New to photography!

Hi guys... I just purchased a d5100 2 days ago.. I am a complete newbie and really dont know much about it...I always wanted to own a camera and learn to take amazing pictures with it.. I got te 18-55mm lens with it.. I read and watch online videos to learn about things such as shutter speed, aperture etc and i have definitely understood a lot... I could really use some help.. Please share some tips so that i can use my camera to its fullest potential And yes, I did read the manual

Awesome and welcome ….
There are a lot of very helpful folk here.
Tips are a dime a dozen and have probably all been covered somewhere in this forum.
Ask specific questions and take and post lots of pictures.

Welcome... You learn a lot here.

Hi and welcome...Try it in mode Aperture Priority at an aperture between F5.6 to F8...

A lot of people read the manual but don't understand what they read...When I was learning about my cams I would choose something and concentrate on it then when fully understood would move on to another button, dial or mode...

Hi and welcome to Nikonites! I didn't have that model long enough to give you any model based tips, but one tip everyone would recommend is to take lots of photos. The more you get use to your camera and try different things the more you'll be able to get out of it. I hope you'll have a blast with your new DSLR! It can produce some awesome photos!

Welcome.

Try to do something like a 365 project, try the monthly assignments, ... whatever fits you.
The only way to learn about photography is to go out there and do some things, fail, try again, fail again, ... and repeat this till you start to understand when you will be bound to fail on some things and where you can assure a good result. Learning is more important then getting it right.

No I did not read the manual, when I have an issue I look it up, generally on internet.
Show us how you see the world.

Welcome Arlene, I have got a D5100 and it is such a great camera. I took almost 20.000 pics with it without any problems. I started with the 18-55. I used that lens a lot but after a while I know my style of photography so I have chosen lenses which fit into my needs not my wants.

Every time I watched a VDO finished on youtube about the D5100 I went out and tried it out or I took photos indoors.

Welcome to the forum! It's already been said but....

Take Lots of Photos!

That's really the only way to learn your camera. Alan (pedroj) had a great point... Choose one thing and concentrate on it until you feel you've mastered it. Then pick something else and repeat the process.

It could be something as simple as experimenting with shutter speeds or ????? Set your camera's ISO and aperture one way, then leave those settings alone while you change shutter speeds. Observe what happens to the photos you make. What shutter speed gives you the cleanest action photos? Which one gives the best close-ups or portraits? Do you have kids or pets? Which shutter speed seems to capture their activities best?

Once you've figured out some of those answers, follow the same process with changing apertures, but leaving everything else the same. Then experiment with ISO changes. Etc., etc., etc.

Most important of all... have fun with your new camera! Don't be afraid to try things; that's the best way to find out what works for you.

And of course, whenever you have a specific question, this is a good place to get answers! Show us some photos when you ask your questions, too. That way we can give you a more useful answer.

welcome to Nikonites!

Howdy and welcome to Nikonites Arlene! I've got the D5300, just the slightly newer version of your camera. Post up some pictures that you've taken if you have questions and we can help point you in the right direction.


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hello and welcome

Thank a lot guys... Well i need a lil explanation about the exposure compensation... What is it that it exactly does? And can u tell me what should i set the aperture to while taking indoor pictures during the day and at night? I dont really like using the flash

Welcome to the forum

if you dont want to use flash then use the widest aperture ( smallest number) f2.8 or lower is a handy lens for low light on a good camera , in saying that as long as there is enough light to get the aperture you want , ie your shutter speed is higher then your focal length , the other option is to turn up iso or slower shutter speeds with tripod the three work together move one and the other ones need to compensate

exposure compensation is to trick the camera into taking what it believes is right but you know is wrong , ie snow shot the camera will want to underexpose to 18% grey so leave the settings and use exp comp by a stop or two in the plus and both you and the camera is happy

try shooting a sunset or sunrise with minus one and then minus two exp compensation and compare to a normal shot and you will see much better color

egosbar said:

if you dont want to use flash then use the widest aperture ( smallest number)

Click to expand...

The next thing to following here is that it will influence your depth of field. One issue with a wide aperture is low depth of field, so you might only see one person sharp when taking a picture of 2 persons.
You need to find your own system, I tend to use:
1) what is the light situation => what ISO do I set
2) what depth of field do I need => aperture setting
3) what shutter speed does this lead to => do I need a tripod (flash) or review lens, ISO and aperture, for the scene (VR, speed of subject, etc...)

egosbar said:

exposure compensation is to trick the camera into taking what it believes is right but you know is wrong , ie snow shot the camera will want to underexpose to 18% grey so leave the settings and use exp comp by a stop or two in the plus and both you and the camera is happy

Click to expand...

I use this in 2 cases:
1) in certain set-ups (macro lens with extension tubes) the camera systematically underexposes, to compensate this I use exposure compensation
2) some landscape scenes are wrongly exposed (not for the subject) due to a bright sky or a dark forest around it

The alternative is using the manual settings and allowing over or underexposure manually. You might want (for artistic reasons) to blow out the background, etc...

Arlene said:

Thank a lot guys... Well i need a lil explanation about the exposure compensation... What is it that it exactly does? And can u tell me what should i set the aperture to while taking indoor pictures during the day and at night? I dont really like using the flash

Click to expand...

Unless you have rock steady hands and the subject is stationary, you have to use the flash in low light especially indoors. You can dispense with flash if you use high ISO - 6400, 12800 or more, but then you will get a lot of noise. Use the high ISO only when it is inevitable.

In low light the bigger the aperture the better. If you have the kit lense then it will vary between 3.5 at wide end and 5.6 at long end. If you really want to pursue indoor photography without flash, you should get a prime lense . Either 50mm f1.8 or 35mm f1.8. Even then you may need to use the flash if you want noise free images.

To shoot moving objects the shutter speed should be upwards of 1/125 sec. 1/250 is better and 1/1000 if it sports that you are shooting. Mind you, children are pretty fast so you need high shutter speed. On the other hand landscapes rarely move (unless there is a high wind), so you can use slower shutter speeds to compensate for smaller aperture (f8 or more) to have better DOF. As DR decrease with ISO (and the noise increases), shoot landscapes at ISO 100 or 200 to get detailed noise free images.

That was really very helpful.. Thanks a lot