How you got Started in DSLR Photography

Was shooting and working in a studio when I was younger but that was all medium format and large format film. Decided that commercial photography wasn't for me because or the lack of personal interaction. Still did weddings and portraits on the side but eventually sold my film gear.

Had digital P&S cameras when they first started to come out and one Christmas my wife purchased me a T1i. That reignited my love for photography and here I am again shooting semi professionally and mostly for fun.

Our first daughter was just born 2 weeks ago so I have another new subject!

I was a fine artist (drawing, painting, and the like) for many years before I got interested in photography. As a kid, I got my first little P&S film camera and that sparked a mild interest. It wasn't until I was 18 and graduated high school and bought my first advanced P&S, a Fujifilm S5200. That's when I really started loving photography. Some more experienced photog friends and family told me I have a good eye. When I got my hands on my cousin's Rebel XS for a few minutes, I knew I wanted to upgrade to my first DSLR. I started researching and really wanted a Nikon D80 at the time, but a friend convinced me I would be happier with going Canon and getting the 50D. I played with one in BestBuy and loved the speed and responsiveness andI started saving, but life kept happening and I gave up.

In December of 2009, right in time for my birthday, I got a box in the mail. It was to my husband so i didn't think much of it, and was busy getting ready for work. Then I glanced at the label. 1 EOS 50D. And I freaked out. Epic Christmas present YouTube freak out. And no one was there to see it lol. My husband is still annoyed he missed that freak out lol. He explained to me when he ordered it, he thought they were out of stock and it wouldn't arrive until the next month. He was wrong lol.

When I got out to take some shots with it, it was a heck of a learning curve. I thought I had some idea what I was doing with my Fuji, but boy was I wrong. My first shots with it were crap lol. I have had it now for almost 3 years and I have gotten a lot better and even saving up for my second ever lens purchase.

I got started into DSLR photography in 2007, as it was a natural progression from my 35 mm SLR and medium format film photography.

I started in SLR photography way back in 1968. I worked for a publishing company as an editorial assistant and the publisher indicated to me that I would have to make myself more 'valuable' by also taking publication worthy photographs....in addition to my editorial duties.

He told me to check with the photography dept. of the firm and buy a 35mm SLR camera.

At that time the company used Linhoff, Mamiya Press cameras, Leica RF, Nikon and Pentax SLR's.

I bought a Pentax SLR, a 50 mm Takumar lens and a hand held light meter.

The professional photographers at the company taught me the basics and although I don't take photo's for work anymore....I've been a rabid photography fan since then.

Currently have 3 DSLR bodies (not Canon) , a Canon G12, assorted flashes and about 8 lenses for the DSLR bodies.

The bug bit me when I was in Alaska in August 2007. I bought a Panasonic 6MP bridge camera and I had fun with it, but at times I wanted more control, more speed, less of the purple stuff that would come up on my monitor when I took picture in low light. I researched it online and found that I basically needed a DSLR with interchangeable lenses to get the control/results I wanted. In August 2008 I ended up with an XSi, 18-55 IS, and 55-250 IS, and 50mm 1.8. It just went from there...

This forum has been a wealth of knowledge and I thank everyone for their help over the last 4+ years!

DSLR was a reluctant natural progression from film, for me. I had (still have) a Rebel 2000 with 3 lenses that cover 20mm - 300mm. It was my 18th birthday present after using my dad's 1970s Russian Zenit manual film camera and multiple vacations with my Canon film P&S made me realize I wanted to be more creative with my photography.

We also had a makeshift bathroom-darkroom and as a kid I remember spending lots of time with my dad hanging around and helping out while he was developing our photo, I really think this is the root of my passion for this amazing hobby. Although the word hobby poorly describes how I feel about photography.

I liked my film kit and had no interest in digital. My first digital (not DSLR) is a Sony DSC-P90 with a whopping 3.2 megapixels, purchased due to circumstance. I was on a once in a lifetime vacation to Australia, about to go on a full weekend dive boat at the Great Barrier Reef to get SCUBA certified. I wanted an underwater camera.

The only shop in town had this Sony DSC-P90, as well as the special underwater case, for almost $1000 out the door. I thought, if I don't get this camera, regardless of the cost, I will regret it for the rest of my life. I don't know when I will be able to come back. So I bought the camera.

That was 11 years ago, and as I predicted, I haven't been back to Australia. I still have Sony and the underwater case, and have used it SCUBA diving in Florida and even in a swimming pool!

The actual reason I finally gave in and got a DSLR was two fold. First, I was shooting photos for clients for my freelance web design work I was doing at the time. Using film was inefficient. Second, I went on a couple of trips one year, to Israel and Hawaii, and came back with lackluster photos. If I could have chimped, I might have gotten better photos on those trips!

First DSLR was a Rebel XT, which I sold after a few months when the XTi came out. I still have the XTi and love it. Will be getting a 6D when it comes out, and I am keeping my XTi. I might even use my old EF lenses (the EF 20-35 in particular) with the 6D for a while, too, until I get some proper glass.

Shooting mostly landscapes, cityscapes, family and motorcycles these days. I've always held the philosophy that I don't want to turn a passion into a job, so I intend on keeping my photography strictly a hobby. I get joy out of photography and love the fact that every photo on the wall is one that I have taken.

I bought one!

Seriously, I have always had an interest in photography, my Dad's family is very much into it, my has a Leica rangefinder that he would subject is to with Kodachrome for slides...taking light meters, getting the focus, while we all waited impatiently to get going. I didn't really understand it all that much until now, and I am glad to live in the digital age with advanced metering, autofocus, etc.

After we found out we were going to have a second child and we had just had a horrible experience at one of those cattle call studios we decided to get a DSLR and do more of it ourselves and to have a great camera to capture our memories with.

My cousin got married in Aug 2010 and couldn't afford a photographer. I'd been wanting to buy an SLR, but couldn't justify spending ~$1000 on a camera, until then. My birthday is in July, so I got money to use towards buying my T2i. Bought it with the 18-55mm kit and 55-250mm lenses. Soon added a 50mm f1.4 and various other accessories.

I started with Minolta SLRs in the late 80s, then life happened. Got a 1 meg P&S as a gift in the late 90s, and got the bug again for photos. Realizing the 1 meg wasn't going to cut it for me, I found a Minolta DiMage 7 on ebay, (5 mp I think), late 2001. I loved it, until I tried to use it for little league games, (the shutter lag was horrible, and anything other than ISO 100 looked like a snowstorm).

DSLRs seemed to be coming out from everyone except Minolta, and I wanted to use my SLR lenses, and wanted the IQ to be at least like that of 35 mm film. So, I waited till 2003, when I couldn't wait for Minolta any longer.

I talked the wife into the DSLR idea, and went to the local camera store and bought a Canon 10D. I could shoot some of the things I'd wanted to but never could before. I just wish I'd learned about quality lenses a lot sooner!

I got a fixed-lens camera back in 2006 before going to Washington DC to visit a friend who had moved to the area. I shot about 1600 pictures on that trip. Pretty much all snapshot quality, but still pretty good. I knew I wanted to get a better camera and get more into controlling what happens... but life and finances and other hobbies occupied my time.

This year, I got a decent tax return and bonus early in the year, so I bought my T2i kit. It's been downhill since then. I now have probably half a dozen lenses, including a couple manual lenses... I recently picked up a used 7D, and will be buying a used L lens tonight.

POTN has really been the best site to learn about Canon specific things, and it's very active. I'm glad I found this place.


ETA: Forgot about this one thing... Dad has a couple Minolta SLRs he got in the late 60's with a few lenses. I remember buying a couple rolls of film and taking one of them to school when I was in highschool. IIRC, I had some pretty damn good pictures from those cameras. I'm not sure where all the prints went, but if I recall correctly, I had a pretty good idea back then what aperture and shutter speed did. Relearned on the digital side.

Digital photography is such a great hobby. With a bit of memory, you can just shoot as much as you want. Throw out what you don't want, then shoot more! Trial and error is a much quicker process.

After having shot with a P&S for years and getting good feedback from my relatives and acquaintances, DSLRs first started tugging at my strings when a friend of mine visited me during an overseas exchange in Warsaw with his 450D. This was my first time using a DSLR, and this experience sealed my (then future) decision to buy Canon for the ergonomics.

As I was busy and a half and quite poor for having spent a year abroad studying (and not working), I left it alone until June 2011 when, at my graduation ceremony, someone asked me to take a pic of himself and his girlfriend with his Rebel... as I was doing a well-paying contract at the time, I decided to pull the trigger on and had a T1i on July 4th... although I didn't get to use it seriously before I went on vacation back in my hometown and to London, UK, in August of that year.

I'd been working as a pro photographer since 1978. In 1990 I was offered a job at a medium size daily newspaper. In 1999 the large umbrella print media organisation used us as pioneers to begin the digital change over for the entire organisation. They threw a lot of money at us to get the ball rolling.

In 1999 we were supplied with 11 Canon D2000 kits - "Here boys, use these". For a few years before 1999 we were digitising negatives for publication. Since the 1960s the newspaper had been using Nikons, and at the time we were using Nikon F4s and F5s. Everyone thought the D2000 was a huge step backwards. We still had quite a bit of film in stock so most of the time the D2000s were sitting idle. The boss decided to confiscate our issued Nikons, so for awhile we used our own personal Nikons until film stocks were exhausted. At the time, the newspaper was spending around $24K on film and processing per month.

Things improved vastly when the Canon 1D was released. Today, the newspaper still uses Canon. I resigned from the newspaper in 2007.

I moved to a different state in '03, leaving my recently met gf behind. I would tell her how beautiful the new place was often over the first week I lived there, prompting her to tell me to buy a camera and email her pics.

So I did.

At first I was shooting macro using Sony P&Ss, graduating to the DSC-F717 after 2 months. 3 months later I had my first Dslr - a 300d. It came with the non-usm 18-55 kit lens. 2 months later I bought my second lens, the MP-e65. 3 months more and I bought an Epson 7600 printer. You get the idea.

In February of '05 I shot an accident scene and delivered it to the local paper. I was hired immediately and have been working for newspapers since. In January of '06 I began as the Athletics dept photographer for a local college. By '07 I had won a national photo contest and the business really took off. In '10 I started as a master printer's apprentice, which I am still today.

Now I'm mostly "retired", though I'm still doing personal projects (hummingbirds) and printing more than ever. I'm also staying on at the college as a consultant and speaker and I help the papers when they're in a pinch.

Btw, before '03 I didn't own a camera or even a photo (not even a yearbook) and had never shot film. And my gf? She's now my wife.

I bought a T1i, pressed the shutter, and as of that instant, I had started (that was just 2 years ago).

But I got my first film SLR in about 1976, and I had a Kodak Brownie back in the 50's, so the craft wasn't new to me when I could finally afford to try DSLR photography.

My son made it on to a TV series, Endurance, filmed in Fiji. Lucky me, I got to go. A doctor there had a Rebel XT with 28-135 lens. I was really impressed with his pictures compared to the same pictures I was taking with a point and shoot. When I got back, I decided that would make a great gift for my wife's birthday. It was her camera, but I'm the one that caught the bug!

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …/61389024@N07/8​142143924/

My background's in journalism, but around 2006-07 events made me realize that never taking any photojournalism courses in college left me with a big hole in my skill set. I really didn't know anything about photography beyond pushing the button on a point and shoot. So I sold off my Dr. Demento CD collection (four years of the syndicated show, almost complete) on Ebay and used that money to buy a Rebel XTi, EF-S 10-22, EF 28-135, 430EX and... well, emergency dental work for the youngest kid, unexpected car repairs and a number of other expenses. I read a bunch of books then within a few months enrolled in some courses at the university I work for. I became marginally competent.

I went with Canon because The Wife did have a background in photojournalism, and had several lenses. At the time, she was still a film snob (although she'd largely stopped shooting because of the hassle of getting film developed to her liking), and dismissed digital. Finally, I gave her the XTi one weekend and told her to go out and just shoot with it. She came back at the end of the day and ordered a 50D. She now owns that 50D, plus a 5D II and a 5D III and operates a successful studio specializing in photojournalistic-style wedding photography. I'm her grossly underpaid second shooter when she needs me, but I got a 7D and an infrared conversion of my XTi out of the deal, so I don't complain too much.