Websites (or Books) for the Camera Novice? 43
An anonymous reader asks: "I've just purchased a new 4 megapixel digital camera after always having a simple point and shoot for years. It has all the functions and controls for full manual operation of aperture, shutter, etc. Things that I know little about. I'm looking for information on websites (or books) that will help a novice like me learn how and when to use these features, not just define what they are."
Photo.net? (Score:3, Informative)
Ansel Adams books (Score:2)
I would check out The Camera [amazon.com] by Ansel Adams for starters.There is a whole series of these Ansel Adams books but if you absorb The Camera you will be on your way to understanding stops and shutter speed
Re:Ansel Adams books (Score:1)
the adams series is the best intro on photography (albeit focused on analogue technology) - and the above mentioned 'the camera' is an excellent resource.
f64 : there's a reason for the 'f64'
Take a class (Score:3, Informative)
One online reference and some classic texts (Score:4, Informative)
You don't have to subscibe to the "Zone System" but you would benefit greatly from understanding the material. Certain tips are just timeless and it won't matter if you are shooting 20x24, 8x10, 4x5, 6x6, 35mm or some sort of digital thingy. The basics stay the same.
Great recommendations (Score:1)
However, despi
Re:One online reference and some classic texts (Score:2)
The best thing about the AA book series is that it teaches you how to SEE photographs without a camera. You have to learn to look at light, and how that shapes what your camera can produce. Adams is big on the "previsualization" theory, you have to mentally imagine the photograph you want and then you know what you ha
Re:One online reference and some classic texts (Score:2)
Links (Score:1)
Free Media [unt.edu]
Both links found at Creative Commons [creativecommons.org]
I hope these will help. They're just collections of photos licensed under creative commons licesnses which will probably allow you to use them freely.
Also check out the wikipedia page on photography [wikipedia.org]
All the above is good advice, plus tripod. (Score:2)
Also, try to get in the practice of learning how to take good pictures at any time or place. Getting an interesting shot of the commonplace can be a very difficult thing to do.
I'd also try out your cameras different modes, take tiffs, macro shots, buy an infra
The advantage of digital is in the learning (Score:2)
Go out and find a subject you like - a flower, a person, a mountain (a combination of these ?) and take about 100 pictures of it with the different settings (ok, don't go crazy on the way over/under exposed settings) find out which ones you like. This will help you with th
Re:The advantage of digital is in the learning (Score:2)
When the Nikon Coolpix series came along, and broke the 1 megapixel boundary, I got back into shooting stills (after diverting into the video realm for a while). I've now gone through six Coolpix cameras, and just recently graduated to the Canon Digital Rebel D-SLR 6-mega
Old Canon book from used bookstore (Score:1)
Look for a 9x12 hardcover "Time-Life series" style book, about half an inch thick. Flip through a few of what you find, but the 70's Canon and Nikon intros are the absolute best I've ever seen (for beginners).
mindslip
Dan's Data just reviewed the book you need! (Score:2)
Learning photography (Score:2)
20 years ago I got my masters degree in fine art photography after spending a few years as a professional photographer in NYC shooting for the likes of Rolling Stone, some other magazines, and record labels. Somehow I got into software development after playing around with writing my own art making software and closed my studio a dozen years ago.
The one piece of advice I can give from 25 years of being a student, practitioner and teacher of photography is to take a lot of photogr
two websites (Score:1)
I also found www.photozone.de [photozone.de] a few days ago. A bit basic, but the stuff under teqnique should get you started.
Just remember that the sight on your camera isn't a gun, think of it more as composing a picture in the view finder. Pay attention not only to your subjects but what else you can see behind/around them. Don't be afraid to ask people to move closer in group shots, try crouching down or standing on something to get a different view
Excellent book (Score:2)
Re:Excellent book (Score:2)
Re:Excellent book (Score:2)
I found this site useful (Score:1)
Okay okay, it looks like a massive advert (Score:1)
photo.net (Score:2)
Larry Bolch (Score:2)
One of the guys on one of these lists is an older professional photographer. He's patient and eloquent, always answers questions, even if the answers can be found anywhere. He knows a lot, and he's a great guy to have around.
He also has a very informative website. It is found at http://www.larry-bolch.com/ [larry-bolch.com]
Give it a look, it will help you greatly, as it did me.
Re:Larry Bolch (Score:2)
Ade_
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Intro books (Score:2)
But whatever you do, spend more time shooting than reading. (And don't get trapped into buying gear instead of taking photographs.)
Ade_
/
Don't forget the 'darkroom' (Score:1)
More on photo.net (Score:1)
You should note that photo.netters have a fairly low tolerance for newbies who post questions to the forums without searching the archives.
Apart from that, shoot loads and when you see the results try to analyse which pictures really work best and why
My final recommendation is to see other
The old fashioned way (Score:1)
Books and sites (Score:1)
Many have suggested photo.net [photo.net], and I agree and second the commet to be sure to read the static content as well as the boards. I also like Usefilm [usefilm.com], particularly as a place to post pictures and get comments. The three Ansel Adams books (The Camera, The Negative, and The Print are classics and loaded with useful information, and The National Geographic Photography Field Guide [nationalgeographic.com] is hugely informative and inspirational as well.
Speaking of inspiration, spend time looking at the sorts of pictures that you like an
Time-Life Photo series (Score:2)
How I learned (Score:2)
To answer your direct question, Kodak's Guide to 35mm Photography [amazon.com] is a fantastic reference to how to operate manual camera settings. Nevermind that you're using digital and not 35mm film, the manual controls on your camera are meant to emulate a 35mm camera. So, there won't be a chapte
A good book (Score:1)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN% 3 D087985801 x/104-6799284-9159958
But be warned, that asking the question "How do I get to be a good photographer" is equilvelant to asking "How do I bench press 600lbs?". You really have to work at it.
Also check out the Amatuer Photography Yahoo group:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/amateurphoto graphycl ub/
It's not a very high volume list, but they've got plenty of pictures you can look at.
Useful links (Score:2)
There's some useful information (and excellent photos) at Northlight Images [northlight-images.co.uk], including a pretty extensive collection of links [northlight-images.co.uk], and good advice on setting up colour profiles so as to get consistent image representation on the journey from camera through monitor to printer, particularly for black and white photography [northlight-images.co.uk].
Megapixel.net... (Score:2)
Photozone.de (Score:2)
Good examples highlight the point of the article.
I think the section on Canon/Nikon is good too.
photo.net's "learn" section (Score:1)
http://www.photo.net/learn/ [photo.net]