Newby in photography

[rexbobcat]

I'm by no means an expert (I'm a newbie as well), but here's what I know:- Avoid using flash at all costs, even in low light surroundings... unless you need to freeze something in motion at night.- Get a tripod. Or at least scope out some flat surfaces to put your camera on when shooting in low light, because you'll need shutter speeds as long as 1-30 seconds if it's dark out. Also either buy a shutter cable release or use the timer function on your camera so that the action of pressing the shutter button doesn't blur your photo.- Try to keep your ISO in the 50-400 range if possible. The lower the better.- Try to shoot during dawn, before the sky is pitch black--the sky will look a lot more interesting.Hopefully that helps a little.

I disagree as well. Flash is not evil. If used incorrectly it can make for a poor photo, but that doesn't mean that it should be avoided. Instead, it should be studied so an educated decision can be made on whether to use a faster lens, or a flash.Unless you're shooting long exposure, or a landscape, it's not paramount to keep your ISO in such a low range, especially if you're shooting movement.

I agree that flash is not evil, but... Yeah, you knew I was going to throw that in there. BUT... When you are learning the exposure triangle-learn the exposure triangle. No flash. When you throw flash in it changes a lot of the rules AND it also messes with what you are learning. Plus learning flash AND exposure basics at the same time can be a LOT to learn at once. It'll just make it harder.

You say digital retouches like PS are necessary? NO!!! It's not!!! If you get it right in the camera you shouldn't have to open your image in photoshop unless you are doing something CREATIVE or extreme with the image. I RARELY do any actual work in photoshop. I shoot raw, develop in Adobe Camera Raw and batch process to make sure I get a full size image, websized/watermarked image. That's it. No EDITING what-so-ever on 90% of my images or more. Don't even think about photoshop. If you think "eh, I can fix it in photoshop" you will never be any good as a photographer. You'll just become a photoshop artist.

I understand the flash totally changes the rules of exposure, but saying to avoid flash at all costs is like saying saying that he should avoid a high ISO at all costs. Sometimes it's just not plausible given the situation at hand. It's even more confusing to just tell someone "don't do that!" without giving an explanation as to why.

 

[ph0enix]

Hi mates! I'm just new in photography i just recently bought a D3000 as my first Digital-SLR I've been taking lots of photos now and yet I haven't been satisfied with my shots - mainly the lightings. I know digital retouches like photoshop editing are also needed and I'm quite good in that but I'm trying to avoid that technique. Can some of you can help me or give me tips how to set up my camera especially in a low light surroundings? Or at least give me some basic tips and tricks to adjust in different light settings. Thanks in advance!

It sounds like you want to learn photography in 5 minutes. *sigh* It doesn't work that way. The best advice I can give you is to start reading books and tutorials then ask more specific questions here as they arise. It takes years+ to get good at it.

 

[immafreebeetch]

It sounds like you want to learn photography in 5 minutes. *sigh* It doesn't work that way. The best advice I can give you is to start reading books and tutorials then ask more specific questions here as they arise. It takes years+ to get good at it.

Nah! It's not that I wanna learn it like how to fry an egg. It's just that I'm trying to avoid using PS as a main polisher. As a beginner like me, I wanna learn what photography is and depending on PS will not make me a photographer but more to be a graphic artist. I want to reserve PS for those stuffs that are in extreme addition to the photo.

I appreciate your response and yes I still consider reading stuff like you said. Thanks!

 

[MTVision]

Nah! It's not that I wanna learn it like how to fry an egg. It's just that I'm trying to avoid using PS as a main polisher. As a beginner like me, I wanna learn what photography is and depending on PS will not make me a photographer but more to be a graphic artist. I want to reserve PS for those stuffs that are in extreme addition to the photo.

I appreciate your response and yes I still consider reading stuff like you said. Thanks!

If you shoot raw then you do need to develop the photo in camera raw. If you shoot Jpeg the camera processes the photo for you. You don't have to fix anything in photoshop if you get it right in camera but raw files are dull with low contrast so they NEED to be edited.

 

[PictureBox]

Buy a tripod. :thumbup: