Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Fred on March 1, 2011 at 8:36am

Have a look at youtube, on there you will find plenty of videos on how to use View NX, Elemets 7. There should also be something on your camera but all Nikons are basically the same.

Aperture and ISO, search for videos by Bryan Peterson, at least I know he has covered Aperture. Remember Aperture, Speed and ISO are all linked together and that = exposure, alter one and you alter the exposure.

 

After 48 hours ask your long suffering husband to make sure you are still awake and not asleep at the computer! Then come back and ask away.

Permalink Reply by Jason G on March 1, 2011 at 11:02am

Sign up for digital photography school (google it). They have every possible tutorial you could ever need in simple language. Scott Kelby writes really straight forward books to get you started quickly.

Permalink Reply by Tiberman Sajiwan Ramyead on March 1, 2011 at 11:19am

Tina - first of all congrats to your generous life partner! Read, re-read and re-re-read the manual. Remember the 1980s joke? 

'' When everything else fails, read the manual '', along with Digital SLR Cameras & Photography For Dummies - by David D. Busch.  

Permalink Reply by Tina Camp on March 1, 2011 at 8:37pm

Hi thank you for commenting.  I actually just went out and bought the book "Nikon d3100 For Dummies" lol I am going to go bury myself in that book and hopefully learn something lol.  I will definitely be on and off of here with many questions I am sure.

Permalink Reply by Peter Livingstone on March 1, 2011 at 4:37pm

My advice is go out an practice on different settings see what you feel works for you.

Once you arefamilular with what the camera can do the view the tutorials so that you can choice the setting depending on the situation at the time.

its easy to make mistakes but we learn som much by doing them

Peter

Permalink Reply by Patricia on March 28, 2011 at 5:09pm

Tina, I just upgraded from a P&S to a Nikon D3100.  I read the manual and viewed some YouTube videos then i went out to the beach and I shot away.  The first thing I noticed is that I needed a better lens.  The starter lens did not have the zoom I wanted. So off to the camera store where I tried several lenses and settled on the Nikkor 70mm-300mm AF-S VR lens.  Now I am happily shooting and learning as I go.  Best of luck to you.

Permalink Reply by John Nuss on March 31, 2011 at 7:11am

Hi Tina!

 

Welcome to the world of Nikon DSLR photography.  It's a great hobby.  I started out 5 years ago with a D50 and have never

looked back.  There are several things you can do to help with the fundamentals:

(1)  Get familiar with your camera.  Start in shooting in full auto.  Shoot landscapes, portraits, flash, street scenes, at parties,

       pets, wildlife, high/low contrast, all under various lighting conditions.

(2)  As you view your results, you'll start seeing patterns.  Experiment with the various camera settings, aperture/shutter/manual

       priority, iso settings. 

(3)  Get Bryan Petersen's Understanding Exposure.  It's a bible for DSLR photography every photographer should own.  After

       steps 1 & 2, above,  the relationship between ISO, shutter speed, and f/stop will become much more meaningful.    Amazon.com has an extensive selection of photo instruction books and software.

(4)  Join a local camera club.  Most have regular photo walks and members are always ready to share knowledge.

(5)  As mentioned elsewhere in this thread, google both PSE and Nikon View.  You'll find many instruction tutorials.  Another

      good Elements instructuion book is Rick Sammons's  Digital Imaging Workshops.  Someone in your camera club will be

      knowledgeable about post processing software and techniques.  Start attending meetings and let it be known you'll 

      exchange  donuts and coffee for tutoring.

(6)  Check out your local community college.  Most have evening photo classes on beginning photography and photo editing.

 

GOOD LUCK!  You've started a very satisfying and rewarding hobby.

Permalink Reply by Cline on March 31, 2011 at 2:07pm

 

Hi Tina,

I am new at photography myself.  I get on this network, and other photography sites and have learned alot without paying for a book. 

 

http://www.kenrockwell.com/ 

This site has a lot of information, it should be very helpful to you as it was to me.  Check it out. 

Permalink Reply by Henry DeBardeleben on April 21, 2011 at 9:22am

Hi Tina, you may want to checkout dptutorial.com also digital-photography-school.com and photo.net

Permalink Reply by Gary Vernon on April 21, 2011 at 2:55pm

 

Tina,

photography is all about understanding light, so as well as learning how your camera functions it is important to understand the environment in which you are photographing.

In editing it is best to learn the principles from the ground up there are some very comprehensive books available on raw editing and CS5 including the series by Scott Kelby.

One book recommended by nearly every pro in the business would be

"Light: Science and Magic: An introduction to photographic lighting"

By Steven Biver, Paul Fuqua and Fil Hunter:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Light-Science-Introduction-Photographic-Lig...

 

regards,

Gary

Permalink Reply by Fritz McCorkle on June 10, 2011 at 9:52am

Tina, i have a Nikon D300 and a D700 and can easily say i use my D3100 far more than the other two combined.  i'd be happy to be your camera buddy.  i don't know of any tutorials, but those would probably be easy to find.

Permalink Reply by Linda Schendel on June 11, 2011 at 6:46pm

Check with a local camera store and see if they offer any classes in the operation of the camera.  You will learn a lot from there.  Also, check to see if any there are local colleges in your area that offer continuing studies classes in photography, you will learn a lot from them.  Here in the Indianapolis area we have several resources.  Check out what is available in your area.  Check also to see if there is a camera club or a photography club in your area, they are really good about helping a newby get started.  Hope you are finding lots of resources in your area and are feeling more comfortable with your camera -- once you do you will have a ball.  The other thing that has been said through out this thread is just take the pictures, experiment with the settings and just keep taking pictures.  Practice makes perfect.  Good luck!!!

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next ›
• Page