Hi all

I'm completely new to photography. It's something I've always had a 'hidden' interest in but various occurences lately have caused me to seriously consider what I want.

I've decided I want to pursue this more seriously. I'm not talking as a profession, but to take a lot more interest.

Basically, I need help. I was thinking of starting with some books but I don't know where to start and was wondering if anyone had any recommendations? Bearing in mind I'm a COMPLETE starter and although I'm ashamed to admit but I only think I know the difference between a digital & an SLR camera <hangs head in shame>

Any help HUGELY appreciated!!

You've come to the right place (hopefully :/) :)

Have you bought yourself a camera to begin with?

On the digital vs SLR thing.

The SLR name (Single lens reflex) refers to the camera having a mirror.
Many SLRs are digital.

I think you mean SLR vs compact/point and shoot.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-lens_reflex_camera

'digital' refers to the electronic sensor that has replaced 35mm silver halide as the medium for image capture.

A tutorial site found with a quick Google...

http://www.silverlight.co.uk/tutorials/toc.html

Why don't you come along to our next photography stroll? Some of us joined together last weekend & I personally found it fun & useful. Everyone was really helpful & gave some of us great tips & help. It's also good just to see what other people take photos of in the same place. Really, photography for me is just about seeing something I like & ponting a camera at it & clicking. some come out great, some awful. Eventually you begin to find a certain style of photography suits you - some like photographing animals, people, buildings, landscapes.... for me it's textures. Once you have a 'feel' for the style you like, then you can start finding more about what sort of equipment would enhance this style of photography. For example, its no good spending £100's on a lens that takes photos close up (macro) if you prefer to take landscapes. In this instance you would research wide angle lenses or zoom lenses. On the other hand, if you love flowers, then a macro lens would be more important.
Keep an eye out for the next stroll that's organised.

You've come to the right place (hopefully :/) :)

Have you bought yourself a camera to begin with?

On the digital vs SLR thing.

The SLR name (Single lens reflex) refers to the camera having a mirror.
Many SLRs are digital.

I think you mean SLR vs compact/point and shoot.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-lens_reflex_camera

'digital' refers to the electronic sensor that has replaced 35mm silver halide as the medium for image capture.

At the moment I have a digital camera, it's an 8.1MP but that's your lot!!

So, the way I read that that wikipedia link is that SLR gives you more of an accurate picture as opposed to a point & shoot?

At the moment I have a digital camera, it's an 8.1MP but that's your lot!!

So, the way I read that that wikipedia link is that SLR gives you more of an accurate picture as opposed to a point & shoot?

Depends on your P&S.
If you're using the live view on the screen to compose pictures, then I would assume WYSIWYG in the same way as an SLR.

If you're using an optical viewfinder with a compact/point+shoot then yes, an SLR will give a more accurate image.

That's not the same as saying a compact isn't capable of good pics. A couple of folks here use compacts and their pics are excellent.

I've just had a quick look on Ebay to get some prices - one camera went for £1500!!!!!!!!!! OMG - I don't have the kind of money! ?????? :roll: :confused:

I have a book called "Understanding Exposure" which is a worthwhile read and explains many useful concepts. Other than that many things can be found on the web.

I've just had a quick look on Ebay to get some prices - one camera went for £1500!!!!!!!!!! OMG - I don't have the kind of money! ?????? :roll: :confused:

What camera was it? Probably one of the top end.

If you're considering a DSLR, they start at around £400 for camera with 1 lens.

Choices at that level:
Sony A100 and the newer A200
Canon 400d
Nikon D40 / D40x

I don't know what the equivelant is in Olympus/Pentax etc etc

I've just had a quick look on Ebay to get some prices - one camera went for £1500!!!!!!!!!! OMG - I don't have the kind of money! ?????? :roll: :confused:

Don't get too hung up about cameras, if you've got a camera of any description you're ready to get started. You can buy a car for £50k but you don't need to spend that much to learn to drive. Even a film camera (film? - gee - I remember that!) is fine - you just have to wait a bit to see your mistakes!

You can start practising on pretty much anything, friends, family, the dog, the car/bike/house/garden - anything that will stay still long enough to photograph. Use the camera on auto mode to begin with (if it has one) then at least you're pretty much guaranteed to get *something*.

Look carefully at the viewfinder (or LCD) as you're taking the picture and try to make sure that your chosen subject fills the frame. Probably the most common mistake everyone makes to begin with is to have a tiny subject against a vast expanse of background. Cut out the crap and get in close! If your camera has a zoom facility you can use that to zoom in or out as needed or you can move yourself and/or the subject to similar effect. Try different shots with the light coming from different directions to see what that does - if there's a bit of sun about it will make a vast difference.

Once you can get pictures that people recognise when you show them you're already doing better than many folks. After that start reading books, magazines, website (try the thread here about 'training and learning resources' for suggestions). Look at your pictures compared to those in the books etc. - particularly look for where the light is coming from - are there defined shadows or is the light soft and even. Shadows help give depth - 3D-ness if you like - to objects in a flat 2D photograph.

Then, like everyone says, come on one of our photography walks. Don't be put off by the pics you see posted on here - those are the ones we preen and polish to show off. You'd be surprised how many duff shots we all take to get a couple of good uns!

Thanks very much Imp, I've been thinking and decided to upload some photos to Flickr.

I'd appreciate if you kind folk would have a quick look and lemme know what you think?

Cheers!!!

For the complete novice this is a very good book for the money at only £5

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Digital-Photography-Handbook-Step-step/dp/1905204140/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1199990010&sr=1-2

Complete novice huh? Who are you trying to kid? :suspect:

OK, the 'Endcliffe Park' pic shows distinct novice tendencies (what's it about anyway?) but some of the others are good. While the rainbow pics may not show perfect composition they do show the subject very well and I know you sometimes have only seconds to grab stuff like that.

The Botanical Gardens fountain shots are at least as good as a lot I saw last weekend (mine especially!) and that backlit willow tree really gives the game away. Backlighting is usually tricky but when it works it's spectacular.

Keep up the good work and come on the next photo walk so we can see you're not cheating! :D

Canon have a great page for beginners learning digital SLR terminology :

http://web.canon.jp/imaging/enjoydslr/index.html

The site takes a while to load, and you'll need Flash installed. But its worth the wait :P

If you want to learn how to use the camera, buy yourself a cheap old slr, something like Pentax ME/MESuper, Canon A-1, one of Ricoh's, maybe old Nikon or Minolta - pack a roll of film into it and learn. Learn about the exposure, shutter times, aperture, composition. Watch as many pictures as you can, daily. And then, after few (quite a few) rolls of film, when you will know, how to compose the picture and how to look for photograph - buy yourself a digital slr. Otherwise it's just not worth your money, and you will loose the whole magic of film shooting, which is absolutely unique and no digital can beat it.

First learn, then buy :) Not the opposite way. I'll gladly help if you'll have any questions! And the other guys too, I am sure.

If you want to learn how to use the camera, buy yourself a cheap old slr, something like Pentax ME/MESuper, Canon A-1, one of Ricoh's, maybe old Nikon or Minolta - pack a roll of film into it and learn. Learn about the exposure, shutter times, aperture, composition. Watch as many pictures as you can, daily. And then, after few (quite a few) rolls of film, when you will know, how to compose the picture and how to look for photograph - buy yourself a digital slr. Otherwise it's just not worth your money, and you will loose the whole magic of film shooting, which is absolutely unique and no digital can beat it.

First learn, then buy :) Not the opposite way. I'll gladly help if you'll have any questions! And the other guys too, I am sure.

I loved my ME super

I loved my ME super

Fantastic little, but powerful camera. Together with SMC lenses it was a killer. I have always preferred the MX though. :D