Progression of a NEW Photographer (At least I hope to be)

[barlowrs]

Well, I have finally decided to take the plunge and buy a camera and hopefully learn how to use it. With the help of a lot of ppl (many on this forum, sorry for the million questions), I pulled the trigger on a Nikon D7000 with the kit lens, VR18-105 F/3.5-5.6G (I figure I will get better lenses when I learn what range I shoot in most).

My only photography experience is my camera phone, so this is going to be a heck of a learning experience. There are so many talented photographers on this forum, I figure I will post up pics and you guy can tear them apart, and tell me what I should change to improve it. So, here goes nothing, I hope this is ok.

These are my two favorite from two seperate series I got tonight (before the battery died). Basically I just set her on a tripod and started messing with ISO, Shutter Speeds, and apertures. So with that, here are a few questions for the gurus:

First Image:

18mm, ISO 100, 30s, F/3.5

1. How could I still get the detail in the sky (stars) but not have all the little lights look like they are exploding?
2. How do I get rid of the glare on the left above the bench? No matter what ISO, Shutter speed, etc I chose, that was ALWAYS there (except when pics were too dark to see anything).
3. What other suggestions do you have?

Second Image:

18mm, ISO 800, 1/3s, F/5

1. I Think I should have bumped the ISO up to get it a bit brighter, you agree?
2. I tried a few shots with higher ISO and faster shutter speeds in hopes of making the fountain crisper, but I could never seem to get it bright enough, even with ISO maxed. Any suggestions to getting a better image in this lighting condition that will make the water crisper?

Please dont go easy on me. I want to learn this stuff! THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Ryanmb21]

It's fun to get started.

Two recommendations:
1. Book: understanding exposure by Brian Peterson
2. 35mm f1.8 Af-s - incredible lens, had so much fun with it. Incredible bargain. (After some time)

 

[barlowrs]

It's fun to get started.

Two recommendations:
1. Book: understanding exposure by Brian Peterson
2. 35mm f1.8 Af-s - incredible lens, had so much fun with it. Incredible bargain. (After some time)

I have read a lot about that and a 55mm f1.8.....Seems to be split on which people prefer. I will look into them both. Wouldnt mind getting a nice prime....and I will def grab the book...THANKS

 

[loren85022]

Often when you have too many misbehaving elements you should refocus on something more specific (zoom in). Make adjust to solve then decide if it's all compatible in one shot. Bracketing then becomes another opt.

With a 30s exposure, devise a 'barn door' that you can manually hold in front of your lens that blocks the brighter lights at left for say 25 secs. Remove it for the last 5. Takes practice. Or just go explain to the owner how important it is they dim them back 2-3 stops.

I'd avoid buying anything else. Force yourself to get good with minimal tech. Renting lenses is like dating. It's great to try out the features before you own. That said I own a harem of glass I prize.

 

[crismateski]

Often when you have too many misbehaving elements you should refocus on something more specific (zoom in). Make adjust to solve then decide if it's all compatible in one shot. Bracketing then becomes another opt.

I'd avoid buying anything else. Force yourself to get good with minimal tech. Renting lenses is like dating. It's great to try out the features before you own. That said I own a harem of glass I prize.

Good advice, especially the not buying too much too soon. There is already a learning curve, and it is easy to get overwhelmed, if you keep it simple and really learn to use what you have, you will be much happier and by the time you do buy the next item, you will know exactly what will fit how you shoot. (sorry for the run on sentence)

As for the shots, it looks great. It looks like some of the lens flair in the first shot is from an out of frame light source. You can try a lens hood (assuming you dont have one) or just hold your had up next to the lens to block some of the extraneous light.

 

[barlowrs]

Yeah, that is my plan, wait until I learn what type of shots and ranges I do more of then get specific better lenses. I have a LOT to learn with the current setup..it is MUCH MUCH more capable than I am as it stands. I did order that book though. I figure helpful books are a good place to spend money right now haha.

I will try the "barn door" and hand trick, as I do think the light source was off to the side (I do not have a hood, though maybe I should buy that).

Thanks everyone. Gonna spend this weekend at the tollhouse face-off (fun rockclimbing party) in sierras, so hopefully I can get the camera outdoors and get some shots there..then you guys can tear them apart and make me better!

 

[haven]

There's a lot to be said for learning through doing. Take a bunch of exposures, and see which images appeal to you. One fun exercise is to try shooting the same scene or object in B&W to see how it changes the emotional impact of the image.

A quick Google search turns up several camera clubs in Orange County. Joining a club can be a great way to find folks who share your interests. The club probably will have some sort of instruction for new DSLR owners. It's also a way to try out different equipment and see how various techniques produce different results. The club can help with group buys and discounts.

 

[cbradley]

In addition to the exposure book Ryan mentioned, here are a couple resources worth checking out, I'm sure I'll think of a few more:

• Scott Kelby's The Digital Photography Book (there are 4 volumes now, check out at least the first one)
• CraftandVision.com Fantastic low-cost photography ebooks. In particular, check out Finding Focus by Nicole S. Young ("nicolesy" on the internet), Beyond Thirds by Andrew S. Gibson, and Close to Home by Stuart Sipahigil. When you are ready for Lightroom (if you go that way), check out Essential Development by Sean McCormack. Finding Focus is a good starting point.
• Any of the From Snapshots to Great Shots book series are generally good.

 

[cbradley]

There is also an active SmugMug User Group in Orange County. I believe they are meeting tonight at the Mesa Verde Country club in Costa Mesa at 7:00 (double check though). They meet at the same time once a month. The topic changes every month and it is a good way to learn new things and get involved with other photographers. You do not have to be a SmugMug member to go as far as I know (at least they have never asked me for my username).

 

[cbradley]

Let's see some more shots!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[LR Max]

Take a look at some local photo get togethers/gatherings. You can get out and take photos without feeling timid (sometimes in an urban setting I get a bit nervous busting out my camera gear). You kinda get into the flow of things with others. Heck you can even compare the same shot with others afterwards (usually people upload photos to flickr, etc).

Your lens is fine. Keep running it. Primes are cool but all of mine sit in a fancy camera bag 99% of the time. The zooms are far handier and I get a great image still. Nikon makes good glass through their entire range, which is nice.

Get a note pad, begin taking notes on what you did, what you were thinking, and things you've picked up on. That way when you are out, you can reference what you've done or can return to something that you read and want to try it out. I've got a couple notebooks full of notes. REALLY helps. You can draw diagrams and all kinda crap.

 

[barlowrs]

OK a few more from a few trips..PLEASE GIVE ME ALL THe ADVICE CRITICISM YOU CAN!!!

Tried to get a Silhouette shot with the sunset in the back:

First attempt at star trails. My remote didnt work for some reason so it was only abouta 10-15 min exposure:

An Action Shot (I actually got a whole sequence showing the enture jump using the high speed multiple exposure setting, that is useful!!!):

Having fun with shutter speeds haha:

First attempt at portrait (Friends daughter, a complete Diva!):

 

[Zorro]

First off, let me commend you for taking it slow. Too many people think they need all the most expensive gear and never learn how to use it.

Your pics are soft as hell. I was about to say "well you're out of focus" when I saw the first pics. I'm not familiar with Nikon gear, so I can't comment on hardware causes.
What post-processing do you do?
I STRONGLY recommend you shoot in RAW if you don't already. When I switched from jpg to raw I went "well I should've done this from day one ... all these years wasted on jpg only".

Shooting in RAW will allow you to fiddle with the exposure issues you had in the first pics, as well as tweaking the sharpness (assuming it's not a gear issue).

Take it from there.

 

[Clark White]

I agree with everything Zorro says. Are you manual focussing maybe? If you post all your exposure settings with each picture it would probably be easier to give specific advice. The softness looks like you have a really shallow depth of field and are just slightly miss focussed?

Clark

 

[barlowrs]

2. This is great, exactly the input i am looking for. The Nikon has two slots so I have one card recording in RAW and one recording JPG, however I do not do any post processing (I have not learned, or even bought Photoshop or anything yet), so all these are strait out of the camera.

Most of those are a auto focused I think, however, the night shots I think i mostly do manual focus (I always try all kinds of different methods, so I cannot remember exactly).

I will pick up some books on Photoshop and start trying to learn how to post process the shots.