I still haven't read the instruction manual (but I have an hour long flight in which I plan to do nothing but read my camera manual. Man that time sure is gonna fly.... HA!) However, I don't think I can learn everything I need to know from a still little manual from Canon.
This is where I come to you. I need to know basics - when to change my aperture (and really, what aperture is, exactly), when to shoot on auto, when to adjust the ISO... all of these things. I really want something that says "When you are standing on the corner of the street at 9pm trying to take a picture of a pretty building, do this." Like, that direct and straight forward.
So, start suggesting blogs for me to obsess over and pull up on my phone while people wait for me to take their picture. Anything for the perfect shot! Or, if you have tips yourself, let me know!
very amazing blog , really you have a great ideas... hope you share me on my blog : http://touristscene.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeletebest regards
The manual will show you where all the buttons are, but it won't tell you what anything means. There's been a little bit of a steep learning curve with mine, but through googling "What is ___" and through reading a few books, I think I understand much more now.
ReplyDeleteThis is the exact book you're looking for. I get free two-day shipping, so if you want it asap, I'll order it for you and you can paypal me.
http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Photography-Book-Scott-Kelby/dp/032147404X
Another thing that's good to do once you're starting to understand the basics is go through Flickr and search for your camera, see photos that others have taken with it, and look at the EXIF data to see how they got the shot:
http://www.ofzenandcomputing.com/zanswers/588
Honestly, don't read anything. Mess around with your settings. Sit in front of the same building for hours and try every single setting, every single ISO, F-Stop, everything and take picture after picture after picture.
ReplyDeleteWhen I did this, I wrote the settings down for each picture in a notebook and the image number (so that I could go back and compare the results with the settings) and from there you just kind of learn what to change and when. Try anything and everything and take pictures of EVERYTHING.
Good luck! Can't wait to see how your pics turn out!
here is a flickr sight that i randomly came across on tumblr... the photographer labels each photo with all the info! most are nature shots, but still helpful
ReplyDeletehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/smgallery/
Crap, try this stream of his:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/smgallery/with/2451652662/
Come visit Long Beach for a free lesson.
ReplyDeleteI bought a fancy camera last year. I've done some experimenting with it but not nearly enough to have truly got my money's worth. I need to get better about that :-/
ReplyDelete