Photography

[Scorpio]

I received a Nikon D300 for Crimbo: an entry level SLR. Are there any photographers on Casebook who can share tips for amateurs, or just want to talk photography?.

[Bailey]

Firstly, I recommended switching to Canon :P

Seriously, the first best thing to do is get your brain around the exposure triangle; ISO, aperture and shutter speed. It's not very complex, but it's the core of the whole business.

Shutter speed = how long the shutter opens. Shorter times will freeze motion and reduce blur, but less light gets in. Longer times allow more light to get in, but because the shutter is open longer any motion of subject or the camera will result in blur.

Aperture = how wide the shutter opens. A larger aperture lets in more light, but at the cost of depth of field, ie the plane that is in focus and thus sharper. This can be a really powerful tool for making your photos looking better than those shot with a point and shoot type camera. For example, using a shallower depth of field (f3 - f5) for a portrait means that while your subject is in focus, the background is soft and the subject pops out more. A deeper setting (in the teens or 20s) makes for a sharper image overall, ideal for landscapes, etc, but less light comes in so you have to compensate with higher shutter speeds to keep the image stable.

ISO = the camera's sensitivity to light. With film cameras this was a function of the actual film, but now it's a chip thing. Lower ISO means the camera is less sensitive to light but the image will look better - as you go to higher ISO digital noise will start to appear, usually as flecks of colour, which can look pretty awful BUT if you convert noisy images to B&W, can give a really cool grainy look. Try to keep ISO on 100 / 200 for best results, and never leave it on auto or you can end up with some very noisy pics that look fine on the camera's tiny LCD but a disaster when you get home and blow them up on your PC.

I mostly started by using aperture priority setting, where you adjust aperture and the camera will match the shutter speed, just to get my brain around getting aperture under control, but it wasn't long before I went to full manual.

To process your pics, I believe the best tool on the market is Adobe Lightroom - download the 30 day trial from Adobe.com and you'll soon see why. A good cheap option for the first jump on the learning curve is Google's Picasa, which is a free download. Use that while you're getting the mechanics sorted and then Lightroom once you wanna start really getting the most out of your pics. By that time you'll also want to be shooting RAW rather than JPG for better quality original files.

And seriously... Canon. :P

[johns]

Nice one Scorpio. I picked up an Olympus E410 dirt cheap a few years back and it's a solid camera for an amateur such as myself... I don't know much about the technical side of photography, but I take some decent pics from time to time and lots of fiddling with settings.

But I suppose I should get rid of it and spend hundreds of pounds on a Canon. Anything other than a Canon is rubbish and I'd be better off using an Etch-a-Sketch or scribbling in the dirt with a blunt stick than a poxy Olympus or any other make. sarky mode - ON

[Scorpio]

People have strong opinions on camera makes it seems; they can be pricey things i suppose.

[Bailey]

Please note the faces. I've just spent too much on Canon lenses to ever change brands now Having said that, I've used a couple of other brands here and there, and I like the feel and operation of Canon camera. Bottom line is it doesn't matter at all.

[Grimmspendulum]

I also have a cannon and love it but between Nikon and Cannon you really cant do wrong with either. And congrats on picking up photography. The best advise is just simply always have your camera with you and practice by taking an abundance of photos. If you post any let me know.