Photographic knowledge and tips for beginners

[SeilerBird]

The title of this thread is "Photographic knowledge and tips for beginners".  I really don't think that beginners need to be told they must spend at least $1000 on a lens in order to get good photos. Beginners are struggling just to get their photos to come out nice.

 

[tstumpf]

You don?t want a telephone pole growing out of someones head.

Or a tree trunk!

-Roni

 

[SeilerBird]

LOL very good Roni.

Back when I was a pup in college I took two years of a photography composition course from Mr Bob Hurst. Every class would have a show and tell time where the students got to show their best shots of the week to the class. Every once in a while someone would show a slide with a telephone pole growing out of someone's head. Mr Hurst would sound like he was having a heart attack. Even the simple act of including a telephone pole or a telephone wire would bring sounds of distress from Mr Hurst. The net result was to this day if I see a telephone pole or wire in my shot I can't press the button. Seriously.

 

[Pierat]

Photoshop is your friend!

 

[PancakeBill]

Bob B,  Totally agree about Ken Rockwell!

Tom S.  Good tips for beginners, but I wouldn't dismiss good lens as not being needed so cavalierly.  Just a caveat that they are available when need arises. 

I wonder if painting discussions tell folks that a matchstick is as good as sable when it comes to brushes?  In both situations it is the eye, the mind and the hands. 

 

[SeilerBird]

Tom S.  Good tips for beginners, but I wouldn't dismiss good lens as not being needed so cavalierly.  Just a caveat that they are available when need arises. 

I own 4 cameras and six lenses. None of them are considered "good glass" since none of them cost very much. So therefore the way I read the comments about needing good glass for sharp photos that means I have never produced a sharp photo. I don't mind if people disagree with me about the need for good glass, I am waiting for someone to post some proof, other than "I think you need good glass". Or "I disagree with Ken Rockwell". That is very typical when someone disagrees with someone's opinion to say bad things about the person rather than show some proof that that person is wrong. If Ken and I are wrong prove it. Show me your photos that are sharper than mine.

 

[PancakeBill]

Tom, why is every disagreement a challenge?

You point to Ken R as an ultimate source, some of us disagree.  You gave a link, folks can follow and get their own opinion. 

As I said, the outcome is in the hands, eyes and mind of the photographer.  Let it be.

 

[PancakeBill]

Where did I say bad things about Ken R?  Wrong side of the bed today?

 

[PancakeBill]

http://www.anthonyhereld.com/buyer-beware-ken-rockwell/
http://www.dpchallenge.com/forum.php?action=read&FORUM_THREAD_ID=334007
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/post/40023765

Ken Rockwell, read with caution. 

 

[Wavery]

I love my Sony Cybershot........... ;D ..........lot less work.....

Sorry guys..... I just had to post that...... my pics are so lousy that I'd just have to live my life over again to get it right.

If it's mechanical.... I can fix it.... an artist, I am not  .... but I have a lot of respect for those that are.... ;D

 

[workerdrone]

I'm firmly in the camp of "buy the best glass you can afford, go cheaper on the camera body if anything". 

The megapixel race is generally ridiculous these days and more mp do not always equal more quality.  I sold an 18mp Canon body to upgrade to a 12mp Nikon body, for example.  Both companies make great and competitive cameras, but in that particular case losing 6mp equalled much better photos.

I also believe in buying pro glass, and buying it used, because I can always get my money back, which I can't do with consumer grade lenses.  Often I've paid in the $1-2k range for a lens, enjoyed it for a while, and then sold it for hundreds more when I was done.

It has probably always been the case that talent and knowledge are more important than equipment though, and also that photo equipment produces an insatiable desire in many folks to constantly upgrade in the belief that equipment alone will get them the photos they admire in other photographers.  It never does.

We live in an amazing time to be photographers.  Free digital 'film' allows you to shoot, shoot, and shoot some more - practice I would have love to have had access to years ago when I could barely afford film and paper and chemicals for my camera and darkroom.  And being able to shoot at iso 6400 and even much higher is just amazing.

By all means, learn as much as you can about your equipment and compositional guidelines and such, but try not to consider anything a rule - breaking the rules often results in great images.  One of my favorite types of portrait shot is facing directly into the sun with the sun on my subject's back.  Not for beginners, definitely not for auto mode, but done right they appear angelic, enveloped in a gorgeous halo of light with their faces perfectly exposed and detailed and the background melting away.  Really special.

 

[workerdrone]

and...no disrespect meant to the OP by any means - I think these are all great tips for beginners.  Just sharing my own opinion as a part time semi-pro photographer and a complete newbie on RV's and this forum 

A couple of tips to add to the thread -

Always use your lens hood.  It gives better photos and provides good protection for the front element of your lens.

Use a tripod whenever you can.  Even a cheapo tripod is much better than none at all, and will result in dramatically sharper photos in most cases, as well as forcing you to slow down a bit and carefully consider your composition and make small but significant adjustments to the at first bewildering options of varying shutter speed, aperture, iso, exposure compensation, and critical focus to name a few important ones.  Also allows you to use a cable or remote release, or trigger using the self timer, any of which can also really help with critical sharpness.

Happy shooting!

 

[SeilerBird]

Thanks for your tips. That is not being disrespectful. In fact I am hoping people will contribute tips to this thread. Just remember these tips are for beginners. This is why I am opposed to the tips of spending more money on lenses. I don't think it is right to tell a beginning photographer that he needs to spend thousands of dollars on lenses. That is for only the really advanced shooters. These tips are for people who are having a rough time just getting a nice clear shot that comes out, not for producing masterpieces.

 

[Oscar Mike]

I've always been interested in photography as a hobby, but I've always been intimidated by the equipment, and my lack of knowledge. I took Photography in college (1975-77) and I did pretty good, even getting an offer to work as an unpaid intern for a professional photographer. I couldn't work as an unpaid anything in those days so I let the opportunity slip between my fingers. I still have all of my old 35mm cameras and equipment. I haven't messed with photography other than the normal family pictures on a camping trip in a few decades, and everything is now digital.

Today the equipment is vastly different so, what would be a good entry level camera that is expandable as I grow in experience. I would like to not break the bank if I was even able to afford a good camera. I would like to dabble with lenses as I gain experience. 

 

[PancakeBill]

There are a number of good cameras out there in the point and shoot camp, the Canon SX50 being one, the other brands have their own versions.  Will cover you for a good time going forward until you decide you need even more in the tool box.  It has great reach with the zoom, great wide angle.  Can be had for under $500.  The lens is not interchangeable.  If you google it, there should even be an option to see similar. 

As this thread is supposed to be about Beginners, this is a great beginning camera.

 

[workerdrone]

If I had a very limited budget but wanted to be able to expand as needed, I'd definitely look into an SLR rather than another type of camera, as long as you don't need to pocket your camera.  Here's my take, and I hope others will opine -

I'd go with a Canon or a Nikon - they're not the only game in town; Sony and Pentax and others also make great SLR's, but they're the most popular.

Which means the largest numbers of used equipment available at bargain prices.

Canon has an even larger share than Nikon, and in my experience it was much easier to find bargains on Canon equipment when I shot Canon.

With either system, I'd recommend a basic SLR and a kit lens as a foundation - such as an 18-55mm zoom.  The lens is worth about $100, a good body can be had for $400 or less.

Nice cheap extras would be a "fast" 50mm prime lens such as a 50mm f1.8; and an external flash unit.  The fast lens will let you practically shoot in the dark and play around with limited depth of field shots, which are very nice for portraits and very popular with most subjects.  50mm is also a great portrait length on a "crop" body, which will be the cheaper camera bodies.  "full frame" bodies are generally much more expensive and give you VERY limited upgrades in capabilities for the money spent.

The external flash will give you much more flash power and more flattering light than the built in flash, especially when you "bounce" it on camera or learn to trigger it off-camera.

The main advantage of Nikon in my opinion is that they have not changed their lens mount for decades.  You can buy a 2013 Nikon and use decades old manual focus lenses on it, which can be bought dirt cheap if you are paying attention on Craigslist (my favorite).  Some of these old lenses are 95% as good as the new ones and can be had for pennies on the dollar.  Plus their all-metal construction and butter smooth manual focus are a tactile joy, if you care about that sort of thing.

Lots of people still shoot film, and I keep meaning to try it out again; I recently picked up a grab bag of Nikon lenses and a Nikon film body for $200 to do just that.  But I was always waiting for digital to get as good (resolution-wise) as film, and that day has passed.  If you haven't tried digital, you're missing out on some really great instant gratification!

Bargain suggestions - Canon T2i, T3i, Nikon D3000 series, 5000 series, or D7000 if you really want room to grow.

 

[SeilerBird]

I've always been interested in photography as a hobby, but I've always been intimidated by the equipment, and my lack of knowledge. I took Photography in college (1975-77) and I did pretty good, even getting an offer to work as an unpaid intern for a professional photographer. I couldn't work as an unpaid anything in those days so I let the opportunity slip between my fingers. I still have all of my old 35mm cameras and equipment. I haven't messed with photography other than the normal family pictures on a camping trip in a few decades, and everything is now digital.

Today the equipment is vastly different so, what would be a good entry level camera that is expandable as I grow in experience. I would like to not break the bank if I was even able to afford a good camera. I would like to dabble with lenses as I gain experience.

I agree with Bill, get something like the Canon SX50. Anything more than that is massive overkill for 99% of the photographers out there. DSLRs are nice, but they are way too complicated for the average beginner and it really puts them off, as evidenced by the above quoted post. The SX50 is currently $350 on Amazon and it will be more camera than you will need for a long time.

https://picasaweb.google.com/108464110929132780547/April

Here is a link to an album of 22 photos I took in April. Eleven of them were taken with a DSLR and the other eleven were taken with a point and shoot. See if you can tell which photo was taken with which camera. Click on the "full details page" link to see which camera actually took the shot. You won't be able to tell which is which just by looking because the average point and shoot has just as good of image quality these days as a point and shoot in most situations. Now if you want to shoot in extremely low light, or do extremely heavy cropping, then the DSLR is the way to go. But most beginners don't need those capabilities.

Oscar Mike - If you buy yourself a camera we have plenty of experts here that will help you with any questions or problems you might have.

 

[workerdrone]

SX50 has good reviews.  It looks SLR-sized.  Mega zoom looks like fun for a beginner. 

John would just have to give a bit more info on what kinds of photos he wants to take - if he has taken photo classes before and currently owns an SLR, and said he would like to dabble with lenses as he gains experience, any SLR from a beginner model to a $5000+ pro body will have full auto modes to make them behave like a point and shoot, should he wish to default to that.

But you won't really learn why your pictures are not coming out like you want until you start to control the camera instead of it making all the decisions.  Generally, the more point 'n shooty it is, the harder it is to access the basics like he has on his current camera.  You can do it, but you have to dig through menus and read, read, read those manuals.

John, you said the equipment is "vastly different", but actually pro digital cameras are very much like film slr's of old.  Just dreamier    The basics of exposure, shutter speed, aperture, focal length, composition haven't changed a whit.

Bet you could get this for not much over $100    http://lasvegas.craigslist.org/pho/3919323416.html 

Someone mentioned Sony Cybershots - if you want an absolutely killer bargain, look for some old versions of those - many of them use Zeiss glass, often considered the best in the world.  And have great macro capabilities.  This was with a 10+ year old Cybershot 5mp camera, you could probably score one for under $100.  Hope this works, haven't tried to post an image yet:

 

[Oscar Mike]

Bet you could get this for not much over $100    http://lasvegas.craigslist.org/pho/3919323416.html 

I've contacted the seller, we'll see what happens.

 

[Oscar Mike]

SX50 has good reviews.  It looks SLR-sized.  Mega zoom looks like fun for a beginner. 

John would just have to give a bit more info on what kinds of photos he wants to take - if he has taken photo classes before and currently owns an SLR, and said he would like to dabble with lenses as he gains experience, any SLR from a beginner model to a $5000+ pro body will have full auto modes to make them behave like a point and shoot, should he wish to default to that.

I mostly enjoy action photography, such as waterfalls, trains on trestles, motorcyclists, people fishing, and so forth. I love capturing the mili-second in time. While I was in Community College Photography Class our focus was primarily in Black and White film, light and shadow were big for our instructors. Still photography in black and white is what we did mainly in school.

Film is just too expensive and cumbersome to work with, and it would be a lot more expensive to create a dark room than it would be to buy some good digital equipment.

I look forward to reengaging in my old past time and learning from some experienced people in the forum.