

Since you leap before you look, and have already come to attention of a forum moderator, I'll suggest you look at these 2 other TPF sections to help you get started:

TPF Rules and Regs: http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/faq.php

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...forum-functions-pictoral-guide-using-tpf.html

 

[Dao]

Looks like BigMike pretty much sum it up.

By the way, welcome to this forum!