How did you start off in digital photography?
The first time you took digital photography, how did you learn and what things did you do to be a great photographer? I’m a beginner and I’ve been reading stuff and trying but is that enough? I would want to join groups but I get shy and intimidated by great photographers.
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
My experience with film for 40 years before picking up a digital camera sure helped. You can find a lot of info on-line or in books. Here’s my standard answer on that:
Tutorials for Beginners
My own Flickr site has some decent information for beginners:
Here are a few to check out:
links to many tutorials written by users
links to many pages – some technique and some technical
links to many tutorials
I like the way this guy thinks:
I can easily recommend this book as an excellent source for a beginner. “Get the Most from Your Digital Camera,” by Simon Joinson.
I am sure that it is not “everything” Simon knows about photography, but it is sure to help you get started.
I’m not big into digital photography because in digital you can point, click, and shoot. The camera will do all the iris adjusting and focus check for you; all you have to do is frame it up.
If you want to really understand photography may I suggest picking up an all manual film SLR camera. That way you will learn all the ins and outs of the lens and the camera.
Then go on to digital.
Don’t get me wrong digital is nice but there are some things a film camera can pick that a digital can’t.
That’s how I got started. My 35mm was giving me trouble and I had a little money, so I got a digital camera. I just played with it and took lots of pictures on it (over 500 in the first month). Definitely join a group. I’m in the Yahoo group Better Digital Photography and I love it. The levels range from newbie to 30+ years of experience in photography. I find it a good way to get help because you can post photos and then people will give you suggestions and comments, but only if you ask for them. I’ve also posted tons of questions and there are at least 2 guys on there who are very helpful and put it into terms I can understand. Don’t be afraid.
Mel,
Not all digital cameras are point and shoot. I have a digital SLR and love it. I think a digital point and shoot is the perfect camera for a beginner. For one, they’ll more in their price range. They can also get into the habit of just “seeing” without having to worry about white balance and lighting and stuff like that. Then as they progress, THEN an SLR (whether digital or 35mm) is a good thing to transition to.
Also I have been shooting film for over 30 years. So the transistion was not hard.
I recommend looking into a local photo club. I joined one with my wife and compete in the Novice group.. It was interesting to see what I did not know about the effects of digital photography and all the member are more then willing to help each other out. Also they hold free classes on different subjects once a month. I do better in the slide (film) comps then the picture competitions.
I bought a digital camera and kept hammering the button until it understood what I wanted.
after years of film i have found digital is easy,
read books, ask questions, join groups, if your in a hurry goto a night school course, be a mop and soak up info from everywhere you can
a
I’ve been shooting with film for about 15 years before digital pro cameras were available. I just made the switch from one to the other. Every now and then I still shoot film.
Being a biginer, don’t be lazy like a lot of the newbies lettting th camera do all the work. That can produce crappy photos. Learn how to use an SLR in manual mode. Learn the relationship of lighting and exposure so you know and understand how to adjust the aperture and shutter speed.
There are some lighting situations that fool the camera. Sometimes the camera reading is wrong and change it to what I know is right for a great shot.