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danborud

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My wife and I got our first DSLR (K-x two lens kit - 55-300) 2 weeks ago. She has used a film SLR and taken a photography class or two, but I have never even touched one for more than 5 minutes. In fact, the only time I had ever used one was in 8th grade for a class we had to take a picture of one of our Japanese exchange students and write a little article about them for our class paper, and my picture didn't even come close to turning out. I've been very excited about trying to learn more and get into photography as I've enjoyed taking pictures with point and shoot cameras for most of my life. Between working full time, teaching a night class, and taking a grad school class, I haven't been able to get out taking many pictures, but wanted to get some constructive criticism on a few of the pictures I have managed to get. Thanks for taking the time to look and provide a little feedback.

http://gallery.me.com/danborud#100027

I know the last picture in there is fuzzy, but I was impressed that it almost turned out with such a long exposure, handheld. I'm really liking the shake reduction. I think the jump from P&S to DSLR is a lot larger than I thought it would be, but I'm going to have fun playing around and learning how it works and how to get some different and unique looks out of it.
 
danborud said:
My wife and I got our first DSLR (K-x two lens kit - 55-300) 2 weeks ago. She has used a film SLR and taken a photography class or two, but I have never even touched one for more than 5 minutes. In fact, the only time I had ever used one was in 8th grade for a class we had to take a picture of one of our Japanese exchange students and write a little article about them for our class paper, and my picture didn't even come close to turning out. I've been very excited about trying to learn more and get into photography as I've enjoyed taking pictures with point and shoot cameras for most of my life. Between working full time, teaching a night class, and taking a grad school class, I haven't been able to get out taking many pictures, but wanted to get some constructive criticism on a few of the pictures I have managed to get. Thanks for taking the time to look and provide a little feedback.

http://gallery.me.com/danborud#100027

I know the last picture in there is fuzzy, but I was impressed that it almost turned out with such a long exposure, handheld. I'm really liking the shake reduction. I think the jump from P&S to DSLR is a lot larger than I thought it would be, but I'm going to have fun playing around and learning how it works and how to get some different and unique looks out of it.
Click to expand...
Dan, I think you have a good eye for perspective. Sure, you need more time with the camera, BUT, do you have more time? Enjoy the new toy....
 
Thanks for the kind words. Hopefully things will settle down a bit this summer, although we are usually running around a lot camping and hiking, although those two activities should provide ample opportunity to practice.
 
The look very nice !
good exposure and subject :)

If I was so bold to offer advice , it would be to use the Av (aperture priority) or M (manual) setting rather than the more auto settings.

You will get the hang of the big 3 ( aperture, shutter speed and sensitivity) much faster.
Have fun
Pete

--
K100D some Len
 
Thank you. I have already determined that Auto isn't going to work best for me. I haven't figured out how to get it to work like I expect, so I figure to make it work like I expect it to, I have to use it in a way that I tell it what to do. Hopefully I can figure it out sooner rather than later.
 
danborud said:
I have to use it in a way that I tell it what to do. Hopefully I can figure it out sooner rather than later.
Click to expand...
yes !
Shoot in Av (aperture priority)

as you wind the wee wheel, the aperture ( F 4, F 8 etc) opens or closes the lens iris.
The camera automatically adjusts the shutter speed for you.

The K-x has wonderful low light capability. You can wind up the sensitivity (iso)
to 800 or 1600 and the shutter speed will stay fast enough for hand holding.

I recommend the free image viewer called faststone ... http://www.faststone.org/FSViewerDetail.htm runs rings around the clunky windows one.
Pete

--
K100D some Len
 
I use iPhoto currently and will probably continue to do so, simply because of time. I don't have time for post processing at this point, so I won't do anything more than maybe some brightness changes or very minor tweaks. If I had more time I would probably try something a little more advanced, but I can live with it for now and maybe in the future upgrade. Thanks for the tips.
 
If going to Av or Tv feels like a too big step, then you can always select picture mode and scene mode manually instead of leaving the camera on auto picture mode. Sometimes the camera selects the "wrong" picture mode.

So by selecting those things manually you get control over the automatics in the camera.
--
Take care
R
http://www.flickr.com/photos/raphaelmabo
 
It doesn't matter what sort of camera you have, you'll never get a good shot if you don't have a good eye. It's clear from these shots that you can take a decent shot (and as you take more you'll get rid of the weaker ones so your portfolio always improves through time).

Digital is cheap to run so I'd recommend a two-way strategy to learn your camera:

1. Use Auto for a lot of shots of a similar subject to try out diferent focal lengths, to get a feel for the composition of your shots. Stick to this for serious shooting for a while.

2. Choose a focal length and stick to it for a series of shots in Av mode at all apertures to see the effect they have of DOF (depth of field). Do this for different subjects and different focal lengths. Ditto for Sv mode.

When you feel ready, start using the creative modes for your serious shooting; but don't go in too soon because if you're thinking too much about technique it's easy to forget that the subject is the most important thing.
Welcome to the fraternity and good luck with your efforts.

--
Gerry


First camera 1953, first Pentax 1983, first DSLR 2006
http://www.pbase.com/gerrywinterbourne
 
Thank you for your kindness. Unfortunately, we won't have the long haired cat (Maine Coon) or the gray cat for much longer as we are cat-sitting them for my wife's sister and her husband. Our cat, the black one, will become more the focus of pictures, I'm sure, once we give them back their cats.
 
Thank you for your kind words and tips. I'm sure it will take quite a bit of time to get a feel for taking a good picture, but hopefully with practice and determination I can become quite a bit better.
 
Good to see another CAT fan here,maybe we can head those FLOWER guys off at the pass yet.
 
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