New guy from Boston

Good Evening,

My name is Mike and I am a fairly recent addition to the DSLR world. After chasing my kids with a P&S for the past 10ish years I decided it was time to step up and get something that had nicer image quality and more flexibility. I got myself a Rebel XSi about 4 months ago and have since added a "Nifty Fifty", a 55-250mm w/IS, and a nice bag to keep it in. I have found this forum to be a wonderful resource. I also got the Canon Rebel XSi for dummies book. Between reading that book, reading the actual camera manual, mostly lurking so far on this forum, and experimenting with the camera I am fairly happy with my short career with the new camera.

What is the best way to educate oneself? I think I am looking for any recommendations on books or specific types of classes that may help. My subject matter is mostly family/travel with a few sporting events mixed in. I know I need "help", I'm just not sure what help I need. I figure that with all the various folks on here there might be some suggestions.

Thank you, in advance, for any advice for this noob.

Hi Mike and welcome to POTN! As you mentioned, lots of great help here--most of which is free for the asking. Looks like you have some pretty decent gear capable of getting great shots already. Like you said, a gentle push in the right direction is needed.

Maybe some advice would be to keep current with the pic posting sections that align with your style of shooting, i.e., sports; people; urban (maybe). Many times, people will post settings and gear used that helped get a particular shot. That's been a huge help to me for about a year here leading to a lot of 'ahhh' moments for me.

Plus, so many of the shooters on this site are already VERY good and plenty experienced, so it gives the not-so-experienced folks like us something to shoot for.

Focus on a couple of areas of interest from a shooting perspective, look at as many good shots as you can her and other places, ask questions and practice on getting better at sports, or shooting your kids or outdoor stuff, etc. Just enjoy it.

dave