New To Photography & Nikonites!

R

Rebekahxx

Senior Member
​Hello Nikonites!

I'm new to the wonderful world of photography. Well fairly new anyway! I have a Nikon D3100 just for my practising camera at the mo, with the standard kit lens and I also purchased the AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm which I love! Hopefully when I'm more skilled and have a better understanding of my DSLR I want to branch out and buy a better camera, but I'm fine for now.


I want to make more photography savvy friends through this forum and learn wonderful things from you all! :)


One thing I do want in my kit is a zoom lens for more close up, detailed shots, not to expensive. Any ideas or help would be great! :D
 
W

WeeHector

Senior Member
Welcome Rebekah. Please don't look on the D3100 as a practice camera or a child's toy just because it's described as "entry level". It is a fantastic piece of kit and will do everything you ask of it and more for the foreseeable future. :)

Having said that, this is a great forum with incredible people of all levels of achievement. You'll have a wonderful time here and learn a great deal from the specialists (and not-so-specialists like myself).
 
Marcel

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
Welcome to Nikonites.

The first advice I'd like to give you is to forget about lenses for now and study photography and light. Even if you have all the lenses if you don't understand exposure and light, your pictures will be worthless.

So PRACTICE, practice, and practice more. Learn from your good and not so good shots. Don't expect the lens to do your work.

​Enjoy the Forum.
 
L

LenspirationalPhotography

Senior Member
I agree with Marcel! Practice, practice and more practice! I have been into photography for almost 10 years now and am still learning! Welcome to the forum! I also agree with the thing about the Nikon D3100, not to think of it like a child's camera, that's a very good camera and I used a standard kit lens (18-55mm)- for 6 years and that's the only lens I had- and yes learn about lighting and different settings, ISO, Aperture, F/stop etc, those are the key things you need to know to understand photography on a deeper level, is all the manual stuff. Are you in Full auto or manual settings? I am going to assume Auto- I started out in Auto and stayed in Auto until last year when I figured out how much better Manual was/took the time to learn/understand it! :)
 
R

Rebekahxx

Senior Member
I've had my camera for about 6 months now and I have learned a lot. I used my kit lens for a good 5 of those months and I still use it now. I have friends who have tought me the basics and have learned a lot offline to! :) I don't see my D3100 as a practise camera. They weren't the best words to use ha. I do love the D3100! :)
 
R

Rebekahxx

Senior Member
LenspirationalPhotography said:
I agree with Marcel! Practice, practice and more practice! I have been into photography for almost 10 years now and am still learning! Welcome to the forum! I also agree with the thing about the Nikon D3100, not to think of it like a child's camera, that's a very good camera and I used a standard kit lens (18-55mm)- for 6 years and that's the only lens I had- and yes learn about lighting and different settings, ISO, Aperture, F/stop etc, those are the key things you need to know to understand photography on a deeper level, is all the manual stuff. Are you in Full auto or manual settings? I am going to assume Auto- I started out in Auto and stayed in Auto until last year when I figured out how much better Manual was/took the time to learn/understand it! :)
Click to expand...
I mostly stick to Aperture priority. I never use auto really. When I first had it for the first few days I used auto but I learned before hand about aperture and ISO etc... :)
 
C

crycocyon

Senior Member
Welcome Rebecca (?) to the forum. First, you did the right thing. You got a Nikon. ;) No matter what model of Nikon you purchase, you will be able to capture anything that your imagination and growing skill can realize. Second, you got the 35 mm lens and that was another great choice. It is superb optically, focuses fast, is great in low light, and is light-weight and compact. When I first started in photography, I just had the 50 mm lens (for a 35 mm camera back then) and spent a couple of months just shooting with that lens before I got anything else...doing everything I could to understand the "normal" perspective and what I can do with it. With a normal lens and in your case for the DX format 35 mm is the normal perspective, you can learn how to move around your subject and find the best angle. This is extremely important to becoming a good or even great photographer. With all the zoom lenses out there, it is easy to just stand there and zoom in or out. That is not photography. That is snap-shooting. By being forced to change your position, you discover new angles and also just as importantly, you discover new angles of LIGHT.....how by moving you can see how it changes how you see the light falling on the subject. So by learning with a fixed prime lens, you become more involved with your subject and less reliant on a simple zooming process to produce a composition. Don't get me wrong, zooms are very convenient and great for everyday (or even serious) shooting, but if you are just starting out, having a prime lens as good as you have is a terrific way to start to develop your own style of how to approach capturing a subject.

Happy shooting!
 
R

Rebekahxx

Senior Member
crycocyon said:
Welcome Rebecca (?) to the forum. First, you did the right thing. You got a Nikon. ;) No matter what model of Nikon you purchase, you will be able to capture anything that your imagination and growing skill can realize. Second, you got the 35 mm lens and that was another great choice. It is superb optically, focuses fast, is great in low light, and is light-weight and compact. When I first started in photography, I just had the 50 mm lens (for a 35 mm camera back then) and spent a couple of months just shooting with that lens before I got anything else...doing everything I could to understand the "normal" perspective and what I can do with it. With a normal lens and in your case for the DX format 35 mm is the normal perspective, you can learn how to move around your subject and find the best angle. This is extremely important to becoming a good or even great photographer. With all the zoom lenses out there, it is easy to just stand there and zoom in or out. That is not photography. That is snap-shooting. By being forced to change your position, you discover new angles and also just as importantly, you discover new angles of LIGHT.....how by moving you can see how it changes how you see the light falling on the subject. So by learning with a fixed prime lens, you become more involved with your subject and less reliant on a simple zooming process to produce a composition. Don't get me wrong, zooms are very convenient and great for everyday (or even serious) shooting, but if you are just starting out, having a prime lens as good as you have is a terrific way to start to develop your own style of how to approach capturing a subject.

Happy shooting!
Click to expand...

It is Rebekah, not a typo ;D
Thanks for the helpful tips! :)
 
W

White Canvas

Senior Member
Rebekahxx said:
​Hello Nikonites!

I'm new to the wonderful world of photography. Well fairly new anyway! I have a Nikon D3100 just for my practising camera at the mo, with the standard kit lens and I also purchased the AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm which I love! Hopefully when I'm more skilled and have a better understanding of my DSLR I want to branch out and buy a better camera, but I'm fine for now.


I want to make more photography savvy friends through this forum and learn wonderful things from you all! :)


One thing I do want in my kit is a zoom lens for more close up, detailed shots, not to expensive. Any ideas or help would be great! :D
Click to expand...

Hello Rebekah, welcome. I'm relatively new here myself. Looking forward to seeing your work.

Derek

http://whitecanvasimages.wordpress.com/
 
B

Bill16

Senior Member
Welcome! I also have the D3100 and though I agree that it's a good camera, but there is nothing wrong with planning ahead and researching what model of Nikon you might eventually want to upgrade to! :D
I'm having a blast with my Nikon and am loving it here, and I hope you will too! :D
 
Top