Hmm,It always looked easier....

[Tadhg]

Total N00b alert! Ok, so im trying to spark a new hobby, something that i would like to eventually be good at. So i go out and get a camera. A Canon SD300 (iXus 40) to be precise. Now, thing is, i always imagined things to be easier. Its taken into account, that such a portable camera sacrifices many features but lets be honest...i suck! Usually when i take a picture, i look at it on the screen, and it looks great, lovely and bright, full of life but when i throw it to the PC, its dark dull and boring. I seem to be getting too daylike results. Another chronic problem is night pictures. At night, if the lens even senses external lights or bulbs my picture ends up with these fuzzy yellow blemishes on my picture! I cannot control the thing. The problem is, i dont even know the real basics. I looked through the manual, remarking "oh right,so thats the exposure setting" to only realise, "whats exposure?", things like "light metering" and "ISO" and "White balance" mean nothing to me.:o So can anyone give me a boost. Some tips. Some sites.Sites that start at the start.BTW, i know not to be expecting masterpieces, when using a small, pocketcam.Ill work my way up
Thanks in advance :)

[KevC]

Might wanna try Post Processing. Download GIMP (http://www.gimp.org/), (for people who can't afford photoshop ;)).
I'm pretty much in the same boat you are. But I've got an S230 and wanna learn as much as you do.
Apparently this is an awesome site to get started, read read read!
http://www.fredparker.com/ultexp1.htm
(Yay first post)

[Jon]

Rather than web sites, I'd suggest a basic photography book, say something by John Hedgecoe. It doesn't need to be digital-oriented while you're learning the basics of exposure and composition. But with a book, you can go to various places and try things right out of the book, then see what they look like. It's a little harder to do this when you're tied to your computer.

[dewmuw]

I started in the same boat with an Ixus 300. I learnt a whole lot here - try posting some pics and asking for feedback - people will be kind and give their advice.


I also got a real basic photography for beginners book from the library and got use to the language a bit too.

You can pick up a lot from just experimenting too.

[aam1234]

While you are looking for a book, take a look at this site. (http://www.shortcourses.com/) It will get you started quick.

[Belmondo]

I would suggest two things to be done concurrently...

1. Get a good book on basic photography. Don't worry if it's not slanted towards digital. All the basic principals are still the same.

2. Get a good image edito, preferable Photoshop, or Photoshop Elements (nearly as good). This will enable you to salvage some marginal images while you're learning how to use your camera.

Digital photography is much more inclined towards post processing than film, and you really really need to learn how to best capture the image and what to do with it after you have it.

You'll find you learn more quickly by dealing with specific situations. i.e. why a shot is underexposed, fuzzy, a funny color, etc..

[GaryTorello]

Two excellent beginner's resources:

Beginners Guide to Photography:

http://www.photonhead.com/beginners (http://www.photonhead.com/beginners)

Virtual Interactive Camera:

http://www.camerasinteractive.com/index.php (http://www.camerasinteractive.com/index.php)



______________________
Gary

you always shoot the ones you love

[Bodryn]

I might add this: if you're wary of spending money on a bad book, your local public library will probably have several books on photography which should serve you well to get started. That's where I went a lot of years ago when first learning this hobby. That should get you started on understanding the vocabulary or jargon you often encounter on this site.

Meanwhile, "white balance" is something you'll understand if you've ever had a picture that seemed too red or too bluish compared to the actual subject. The white balance wasn't set properly. In the days of film this was done with a colored filter, choice of film or special flash bulbs. With digital, you can change the settings on the camera and later, you can correct the image with photoediting software.