Interested in developing your photography skills???

[Fidelis]

Ok guys & gals,

Just wondering how many of you are interested in developing your photography skills? Would love to know how many of you are actually viewing the photography boards here @ DSP & what you might find useful in terms of resources & advice? So come on speak up & don't be shy, this board is for you & we want to make it a photographic haven for all those who are truly interested in the art of photography!!!

Emma. :)

[elizabethlmccoy]

I am very much interested in bettering my skills. Specifically close up shots of people & nature.

Thanks! :)

[Emma]

I need some technical advice, the focus on my camera seems slow and hard to control. It's a Nikon Coolpix 5700. Wish I could just half-depress the shutter and have confidence it's focusing where I told it to, but it seems to choose an area of high contrast regardless of the position of the manual focus.

It also has a lot of features I don't know how to use.

Maybe I just need someone to encourage me to read the manual...

[Fidelis]

Emma I had heard that while the Nikon Coolpix 5700 is on the whole a great camera, it also as its draw backs (like all digital cameras I might add), such as its overly complex controls & its slow focusing. I think it might be a good idea Emma to pick up your manual & while I know it can be somewhat boring LOL, read it cover to cover girl & get really clued up about your camera, its the only way to get the best from it. I would also suggest joining a Nikon specific forum such as;

Nikonians (http://www.nikonians.org/)

This forum will allow you to get in touch with other Nikon users who might be able to give you some more help & advice.

Goodluck Emma & I hope see some of your images in the gallery real soon !!!

Smiles, Emma.

[kimberlytm]

I want to get into photography without having to read bunches of books because I have a demanding 2yr old and don't get to read much. I love taking pics and would love to hone (sp?) my skills.
I have a manual camera although I want a good digital. I have a friend that has a nice SLR and is trying out new lenses. He's having alot of fun with them.
I just don't have lots o money and time to invest but I'd love any lessons, tips and advice.

[Fidelis]

Thanks for your comments, we'll keep these in mind! I think that lots of mums & dads with active children are in the same boat as you, haven't got the time to read heaps of photographic info!!! We are going to be putting together some actual photography lessons for DSP users soon so maybe we can look into providing some kindda fast track lessons that cater for people such as yourself.

Thanks for your comments,

Emma.

[Tai-Bell]

I totally want to be a better photographer! I have the same problems as Emma with my camera. Similar camera, I have the Nikon 5400. Just upgraded recently. Thinking the camera would help me out. Wrong. I need to practice, practice as I'd love to get great pics of my kids. I guess I'd better start out with stills because they are way to quick to get good shots! Boo. Anyway, I think reading the manual is a good start. I had every intention in doing that but gosh it put me right to sleep, LOL. I'm contemplating taking an online class but since I can't even get through the manual I'm sure my eyes would glase over trying to red online.

I'd love someone to come and give me a hands on lesson. :D

Then my next step is to learn digital darkroom software :confused:

Tania

[canay]

I so want to be a better photographer too! I have a Canon Powershot G2. Great camera but I can't seem to get off auto mode. I've read the manual, and even purchased a book specific to my camera. When I read stuff it makes sense but I don't retain any of it. So I put it on auto and click away.

I also want to get better at composition of the picture. Looking through the gallery, my eye is generally drawn to the layout with the fabulous picture first.

Possibly though some of these great pictures don't come from the picture taking itself. There is also so much to learn about picture enhancements in our particular graphics programs.

I have signed up for a digital photography class from LVSOnline that starts in May. It will be fun to learn and share photography info with this group.

Canay

[Schmoopy]

I'm using a Canon Powershot A10 (ancient, I know! lol) and am going to be picking up something new soonish, i'd love to get quick tips, i don't do well with manuals/books, etc. Seem to suck it up when I'm reading it but then I end up forgetting it. I need to DO to learn, and need quick tips that I can apply and retain in my ever evaporating brain! (my kiddos are sucking the intelligence right out of me! lol).

Stace.

[u.k. lady]

lol schmoopy you make me laugh ,I think my kids took my memory each time I was pregnant ,now I have none left :D
We dont care how old your camera is or what make it is .No snobbery on this board, it's the photographer who makes great pictures not the camera.

Jacqui

[Schmoopy]

Thanks Jacqui!!!! then THIS PHOTOGRAPHER needs help! lol.

*standing up and announcing to the group*

I'm Stacey, and I'm a point & click gal and would like to change that.

[SuzanneCWalker]

Are you picturing me jumping up and down, waving my hands in the air like a maniac? Cause that's what I'm doing....... Well, I guess I should go back a abit and say HOW COOL that so many of us really do want to focus on our photograhpy!! MEEEEEEEEETOOOOOOOOO!

I've been using a Fuji Finepix 4900z, and it's only just today coming home from the repair shop - would you believe that I dropped it when I was REALLY finally getting it?! Seriously, just that morning, I'd figured out how to set the white balance, and how to adjust some of the sharpness, etc features. DUH, Suz. So, I am so anxious to get it back and do some more work!

I think we might also benefit as we develop our classes here in the University, from knowing what skill level everyone is beginning from... Hmmmmmm... Maybe we need to figure out how to start a poll...... ! HOW FUN!

[u.k. lady]

Suz you got your camera back !!!!!!!
so excited for ya girl .That baby of yours is gonna be sooooooooo photographed when it arrives :D

big Hugz
Jacqui

[SuzanneCWalker]

LOL - you crack me up, Jacqui!!! Yeah, the poor kid.......

[Amber]

I took a 35mm photography class at the Community Colleges here in Austin and just loved it (partly because we were in the darkroom too and got to develop our own film!) but the class was too fast paced for me and I never could master the concept of apeture settings and f-stop settings.

I have a Minolta Maxxum 5 SLR and DH's Canon G1 digital camera right now- but Im eyeing the Canon Digial Rebel- hopefully I can get that in September!

I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE more photography classes! You guys rock! Thanks for considering this for us!

Amber

[Meryl]

I'd LOVE help with photography! I have an Olympus 5050 which I love, but know i should be reading much more of the manual! Meryl

[4jacks4me]

I would like to learn the basic stuff of photography - I have plenty of books, done all sorts of research, but still get confused on f-stops and all that other stuff! I have an Olympus C-700 UZ. Has lots of manual options that I would like to understand better.

[DawnM71]

I too, need to read my manual.

I do have a question though. SLR....what does it mean? why does everybody want it. How does it make a pic better. I have read that my camera is an SLR then in other places read it isn't. :confused:

I have a Fuji Finepix S5000

[Fidelis]

Dawn SLR stands for single lense reflex. The reason alot of people want this type of camera is because its considered to be a more professional type of camera than the point & shoot type & you can take much more control using one. You can achieve more accurate images with one too because its metering systems tend to be more accurate, plus it gives you more versatility. Saying this though many SLR's come with a point & shoot mode making them a great camera to use even for those with little experience.

Another denoting feature about the SLR is they have a centrally placed dome which houses a glass pentaprism (inside the actual camera). The pentaprism allows you to see the image formed by your actual lens when you look through the viewfinder or eyepiece.


Hope this helps a little Dawn, if you don't understand what I've written just let me know & I'll try & explain things even clearer.

Emma.

[DawnM71]

Thanks Emma for taking the time to explain this to me. Now I just need to find out if my camera is or isn't a dslr. LOL! I have done searches and seen yes and no. So confusing. :confused:

[Fidelis]

Hi Dawn,

You have the Fuji S5000 right (saw this fact on another thread), well although this camera looks like an SLR it actually isn't, its just styled like an SLR to give it a professional look & feel. Hope this clears the confusion for you!

Emma. :)

[souperscrapper]

I, too, want to get better at taking pictures. I took a Photography class, and it was wonderful, and I learned so much - but if you don't use it, you lose it. You have to 'use film like toilet paper' (to quote a friend of mine) in order to get better. And write down what you're doing - what your settings are. Take the same shot with different settings and write them all down and see which one you like best and why. Analyze every picture when it comes back - what's good about this one, what would have made it better, etc.

I rarely ever use the 'auto' setting anymore, though I will still frequently use the "Program" mode. But only after I read the numbers inside the viewfinder and make sure they're going to do what I want them to - if I have time in the midst of that action shot one of my dc is providing.

I have a Canon Elan7E, which I absolutely love, but I'd really like to get a 10D for the digital aspect. I also have a Casio 4mp digital that takes pretty good pictures, outside or within 8 feet...the flash is the pits, and it doesn't have a shoe for an external flash. I got it so I could keep a camera in my purse as those SLR's can get a bit bulky to carry everywhere.

I know the main thing I took away from the class I took was to fill the frame with your subject. I got a lot more than that from the class, but that one thing has made such a difference in my photography.

Okay, enough with the book already...the thing I'd like to learn most about now is lighting. How to set up lighting for those planned photo shoots, and where you do one if you don't have a garage...

Kelly

[Rebecca]

I don't have a garage, I use my living room. I trash it everytime too :D

[stanpix]

When switching to Digital I found lighting to be less of an issue, even in some cases, fill flash. If the program doesn't have the option to fix what you want their is literally tons of filters that do.