Amateur Photographer - First Picture With D7000

Just recently decided to get into photography... it's something I've always wanted to take up and I had some money so finally bought a nice camera.

This is the first picture I took with the D7000 - first 9 pictures I took were black, so I switched to auto mode and this is the result of my first successful picture.

Can't wait to learn more and get better at this new hobby of mine.

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Read your manual so you don't have to live in Auto and can not have any more black frames.

Thanks

Will definitely do more research and studying. I will probably take some lessons from a local photographer as well. I am really interested in architectural and nature photography.

Welcome. All black photos = Learning experience. Stay away from Auto. That's why were here, to get you into M

Hi, you're started with an awesome camera! - all the knobs, buttons and rollers seem daunting. I've had mine about 6 months now and can certainly get some snaps but still learning loads!

You'll be cracking off amasing shots in no time.

Black usually means - ISO too low, Shutter too fast or..... My most common fault leaving the lens cap on!! haha

Good Luck! & certainly make use of the critique thread, be sure to post all your settings you used and an example if possible when asking questions and you'll get some detailed help.

Welcome to Nikonites!

Pat in NH

Hi Jay, welcome to the forum, most of us have been through the black photos, one of the first things i read on here was to get off auto, so i put it to Manual and went out shooting, spotted a red headed woodpecker and fired away, 10 -12 black shots, never saw the woodpecker again, next i got white shots, then earthquake pics before i worked it out, but had fun doing it.

Welcome. I've found a lot of good advice/information here.

Welcome
It's the beginning of a very social, fun and addictive journey. (And a great camera you have too!!) Enjoy every moment of it, dont' be afraid to make mistakes, to share mistakes and then to come along and share your triumphs and achievements.

Two things to start with:

1. Learn your camera inside out. Know how to feel your way around the menus and settings even in the dark. Take your time and read your manual and read it with your camera in your hand or within arm's reach.

2. Learn to understand the exposure triangle. A book that changed everything for me was Bryan Peterson's Understanding Exposure (another one to read with your camera in hand).

3. (Had to add one ) LOVE EVERY MINUTE! I started to see things so differently when i started looking at them through a viewfinder (as opposed to LCD screen)

Oh and another guilty plea here for taking black photos when i forget to take the lens cap off, lol

Great advice from Lee. I will add that the owner's manual will make way more sense if you understand the exposure triangle first. When I first got my camera, I would write down my settings that were important and reset my camera menus often, like every time I picked up the camera. Its a great way to get comfortable with the menus, reset and put your favorite settings back in everyday. Lots of great tools in that camera, but you need to know how to confidently jump around and quickly change them. Don't get in a mindset where you are afraid to mess with your settings.