Another Newbie that needs help thread

[RiRi85]

I know there are tons of other threads similar to this.
But the more i read the stickys the bigger my headache is.

Anyway, I'm using a Sony Alpha 100 (I think its a general newbie camera nt too sure)
It just dropped on my doorstep one day (Someone gave it to my parents but i'm the only real one thats interested in it)

I've been shooting (Or trying) quite abit but the results never turn out the way i want to

I read this from somewhere (OF, GG etc etc)

What i would like to know is,
How do experienced members actually practice?
As in when you shoot how do you determine your shutter speed , Apeture setting, ISO.

From using the camera so far, shutter speed seems to be the easiest to use.
The faster the image the faster your shutter speed (I think)

But when I try and move more indepth by trying to test DOF shots
I end up getting results.. that are less than desirable

(I'm still trying to decide what type of photography to pick though)
Another thing, i've seen many other photographers pick a "Select" field to take photos in.
Are there "General" Photographers? lol

If anything i would pick Portrait (Coz i like to take photo of human expressions(male / female) using background to enchance etc etc..
Though i don't understand how those people can find models :x

Anyway.. first thing to learn is my basics and i think mine's pretty screwed up

I've read through sulhan's intro so i think i understand
1. Shutter Speed - To capture movement fast or slow
2. Aperture - To make Depth of Field shots (Bigger the aperture the more blurred the image)
3. ISO - Adjust this for Night time shots?
(I can't understand the flash part though)

Any.. erm.. tips?

 

[night86mare]

of course there are general photographers, but usually you would want to concentrate on your area of interest

i mean, you can't love everything, can you?

to improve, shoot, experiment, read more books, view more pictures with writeups on them

there are tons of good photography-related books in the national library, when i was feeling bored before meeting friends in say town, instead of stoning at home and doing other stuff i'd go and sit down in the library and read, can't say that it didn't help at all :dunno:

there is no need to pick, sooner or later when you shoot more, and you have to start shooting more and most importantly, experimenting because that is the way you will learn.. you will find what you like shooting more and do that a lot more.

think before you hit the shutter, it is nothing to do with shutter count but rather the fact that you are thinking.. it means that you will learn. just like if you study, if you follow the textbook blindly, will you remember it?

 

[zerartul]

One easy way I will say is take a static object and practice on it. Try out all the different setting slowly see the difference. Read around for guides in the net. Personally theres alot of stuff to know before you can actually utilize a dslr properly and reading more is actually useful.

Selecting field is something that each individual photographer prefers and this affects his equipement and skills on that field. For your case, if you prefer portraits, you should read up on what makes a protrait appealing and also view those photos in the portrait section to know how most photographers go about doing it.

Of course at the end of the day, use your camera more to know how to fully utilize it in most situation. Do also read up on post processing as that is pretty important if you are using a dslr.

BTW shutter ,aperture and ISO is related to each other as long as exposure is needed. They are not independent but of course each setting has a slightly different effect. But base on what you want to take at that time, their settings will be different (even though it may look the same in terms of exposure)

 

[RiRi85]

Thanks for the tips...

Hmm.. But overall from what i've been reading on the forums
Actually it isn't much but this is what i think ppl r saying..

In general, to "Up skill" (kinda?) just practice more.

Besides that, i'm using the initial kit they give you when you start out.
(I bought a lens cover/filter? to protect the lens, i think its re-usable)
I think i got the BBB Virus (Buy buy buy)
Coz i bought a cheap tri-pod to experiment long exposures

What i'm saying is... Photography is about both Equipment and the photographer right?
So.. What would you consider "Basic Needs"?

What I have are 2 lens (the ones they provide u initially)
A small carrying bag, 1 Lens Hood, 1 Tripod
Well i think that can start me off... Right?

As for choosing a specific field of photography, this comes later
As picking one field will determine the type of lens you have to buy
(Something about lens aperture etc)

I'm into landscaping too.. but i think thats completely different from portrait pictures right?

 

[zerartul]

Add in 1 more external flash will do you good to start off. Its very useful in indoor low available light purposes.

Landscaping you should look into wide angle lens while portraits its more into standard zoom/prime lens. For now though just get use to your equipement as you never know where your true interest lies till you pick up the camera and shoot.

 

[RiRi85]

Just another question:

I know i'm interested in more than 1 field of photography..
Is that common?
I love Architecture , Landscape and scenaries but yet i love taking Portriats too...

A little loss here because i understand both fields field a completely different types of lens / equipments

 

[night86mare]

Just another question:

I know i'm interested in more than 1 field of photography..
Is that common?
I love Architecture , Landscape and scenaries but yet i love taking Portriats too...

A little loss here because i understand both fields field a completely different types of lens / equipments

both fields of photography can be explored with the same equipment

for landscapes you will not just need wide angles, actually, isolation of details can be done with telephoto.. if you want to isolate a tree, details of interesting architecture

similarly, for portraits, you don't have to just use telephoto, a lot of people here have proven time and time again that with careful composition to avoid overdone distortion from wide angle lenses, you can do excellent portraiture

even for flash, you can use in landscape, not as applicable for sure, which is why you probably don't have to emphasize this unless you shoot people in low light complete with their knowledge. not very nice to flash people on the street randomly, no?

all equipment can be used for anything. generally the kit lens is in a pretty cool range, 18-55 or 18-70 or 18-135? which allows you to explore the more commonly used focal lengths

in summary, SHOOT, SHOOT, SHOOT, and POST POST POST your pictures, and READ , LEARN and UNDERSTAND while THINKING, that is the fastest way to improve; be honest with yourself whether your compositions are good, whether your technique is good, and WORK ON IT.

there is no shortcut, and there is no equipment which will produce good pictures if the photographer is a non-thinking, technically poor one. end of story. so think less about buying first, especially if you are limited by budget (most people here are).. and spend more time going out to shoot, thinking of new concepts, practising your post processing.. be active, not passive, and you will improve, no doubt. different people have different learning curves, but there is no negative learning curve.. but if you DO NOT practise, you will DEFINITELY not improve, end of story.

 

[night86mare]

I think i got the BBB Virus (Buy buy buy)
Coz i bought a cheap tri-pod to experiment long exposures

What I have are 2 lens (the ones they provide u initially)
A small carrying bag, 1 Lens Hood, 1 Tripod
Well i think that can start me off... Right?

more than enough. like i said you are spending too much time thinking about what you don't have.

in a tv show (the sopranos) i've been watching, a character made this comment :

"That's the trouble with you Americans. You expect nothing bad ever to happen, when the rest of the world expects only bad to happen. And they are not disappointed. You have everything, and still you complain. ... You've got too much time to think about yourselves."

i think singapore is becoming like america :dunno: ok enough of my off-tangent comments.. just shoot. :thumbsup:

 

[RiRi85]

Yea.. I'm shooting , not a lot though
(I don't want to start a new thread so might as well continue on and ask some questions)

I think what i've learnt is the most basic so far though, trying to advance proves pins and needles.

I've tried adjust shutterspeeds (Higher shutterspeeds = Less light)
Smaller Aperture (F20+ - F32 = Unable to take in more light because of the small opening)

I feel these are the most basic..
Tryin to Add ISO into the setting gives me a little more problem though
I tried ISO on 100 Effects are that the photo turns out bright
ISO on 400 makes it a little more dim.
(Am I correct?)

I've been trying to get a DOF picture though
From what i've been reading is
Ur shutter speed has to be fast and your aperture needs to be open as wide as possible
However, when i'm shooting this i realize that the time it takes to shoot the picture takes quite awhile (abt a sec over?)
(I've been reading the forums but nth really on the time of shot though)
The end result is a blurred image.
Or when the shot appears, the object is clear but i can't seem to get the background blurred :\

Oh another thing to add is...
what's a "Digital SLR with CF of 1.3X/1.5X/1.6X"?
And what's a 35mm?
(Searched wiki , ended up with info on film sizes?)

 

[night86mare]

you need to read

having no concept and trying out things in your camera is not going to work

i suspect you are not using manual mode, use manual mode, where you can adjust everything without changing anything else, and you will really understand what iso, aperture, shutter speed does

for dof, if you do not have enough light, then of course.. the picture will need more time to be exposed. with your aperture wide open, DO NOTE that the value of f-stop which you can see on camera is AS SMALL AS POSSIBLE. i do have a feeling that you have gotten it the other way round

f-stop is inversely proportional to aperture size

no offense meant, and i'm not scolding you, but the display of photographic concepts here is very weak.. go and read sulhan's thread again, and use manual setting to experiment..

in short, all these control the amount of light most fundamentally;

a photograph is a container which needs to be filled, a certain amount of light is required, but think of it as water, your camera lens is a hose

aperture size is the size of the hole through which the water flows in the hose, i.e. its cross section
shutter speed is how long the water flows for
iso setting is how QUICKLY the water flows, a higher iso setting means your camera sensor becomes more sensitive to light, at the COST of having more image noise

other than affecting this light part, apertue size has bearing on depth of field
shutter speed has bearing on the amount of motion in your picture, short = less motion, longer = more motion.. at longer shutter speeds you are unable to handhold as well
iso setting affects noise

if you make the hole smaller for more depth of field, then you need longer flow time, or up the iso
if you make the flow time shorter to capture action, then you need to up the other two, i.e. make the speed quicker, or make the hole bigger, or both
vice versa also works