After taking the new camera out at the weekend (Nex 5N), I think after a fair bit of trail and error with everything from iphones to DSLRs, I’ve finally found something which fits what I’m using the camera for.

Which means I’ve now got a new found energy to learn to use it properly.

As far as a technical understanding of how the camera works, I could digest that quite easily from reading. If there’s only one thing I am any good at, it’s reading lots of boring stuff and organising it in my head 🙂

However, as those of you who have looked at any of my previous photos will be aware, when I pull that camera up to take a picture, I tend to press the button without a great deal of thought!

Sooooo, I clearly don’t have a natural eye for this sort of thing and need to have it taught to me as far as possible. Are there books which will teach me the key stuff for amateur photography, or am I better going on a course (or both)?

I don’t really want to spend a lot, but would be happy to invest if it’s likely I will see a noticeable difference. I’m quite frustrated at the moment that I can’t capture what I’m seeing in my head.

Also, a book/website on basic processing of RAW would be useful too!

Muchos ta.

The ‘Understanding Exposure’ book is well regarded. (I own it, but haven’t actually got around to looking at it yet)

Talk Photography is a useful forum, lots of guides and technical knowledge and if you get stuck into it you’ll get a lot of feedback on your photos etc.

Honestly, neither. What will do it is practice, a lot of it. What can also help is to learn to pause before pressing the shutter – look around the frame, think about whether moving a bit or crouching down or something could make it better.

I suppose what can also help is to find photographs you like, and work out why you like them. I’ve always been a big fan of Edward Burtynsky and the Bechers, which is probably obvious from the stuff I photograph 😉

Perhaps also old-fashioned of me, but I can’t get the hang of camera screens – I much prefer having a proper viewfinder. I’m really tempted to get one for my NEX-5…

Oh, and there was also a book called “Understanding Lightroom” which I found really handy – perhaps less so if you don’t use Lightroom!

Is there a camera club near to you, I found a good one with people who where very helpful,didnt mind telling you stuff ! and we go out in little groups sometimes 🙂
I know some clubs are not like this 😥

thanks guys 🙂

I do find it easier to take decent photos when i’m static (e.g where I have enough time to think about where i am and what i want to capture), but taking photos when i’m walking/climbing etc is problematic. I tend to rattle them off as soon as my eye sees something appealing – which, on a 15 mile ridge walk in winter, is quite alot! So i end up with 100 very similar photos.

I’m inclined to pick up a couple of fundamental things (understanding exposure) to read and then follow Ben’s advice, I get plenty of opportunity to practice. I think I just need to be ruthless and look for the photo before i get the camera out, rather than just trying to fit a nice scene into the viewfinder!

vixalot – Member
Is there a camera club near to you, I found a good one with people who where very helpful,didnt mind telling you stuff ! and we go out in little groups sometimes
I know some clubs are not like this

When I bough my first 35mm camera there was a chap in work who was really in to his photography, so I asked if he would help/guide me, absolutely fantastic I learnt loads in a mater of weeks.

First off, get the camera out of any automatic mode – this just allows you to rattle off photo after photo without having to think about anything. Use it just on Aperture priority for a longish period (a few weeks say), and get used to seeing what changes in aperture do to your photos. Then do the same with Shutter priority. Then do the same in either of those modes, or in Program, but with manual ISO and see what that does. After that, you should then have a good idea of what each of the three parts of the exposure triangle do and how they affect the photo, and will hopefully then have an idea of what mode, and what settings to use for the effect you want (and the compromises you may have to make for it).

If you aren’t sure what aperture, shutter speed, and ISO do in terms of exposure, then a quick google should get you the basic idea, but doing the above will put it into practice a lot better than reading a book.

IMO anyway.

Honestly, neither. What will do it is practice, a lot of it.

+1

Practice is all well & good, but I think you need a good understanding of your camera functions, how it works, why it does what it does etc.

Couple that with lots of practice. I find that books really helped me speed my understanding along, but they can be quite individual things so get yourself along to a large Waterstones and flick through a few.
Ones to avoid in my opinion are the ones that have 50 pages at the front explaining jpegs, different camera types, storage media etc.

Books are also good as you can use them to refresh your memory & look for inspirational ideas.

http://www.photoplusmag.com/category/photography-tutorials/d-slr-photo-skills/

This page and links within cover basic stuff like exposure triangle, effect of different settings and some set up tweaks for different cameras.

It’s all very well learning how to use your camera manually, and understanding the exposure triangle and all that, and definitely an element of photography that’s well worth exploring.

HOWEVER.

You have a very clever modern camera that will do that for you and, in half decent conditions, will get it right probably 95% of the time. What it WON’T do is tell you where to point the lens.

So I would suggest learning about composition first. Find photos you like, then work out why you like them. You probably already know about the rule of thirds, but if not have a read up on it, and while you’re at it find out a bit about the golden ratio too. There’s plenty on t’net to read up on, and some pretty good books out there too.

Then put that into practice when you’re taking photos. Try framing the same shot in different ways, but think about how you’re framing it rather than just waving the camera around. Pretend you have a film camera and only one roll of film on a whole trip, rather than just shooting away all the time (or just buy a tiny memory card!). Plan shots – think about why you’re standing where you are, how high up the camera is (you don’t have to shoot at eye level!) think about what’s in the shot and whether it would be better out of it, and vice versa.

I found doing courses really useful, not exactly ‘cos of what I was taught but because the (initially annoying) hoops you have to jump through just to fulfill the criteria tend to make you think about taking photos in a slightly different way. I also found it really useful to share work with other people.

I’ve done a couple of courses with these guys…

http://www.swinfocus.co.uk/beginners-photography-course.html

Really worth while, learnt more on the one day beginners course than I would in a year of playing!