Best way to learn photography

[Deleted User]

So.. on my last hols, i splashed out on a DSLR... now I'm wondering what all this stuff about apertures and f-stops is.

To those who are into photography - what's a good way to get into it? I'm fully able to do all the digital side (had digital cameras since 1998) but what's the best way to learn the 'art' and technical side of it? Courses, books, tutorials?

edit: I have a Panasonic L10 which came with a stabalised Lecia 14-50mm lense.. i also bought an Olympus 40-150mm 1:4-5.6 lens

Any links would be much appreciated!

skylight

I'm with you! I bought one last year and although the pictures are much more impressive than an "ordinary" camera, I still want better!

I have bought some books, but am not happy with them. Perhaps I just do not have the "eye" as I cannot see the difference sometimes when I change the f-stop etc. So am now using my Tesco vouchers and will be joining the OU photography course in Oct.

My photos are not that bad, but I really need to improve my creativity.

[Deleted User]

This course? http://www3.open.ac.uk/courses/bin/p12.dll?C01T189

Sounds good.. might be an idea. I've had people say my photos from weddings were better than the ones they paid for.. that was with my old camera. I've got a wedding and a bar mitzvah in a month and I'd love to know more about the 'physics' side of it.

Maybe I'll pop into London on sunday and set myself a challenge..

Is it safe taking a grands worth of equipment into the east end of London though

pavlovs_dog

can't advise on the best way to learn, but there is a well documented way to improve: practice!

if you have not already done so, join flickr. you don't necessarily have to pay for the premium account, as if you are smart and play the system youcan still do a fair bit with the basic account. but it is a great source of tips and inspiration. having the opportunity to show off your work to others who appreciate your art can also be a great motivator.

if you are willing to pay the $25 (or there abouts) for the full account, why not consider joining project 365 (a photo a day for a year), or similar?

[Deleted User]

Does your local college run photography courses on evenings?

skylight

Thats the OU course. My local college doesn't do photography and the nearest one that does may only be 10 miles away, but its too much when you have to consider babysitters etc!

[Deleted User]

Nope, local college doesn't run a course and i've had a flickr account for a few years now.

isofa

The Independent Photography Forum is very good for discussing and learning.

Also some great books on Amazon, go for good photography ones, they don't have to be digitally biased, photography techniques using lenses, exposure, speed and aperture settings are the same be it film or digital.

Some basics, quickly off the top of my head! The wider the aperture, (lower f number) the more light that will enter the lens (and hit the sensor), but the depth of field is reduced, so the amount of the image in focus is reduced. The smaller the aperture, (higher f number), the less light that will enter the lens, increasing the depth of field, sharpness and the amount of image in focus.

If the light was constant in a scene and you opened up the aperture, you'd need to increase the speed setting to compensate i.e. keeping the exposure the same. And the opposite for a smaller aperture, decreasing the film speed. (Otherwise you'd get the wrong exposure.)

There are all manner of reasons for changing the aperture and speed for effect. Remember you can also change the sensitivity (ISO) too, which will affect the light required, but higher ISOs introduce noise into an image.

The best thing to do, is put the camera in "P" program mode and rotate the dial to change the aperture (which automatically adjusts the speed) and vice versa, take lots of photos and see the difference. Especially of items close to you, with a long distance background.

The best lenses are those with a low f number, i.e. lenses which can let a lot of light in.

In the meantime have a look at the tutorials here: http://www.geofflawrence.com/photography_tutorials.htm

Zazen999

the internet...

google 'aperture'/'F stop' and find out how it affects the light entering the camera, and the depth of field [very very important]
google 'shutter speeds' and find out how they can control light entering the camera.
the setting/film sensitivity also affects how the light is handled in a digital camera.

If you want to get arty, it's all about the composition

The thing with SLR photography, is it's all about the light. Not just the exposure but the light and how it travels and bounces off what you are capturing.

weegie.geek

I'm 100% with pavlov, join flickr. Join some forums.

It's digital so there's no developing fees. Snap away. Take photos of everything. Take loads of photos of one thing, all with different settings, to get the hang of the effect different exposures and f-stops and all that have. From lots of different angles. In lots of different lighting.

Take a look around flickr and when you see something that takes your eye take a look at the exif data to see what settings were used.

Zazen999

What I would say is to look at old photography books; I got loads from oxfam/charity shops but if you are going MSE then libraries.

The main principles are exactly the same, the lenses are the same. the only thing that is different is the ISO is about the pixels now not the film grain size. Same effect though.

So, take the same pictures with small aperture [high f-stop number], medium aperture and large aperture [adjusting the shutter speed to get the right exposure]. Then, do the same with fast shutter speed, medium shutter speed and slow [adjusting...well, you get the idea]. Good idea to have things in foreground and background - as well as moving objects in the shot to see the effects.

You don't have to print them off, just look on screen to get the results and look at the differences.