Whats the best source for lessons for newbies?

[seiswirth]

I bought a Canon Rebel XT to take better photos of my children. They are both in the martial arts and their testings take place indoors with very bad fluorescent lighting. I'm not alowed to use a flash. I'm usually over 20ft. away.
I have ordered a Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Telephoto Zoom Lens but it has not come in yet.
I'm new to this and will admit I'm lost. All my shots are dark and blurry. I want to stop the motion but I still would like bright photos. Am I asking for too much?
Thanks for any help.
Scott

[robertwgross]

If you have to work in fluorescent light, then you can help out colors by using the correct white balance setting. However, it may still be a little dim. I suggest that you use a faster lens first. Crank up your ISO as high as you can tolerate. If you leave the aperture wide open, that should allow a decent shutter speed, but your depth of field will be narrow. So, if the subjects are closely spaced (front to back), then that ought to work.

---Bob Gross---

[seiswirth]

Thank you.

Can you reccomend a good place to learn how to do those things?

[scott stokes]

I would go to my local college,they should have a basic and advanced class.I took both classes and they were 6 weeks long each and only $75 each.

[Mohawk]

Scott,

Get yourself a FAST lens, like the Canon 50mm f1.4. This will give you equivalant of an 80mm lens on your XT. (Fast = f1.2, f1.4, f2, f2.8 / Slow = f4, f5.6, f6.3) A fast lens lets more light in.

You will also benefit from this particular book:

Understanding Exposure
Revised Edition
by Bryan Peterson

You can get it on amazon.com. This is probably one of the best books out there on photography for a beginer.

Canon also has a web site: http://www.photoworkshop.com/canon/index.html
Lots of info her pertaining to your particular camera.

Mike

[Mohawk]

And also, that lens you have ordered is a nice lens, but will not help you indoors without some sort of flash. And even then, it may be questionable. But outdoors in good light, it should be fine.

Mike

[seiswirth]

Thanks, I'll look into getting a fast lens like the Canon 50mm f1.4.

[MDJAK]

Go to www.epsononlineexperience.com (http://www.epsononlineexperience.com).

For $29 you get six months of downloadable video lessons from the masters ranging from photoshop techniques, tips to photographing street scenes, etc. Best thing I ever did.

[tim]

I would go to my local college,they should have a basic and advanced class.I took both classes and they were 6 weeks long each and only $75 each.

This is the best suggestion.

Scott,

Get yourself a FAST lens, like the Canon 50mm f1.4. This will give you equivalant of an 80mm lens on your XT. (Fast = f1.2, f1.4, f2, f2.8 / Slow = f4, f5.6, f6.3) A fast lens lets more light in.

You will also benefit from this particular book:

Understanding Exposure
Revised Edition
by Bryan Peterson

You can get it on amazon.com. This is probably one of the best books out there on photography for a beginer.

Canon also has a web site: http://www.photoworkshop.com/canon/index.html
Lots of info her pertaining to your particular camera.

Mike

I suspect the 50mm lens won't be long enough. I'd check out the Sigma 70-200 F2.8 lens. That book's a good suggestion.

[CyberDyneSystems]

Read ALL the Sticky threads!!! :)

... yep every last stinken one of them..

You'll be quizzed on it all later :lol:

[tim]

After you understand the theory, the best teacher is practicing in different places, light, times of day, etc. Practice makes perfect, and you can learn a lot by yourself by playing around :)

[rklepper]

Check out this link:
http://www.morguefile.com/archive/classroom.php

[seiswirth]

Sooo many sticky threads. I must study. I must study.

[rklepper]

Someone just posted this in another thread. Looks interesting.
http://www.photoworkshop.com/canon/index.html

[prime80]

How much can you afford to spend on a good indoor lens? The 85mm f1.8 may be long enough for you since you're dealing with pretty short distances. It's pretty inexpensive, and get's good reviews from the users here.

[lostdoggy]

Yes faster lens, but not a 50 f/1.4.You wouldn't even come near ough to take good piture of your children. If anything you'll need a 70-200f/2.8L and if you can aford it the one w/ IS. Addon a 1.4X Teleconvertor and you will have an effective focal length of 448mm f/4 (w/TC).

[robertwgross]

As Tim suggested, practice can make a good teacher. However, some users don't take full advantage of the tools available to them. Shoot RAW files, and then in the RAW-to-TIF converter you can see the full EXIF information on each file, good or bad. For every bad shot, try to determine at least one major factor for why it is bad. It is not sufficient to simply say, "It's too dark." Notice which exposure mode the camera was set for, and then did it pick the shutter and aperture, or did you? Eventually, the mistakes will diminish, and the successes will increase.

Another practice method is to copy somebody else's work. For example, let's say that your favorite subject is horses. Study other horse photos on this forum or elsewhere, and then go out and try to reproduce a similar shot with your local horses. It may take a week's worth of different sunlight conditions, but eventually you will get somewhere.

---Bob Gross---

[goatee]

This is the most compelling explanation that I have found explaining why you should shoot raw (http://www.photoworkshop.com/canon/lessons/lesson_18.html). This is especially the case if you are shooting in low light conditions, and or, need to adjust the white balance.

[blinking8s]

Check out this link:
http://www.morguefile.com/archive/classroom.php
yup, thats where i got my camera 101 education!

[RafaPolit]

You can also check the new http://www.canon.co.jp/Imaging/enjoydslr/index.html which is the new Enjoy! Digital SLR Cameras (http://www.canon.co.jp/Imaging/enjoydslr/index.html) canon site. Havent gone through it yet, as it was offline for a while, but its a start point.

Hope it helps, good luck,

Rafael Polit (jr.)
Quito, Ecuador.

[LordSummerisle]

I find these quite helpful, mainly for film but the techniques and tutorials are just the same for digital.

http://www.photo.net/learn/

[bodyless]

Thanks LordSummerisle, very useful tutorials indeed!

[seiswirth]

I did get the 50 f/1.8. Even if it isn't long enough it will help while I'm learning. And for $70...