Got my first DSLR last week and had lots of fun with it already. I did some reading online about aperture, shutter, ISO etc but most of the time I only use auto to shoot, I tried manual with different setting but the result I got is either worse than auto or not much difference, so I might need to pickup a 'dummy' book in chapter or go to lesson about it............
got some noob questions:
1) Where do you learn the skill of taking good pictures?
2) When do I need an external flash?
3) What make the difference between a GOOD lens and an average lens, do you have some sample pics of a GOOD lens compare to an average lens?作者: Catpiano 時間: 2008-5-12 20:30
1)
Take the advantage for digital, try more and more!! unlike the old days, you didn't want to try 100 pic on film .. but digital, can try more! (one reason why people photography skill now, is much better overall)
Buy some photography books, or go so some website, such as FM etc .. or DChome.net ... if you perfer to read chinese. (some TW sites are good)
2)
Don't even ask this question, you shouldn't even ask if u need External flash, you should as WHICH one should you get ..
It is all about PHOTOgraphy .. Lighting is everything! Most important part for the camera .. FLASH. (unless you only do studio pic, and using studio light! )
3)
Hard to say what is a good lens for you .. or a bad lens for other .. 400mm F2.8 is a good lens for sport photographer, but may not a lens for you to use ..
Try to take more pic, and see if you like to do more wide angle, tele, sports, wedding .. whatever, Good lens for me, may not be a good lens for you.作者: Ultraman 時間: 2008-5-12 22:46
Congratulations to your new toy, hehe!
My thoughts:
1. Do you have any knowledge of film SLR before? Make it simple, basically it's also about normal exposure first thing, using different combinations of aperture and shutter speed with different ISO (in different situations of needs) to achieve normal exposure. Then play with different settings to get different depth-of-field effects. (you can check those terms and information on the internet easily, save $ to buy books la.)
2. Well, really depends on whether you satisfied with your current built-in flash or not (assuming there is one on your camera). But honestly, flash photography is more advance level.
3. Since a "good lens" and an "average lens" has a huge price difference, and so you can probably tell how big the difference they are in terms of quality (general speaking). However, a "good lens" would has much better result used with a "good DSLR" (better quality of sensor); but may not be a noticeable difference when used with an "average DSLR" (poorer sensor).
Moreover, I truly believe a "good picture" doesn't only rely on good camera equipment but the most important element is the shooter!
So, you may start with fairly good "average" equipment first and do needed upgrade later la! 作者: shutterbug 時間: 2008-5-13 00:22
1) To start off, you probably learn more by reading + trying. Learn from websites, other people's galleries, books, etc. Learn the basics first, like aperture, shutter, DOF, lighting, composition, etc. The most important thing is to shoot more and try everything!
2) You'll know when you need a flash or not, trust me Depending on style, some people don't shoot with flash at all.
3) There's no "good" lens in this world. It really depends on what you're shooting. A kit lens can be a good lens when you shoot at f8. Not much difference than a pro lens at f8. A 85mm prime can be a bad lens for macros but an awesome portrait lens. Normally, pro lenses have bigger aperture like f1.x or f2.x and they're way more expensive. A f1.2 lens could be 4x the price of a f1.8.作者: siumaibb 時間: 2008-5-13 07:48
Thanks for your replies, I will take more pictures with different settings.
so many stuffs to learn.....作者: chobit 時間: 2008-5-13 13:47
Cong. to the world of photography (well... maybe digital photography) =P
- As you have already read about aperture and shutter settings. I think the next thing to learn is how the lightmeter works in your camera. While the camera lightmeter will try it's best to determine the correct exposure. Yet, It's not fool prove, therefore you have to learn to understand when you need to make the exposure compensation yourself.
- Personally, I have never used P mode, even when I first started. I would recommend you try to use apeture mode, then watch to make sure your shutter speed doesn't drop too slow. Otherwise, diff apeture setting may make more impact to your final image, then shutter for most motionless images.
After you take hundreds of images, review them, and ask yourself what make you think that picture looks good, and what not..! Pick the ones that you like to improve, and retry. Or post here for advice.作者: maanmo 時間: 2008-5-14 10:48
from some of questions you raised at the start of this thread
i highly recommend you read scot kelby's 2 books on digital photography
scott keby's latest book
has chapters such as
Chapter 1, "Using Flash Like a Pro,"
Chapter 3, "Shooting Portraits Like a Pro,"
Chapter 5, "Shooting Weddings Like a Pro,"
Chapter 7, "Shooting Macro Like a Pro,"
this volume 2 has just been acquired by the vancouver library
its availble also from the burnaby library
