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What are some good beginners photography books?

How to start on photography? I have absolutely no experience.?

  • The only "cameras" I have used were iPhones and an Olympus Fe Digital camera. I had problems taking pictures especially in dim places and images are not really that sharp.Major issues came up when taking photos at night/dimly lit areas (which I do often, and fail). I have seen the magic a DSLR does when my colleague( who practiced photography for 6 yrs) took very nice pictures. I would seriously like to take up, and maintain, photography as a hobby. 1) What camera should a newbie like me use which can allow me to take better pictures? I sort of have a budget of around £350 for now. Only when I have better understood the techniques will I upgrade. 2) What are the basic techniques should I start learning/practicing with. 3) Any advice for what techniques to learn (and the order to do so/which is more important)? 4) What is the most important aspect in a picture? 5) Are there any books which are good for beginners? 6) Nights! How to take picture at night? (There are some neon advertising lights, but other than that, nothing else) I have tried googling but some instructions are just too complex. So I would like to see advice from people like you who are experienced in taking good photography. Getting insights from personal experiences is better. Let me clarify that I don't intend to simply be someone who calls myself a photographer by simply having a Nikon/Canon. I really want to learn so, please be patient. Thanks a lot : /

  • Answer:

    Well it's important to recognise that the "magic" you mention is actually mostly from the six years experience your colleague has, and everybody can learn the not-so-dark arts of photography. 1) Any second hand DSLR with a kit lens and either a 35mm or 50mm prime lens. I quite like the Canon 40D in this price bracket as it's quite an advanced camera anyway and gives you plenty of opportunity to learn before needing an upgrade. Make sure that your camera comes with all the software that it originally came with as they form a critical part of your photographic work. 2) First understand that all cameras are bound by the laws of physics, and sometimes your mind will defeat the capabilties of any camera in the world. Start with basic drills, these are compositional skills like rule of thirds, golden spirals/golden triangles, and basic exposure concept and how to read the histogram. These "rules" are more a guide to a studying photographer, and with experience you will start to see times when these rules should be broken. 3) With composition, it's useful to look at aspects of art history as they will help provide inspiration. For exposure Ansel Adams Zone System is great and works all the time, and worth exploring and adapting to suit you tastes. 4) In my opinion it's totally intangible, this is magic! You need to capture the zing factor in your shots, but there really isn't a hard and fast concept, though aiming for perfection always helps. 5) Many people hate Scott Kelby, and I understand totally why. He is a little arrogant and rather patronising, but actually his writing style is quite approachable and I like his book entitled Digital Photography Book. You'll only ever want to read it once, and the second and third volumes are a waste of time. Beyond that John Hedgecoe and Bryan Peterson are good writers, though somewhat of a dryer nature. 6) Well this one will take a little longer to answer...but you'll definitely want a tripod and a cable release (and a camera which has a socket for a cable release). Then it's really a matter of using the zone system and getting out there to shoot. I'd say for a beginner stick to the city, as night scenes in the countryside require a slightly more dedicated (i.e. mad) approach to work.

CiaoChao at Yahoo! Answers Visit the source

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Best answer I can give is to join a local camera club and they will be able to advise you better than most people on this site.

Armageddon

Best answer I can give is to join a local camera club and they will be able to advise you better than most people on this site.

Armageddon

1.) You can get a Nikon D3100 for $450 (bout £280) at Cameta Camera. It's based in New York, and I don't know if they ship internationally. There is however the option of getting the Canon T3 for $500 on amazon. Please note that if you are very serious about going into photography and plan to stick with it for many years, you should spend a little more in the beginning so you don't have to upgrade that often. 2.) First thing you should do if you have absolutely no experience is to read the manual. Yes, it's as thick as a novel, but you get a lot of information out of it. And after that, you just have to practice. Just keep composition, and lighting in mind when taking pictures. 3.) The rule of thirds is something you should know, though you can break this rule and still get an amazing shot. 4.)Composition 5.) Digital SLR Photography for Dummies 6.) TRIPOD. This is probably the most important thing you need to take pictures at night. With the longer shutter speeds that you need at night, it'll be very hard to get sharp shots at night without a tripod. Side note: All you can really do is practice, practice, practice. Get familiarized with your camera, what settings you need for different lighting, etc. Also the lens is the most important thing. You can have an amazing body, but if you have a bad lens, you pictures won't be as good. But if you have even an entry level dslr and a good lens, you can do wonders.

Bob

ACTUALLY there are many DSLR's that you can get for $350. Take a look at some of the older models. The image quality is close to the newer models ( most differences just being in higher megapixels and iso range..)

Emma

Are you ready to take your photography to the next level? Take amazing photos with just basic gear – all you need is an on-camera flash and this great course https://tr.im/2ClVW It teach you everything you need to know about lighting using an on-camera flash from the ground up using an innovative technique which will immediately make sense of lighting and help improve your photos immediately.

1) I reccomend the Nikon COOLPIX L120. It takes extremely nice pictures, can zoom in really far without blurring up, and is pretty easy to use. 2) I can't remember the name but when taking pictures, never have your object in the middle. 3) ^^^ 4) Make sure you capture the subjects emotion if it is a person or animal. When people see the picture, you want to make it flow with emotion. 5) Try going to a book stores, they have many books. It really depends on what type of photography your into. 6) use the flash

M

1 nikon d3100 450 bout 280 cameta camera based york ship internationally option canon t3 500 amazon note photography plan stick years spend beginning upgrade 2 absolutely experience read manual thick lot information practice composition lighting mind pictures 3 rule thirds break rule amazing shot 4composition 5 digital slr photography dummies 6 tripod important pictures night longer shutter speeds night ll hard sharp shots night tripod side note practice practice practice familiarized camera settings lighting lens important amazing body bad lens pictures good entry level dslr good lens wonders

Veronica

I would suggest going to evening classes if any exist in your area. I did when I first started although I had been doing it a few years. I had the benefit of getting advice from my friend who had been doing it a while. If you can't go down the college evening class route, I would suggest getting books from the library aimed at beginners. I would also suggest starting with film cameras. Learn the basics with film and it will also be good discipline as you have a finite number of shots on one film, usually 24 or 36 which means you have to be selective about what you photograph. I wouldn't do night time shots until you've learnt the basic skills of daytime photography. Read up on the subject first then go out and experiment. Good Luck.

Richie Rocket 2010

Your questions encompass the entire craft of photography. Do you realistically expect that a 100-250 word answer in Yahoo Answers is going to address all of them with enough detail that you will actually learn something? There are a number of ways to learn photography. Buy a camera. Your £350 will get you a good quality compact camera. Go here to see which ones are good: http://dpreview.com. Then start taking pictures. Read up on photography, both using the camera and composing attractive images. Do an Internet search on "learning photography". There are lots of free resources that will help you out. Get to know some experienced photographers, either through a local camera club or an on-line forum. They will be able to give you pointers when you realize that one of your shots just doesn't make the grade, in spite of your high hopes for it. Practice, practice, practice.

joedlh

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