so i am picking up photography as a hobby, got a used nikon d200 with the 50 f1.8 to learn the basics and see if i am still interested before getting anything higher end. any good online resources? or show us your shots?
My wife is a professional photographer. Her advice to anyone buying a DSLR is: #1) Avoid using the auto setting at all costs. You can take passable pictures, but it becomes a crutch. Pretend like it doesn't exist, which forces you to experiment with F-stop, aperture, ISO, shutter speed, etc. #2) Read your owner's manual that came with your camera. #3) [OBVIOUS] Shoot a LOT of pictures. Practice as much as possible, in as many different environments as possible. My mom, in an effort to get better at photography, took a class at the local community college. She learned next to nothing. She started going on photo walks with my wife, and is now really good. All they did was go to places they wanted to photograph, and spent 2 - 3 hours walking around and taking as many pictures as possible.
Don't buy the d200 unless you are getting a crazy deal on it. All the newer SLR cameras including the cheap ones have better sensors
This is all correct. Most of all, have patience. Remember that a photo is all about light being recorded. Learn exposure and how to harness the sunlight for the same purpose. I'm a CANON guy, so I wouldn't know too much about Nikon's models. I usually only read Canon stuff, but I would suggest to move to the 1.4 50mm lens for Nikon as soon as you have some good cash to spend on it. I've seen some nice photos from a guy I know with a D90 and it's worth it. Finally, I would like to add that many times, people take my camera, and they take a photo with it, and it doesn't come out "as well", because they don't have a steady hand. I do.
My wife just gave me an awesome Christmas gift - Canon 70-200 f2.8L IS ii. Just ordered on Amazon and should be here in time for trip to Vegas. Just wanted to share my joy
Get some good books to learn the basics.... You need to learn the following topics: 1) Exposure (Understanding how to get correct exposure by controlling aperture, shutter speed, and ISO) 2) Composition (How to properly frame the picture and where to place the subjects in your frame) 3) (Optional) - Post-processing your photo. The books you would want to get: 1) Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson (To learn Exposure) 2)Photographer's eye by Michael Freeman (To learn composition) 3) Digital Photography Book by Scott Kelby (A highly regarded general book covering basics) 4) Lightroom 3 book by Scott Kelby (Post processing your photo in RAW) Once you have read up on basics, you need to take photos, LOT and LOTS of photos. Take photos of anything and everything. Challenge yourself with some exercises. You can make your own exercises. The more photos you take, the better you will get. I strongly suggest shooting in RAW and learning how to post-process your photos. It will teach you what went wrong with your photos and what you can do to fix them immediately using software but more importantly what you can do to fix them next time you are taking your photos. Also, Nikon has excellent flash system. Once you are comfortable with the basics I would consider investing on a used SB-600 to learn using bounce flash, fill-light etc. Register at nikoncafe forum. Good bunch of people who can help you with your questions. D200 plus the 50mm 1.8 is an excellent starting point. The prime lens will force you to move your feet to compose your photo properly. Good luck! I was in your shoes a year and a half ago. Its a fun but an expensive hobby. Stay away from the constant desire to upgrade your equipment. I doubt you will be able to though.
Learn the exposure triangle (plus ISO) Learn post-processing Shoot tons of photos, using various settings. Memory card space is relatively very inexpensive, plus reusable, so don't be shy. Save money for more goods. Lenses are as important as the body. Tripods, flashes, filters, etc. it all adds up. But don't invest until you feel good about your hobby.
Not quite but yeah, real expensive. I've been working on the wife over it for a while now. Finally glad she decided to let me have it but still hurt to click that buy button.
Some good advice from some folks here. Hey, there is already one huge advantage (highly debatable, in my opinion), which is that you don't have to become adept in the darkroom manipulating film. You need to become adept at manipulating software. Huge difference.
Not true, not if you want to become really good. I never had a problem taking good images. Being creative in the darkroom (in front of an expensive monitor these days, with some expensive software, and not in the dark, unless it turns you on) was/is the difference between decent/good and potentially being great, and was always much more challenging, and fun. Watching your image come to life from a sheet of paper while floating in a tray always held a magical attraction for me. I haven't done that for years and now film is becoming hard to find. They quit making Kodachrome 64 about a year ago. Paul Simon probably had a fit.
My point is that if you want to take a purist stance, you're supposed to be taking the great image inside the camera and not with all the post processing. Photography sites will allow you to 'dodge' and 'burn' in Photoshop and not consider that manipulated. But anything else and you have to label it as a manipulated picture versus a true photograph.
This must be an outgrowth of digital photography. It must be considered "too easy'' to manipulate an image with software. As an old film photographer, I find it amusing, if somewhat understandable. But honestly, here we're talking about words. To me, what counts is the image, however you arrived at it.
If you have kids, use them. Using the excuse that it will help me get good photos of our toddler, I have been able to convince my wife to let me upgrade to the following: Nikon D700 16-35mm VRII 24mm f/1.4 50mm f/1.4 85mm f/1.4 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII... ...and now working on 200mm f/2 VRII All I have to do to keep her in the loop is produce one of two very good photos of my daughter every week or so. I have never had a better reason to love my daughter!
Not sure what type of manipulation you would want if you get the exposure correct outside of portraits. The Canon 70-200 f2.8L IS II is going to give you incredible colors and detail. What manipulation were you doing Deckard? Will go ahead and disagree with the "take lots and lots of photos" advice because it seems to imply a carefree snapshot. Each exposure needs to be with a purpose.
Old school film development is a different art in itself. Photoshop is definitely is too easy. And I think it's a very legitimate concern and important to be clear on how an image came about. If you see a powerful nature shot where the heron is swooping in and catching a fish... it is mid flight and the fish is mid jump... and the water is splashed in a spectacular way... only to find out that it was composited of 6 pictures... the magic is lost.
Hahah awesome. You got very close to the equivalent of my set of lenses. Except yours are much better... much faster. I got: Canon 5Dmk2 17-40 f/4L 50 f/1.8 28-135 (starter) and now the 70-200 I would like the 85 and 135 and 200 primes too but I decided to go with the 70-200 for versatility.
