Hi all decided to get serious about photography. Derby uk

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goonerboy

New member
Hi all

i have enjoyed taking pictures for years, of friends holidays etc. Now the children have come along I have decided to get a bit more serious. Bought myself the d3200 with 18-55mm and have added the 50mm-1.8 lens too. I am really excited to further my skills. Any advice etc will be appreciated.

I am am really fascinated by people and street/urban photography. I also love to photograph my family.

Cannot wait to use software and play about with my images. With various effects etc.

thanks for reading Duane
 
D

dmc

Senior Member
Welcome. So here's some thoughts:

Read your manual. Have your camera with you while you read it and try the various settings while you read it.

Go out and shoot. Shoot everything you see. Shoot every day.

Download what you shoot and look at it long and hard. See what you like and what you don't.

Join a photo club, take a class, go out and shoot with someone more experienced than you.

Share you photos with family and friends and ask them to tell,you what they like.

Most important - HAVE FUN! There are no bad photos, just some that are better;~)

Well, my 2 cents, anyway.
 
G

goonerboy

New member
Hi thanks for great advice.

I have found a camera club to join in my area. I have been taking loads of pictures at home. I need to get out and about and start shooting the pics I am interested in street pictures etc. do you have any tips on how to go about street photography. I plan to start a Facebook/flickr page to gauge opinion on my pictures.

Thanks again for your advice.
 
M

Moab Man

Senior Member
Take photos in the most challenging of environments. Even if they are total crap, something can be learned.

Welcome and good shooting.
 
S

skene

Senior Member
Welcome.
Great advice that people have already given you. Grab your manual, study it along with your camera. Join local clubs as they can help guide you through your adventure and give you a helping hand with learning how to compose shots.
Watch videos on Youtube (very helpful), pick up a book on your camera. Sometimes the manual is not as descriptive with how to work the camera with the ideas on how someone that is used to shooting day in and day out. The manual will however give you that jump start.
Ask questions. If you don't understand something, it's better to ask and look foolish, than be the fool that never asks.
The quickest way of getting your feet wet, and my favorite is doing street photography. Just go out with the camera, take pictures and after several thousand you'll see how your skill progresses. Never be afraid of offering a different point of view in your shots.
Most importantly.... Enjoy.
 
C

carguy

Senior Member
goonerboy said:
Hi all

i have enjoyed taking pictures for years, of friends holidays etc. Now the children have come along I have decided to get a bit more serious. Bought myself the d3200 with 18-55mm and have added the 50mm-1.8 lens too. I am really excited to further my skills. Any advice etc will be appreciated.

I am am really fascinated by people and street/urban photography. I also love to photograph my family.

Cannot wait to use software and play about with my images. With various effects etc.

thanks for reading Duane
Click to expand...

Welcome! Your story sounds so familiar :cool:
 
BackdoorArts

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
Shoot.

Shoot.

Shoot.

Shoot some more.

And when you shoot, shoot RAW.

And in between all those, learn your camera, know what it does and how you need to set it to get certain things. When the weather isn't ideal for shooting, go to 500px.com and plug something into the search box that you've always wanted to shoot and see how other people have shot it. Take a hard look at the shots that inspire you and the ones that don't and try and understand what goes into each, then go out and make your version of it. Take a look at it and try again. Learn the digital darkrooms. The cameras and sensors are great, but they're not magic and knowing just a little bit about how to take advantage of the light information that's hidden in that first glimpse of your shot can make all the difference between triumph and perceived disappointment. Know your limitations, and then stretch them whenever you can. Be your own critic. Measure your work against those you admire and learn to see what makes them "better" than you, and get that tool in your tool chest. And don't get discouraged, because even your heroes have people they look up to - we're always growing, so don't put the camera away Practice seeing the common, every day world around you with the eye of a photographer. Tilt your head, crouch down, climb on top of things, because the world wasn't meant to be seen from 5 to 6 feet above the surface. Learn from your mistakes, and shoot what you love, because then you'll love shooting.

Oh, and go out and shoot.
 
G

goonerboy

New member
BackdoorHippie said:
Shoot.

Shoot.

Shoot.

Shoot some more.

And when you shoot, shoot RAW.

And in between all those, learn your camera, know what it does and how you need to set it to get certain things. When the weather isn't ideal for shooting, go to 500px.com and plug something into the search box that you've always wanted to shoot and see how other people have shot it. Take a hard look at the shots that inspire you and the ones that don't and try and understand what goes into each, then go out and make your version of it. Take a look at it and try again. Learn the digital darkrooms. The cameras and sensors are great, but they're not magic and knowing just a little bit about how to take advantage of the light information that's hidden in that first glimpse of your shot can make all the difference between triumph and perceived disappointment. Know your limitations, and then stretch them whenever you can. Be your own critic. Measure your work against those you admire and learn to see what makes them "better" than you, and get that tool in your tool chest. And don't get discouraged, because even your heroes have people they look up to - we're always growing, so don't put the camera away Practice seeing the common, every day world around you with the eye of a photographer. Tilt your head, crouch down, climb on top of things, because the world wasn't meant to be seen from 5 to 6 feet above the surface. Learn from your mistakes, and shoot what you love, because then you'll love shooting.

Oh, and go out and shoot.
Click to expand...

Fantastic advice. Thankyou. I have earlier today attended my first photography club meeting. I must say I was really impressed. And learnt so much!!! I will defo go out and shoot shoot shoot and shoot some more!!!
 
E

Englischdude

Senior Member
hi duane,

welcome to the forum and congratulations on deciding to get more serious about photography. Most of the best advice has already been offered, so ill mention one more point which helped me immensely in the beginning...... learn to walk before you try to run! There is alot to learn, at the time I got my first DSLR I was only thinking "get away from auto". I therefore started to try shooting only in M mode without having a clue what I was doing. After alot of frustration I went back to basics, working my way through the modes, P then A then S and then finally M, learning the application of each mode.

I wish you alot of fun with your newly discovered hobby. The forum members here can offer you a wealth of support so dont hesitate to ask questions.
 
D

Dave_W

The Dude
Welcome to the forum. My best advice for becoming a better photographer is to have fun. And of all the so-called rules of photography (golden ratio, rule of thirds, etc.), I would urge you to pay most attention to the "filling the frame" rule and the "make it simple" rule. All the other so-called rules pale in importance to these first two. And of course the most important one is to have fun doing it.
 
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