philippe_bourdon Posted November 19, 2005 Share Posted November 19, 2005 Hello, Today I did something a little nuts. I spent $1700+ on Photography equipment which I do not know how to use. I have been wanted to learn to take good pictures, and thus far, I have been using higher end P&S Canons. I have to say, although I don't know squat about photography, Canon is definitely my favorite. I have owned some KODAKs, NIKONs... I keep going back to Canon. My current camera is a powershot S80. Until today... after some pretty extensive research I opted for a Canon Rebel XT (body only) with the power grip and a Canon 85mm f1.8 USM lens. I also bought some extra stuff like a 1GB 80x lexar CF card and some other accessories. Bought everything from newegg.com which I love and I expect delivery on Tuesday. I'm in trouble though... As much as I am excited to get the goods, I still don't know squat about photography and I really really want to learn. But, everything I find around CT including community colleges, are all about B&W film and I don't want to do that. So, my question to you guys, and gals.... Are there good online Digital Photography classes that I can take? Or are they books that can actually teach everything I ever wanted to know? So that you know how clueless I am... I don't know what an F stop is.... Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Philippe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterlee Posted November 19, 2005 Share Posted November 19, 2005 Most Community College's offer beginner/advanced photography night classes. Why not sign up for a couple of classes and get your feet wet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beauh44 Posted November 19, 2005 Share Posted November 19, 2005 Hi Philippe, You gotta start somewhere. Take your time - there's no final exam. Go to a bookstore like Barnes & Noble. Most of the popular magazines there (like Popular Photography, Shutterbug, etc. and many UK titles) are geared towards beginners. Go to the photography section for books on general photography and dive in. Use online resources like this place and others. Creep, crawl, walk and run. Take lots of pictures and be patient. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy_van_eynde Posted November 19, 2005 Share Posted November 19, 2005 A couple of months ago someone posted a link to a site from Canon where they already expain a lot of the basic stuff. Don't have the link at the moment but will do my best to find it again. Was a site from Canon itself if i'm not mistaken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdanmitchell Posted November 19, 2005 Share Posted November 19, 2005 But don't spend any more money on gear until you learn a bit more about this... ;-) Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy_van_eynde Posted November 19, 2005 Share Posted November 19, 2005 Not the one that I had in mind but might also be usefull: http://photonotes.org/articles/beginner-faq/ BUT THIS IS THE ONE : http://web.canon.jp/Imaging/enjoydslr/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebbtide Posted November 19, 2005 Share Posted November 19, 2005 Hi Philippe, Was that Digital or Film equipment? Either way, good choice in life...we all need to do something crazy every now and then. If you went digital and are now thinking Photoshop, here is one book that gave me the quickest intro to Photoshop without giving more info than I needed to start using it. There is more to learn, but this was the quickest to get started. "Photoshop CS2 Workflow" by Tim Grey, ISBN 0-7821-4396-2. Aside from that, put the camera in manual mode and start pressing the buttons to find out what happens. You can learn the basics quick enough, but your vision will develop more as you use it. (no pun intended!) Have fun Steve M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobatkins Posted November 19, 2005 Share Posted November 19, 2005 Your best bets are books and practice. General books about photography (rather than books about photoshop) are probably what you need. You might try looking as some of the Tom Ang digital photography guides just to get some basics down. They're pretty good, but of course there must be 1000 books out on Digital Photograohy so you do have a wide choice. On th eother hand too wide a choice tends to be more confusing and helpful. http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/books/tom_ang_books.html After that you can worry about photoshop, color management, sRGB vs. Adobe color space and the 1001 non-photographic details that seem to overwhelm actual photography today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark u Posted November 19, 2005 Share Posted November 19, 2005 Don't spurn the photo classes entirely. It can be useful to have some constructive criticism, and an experienced eye to offer advice and make sure that you absorb the basic photgraphic principles which are common to both film and digital. Besides, you may find others on the course with a digital interest, and you may come to enjoy supplementing your digital efforts with some film work. A Rebel film body can be had for very little second hand. You may also get introductions to more digitally oriented learning opportunities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew robertson Posted November 19, 2005 Share Posted November 19, 2005 I would get Ansel Adams series on basic photography, The Camera, The Negative, and The Print. The information is geared towards silver halide based photography, but the concepts are extremely useful for any kind of photography. Also, buy a good book on Photoshop as well. Most photography classes will require you to work with a film camera, so you might want to run out and get any old used manual focus SLR or rangefinder from the 80s or earlier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philippe_bourdon Posted November 19, 2005 Author Share Posted November 19, 2005 WOW! I never thought I would get this much feedback. Thank you all so much for your input. All very good advice. I will start by looking at some books and go from there. Does anyone have any experience with the NY Institute of Photography? They have a mail program for $700 or so and I was thinking of taking it... Again, thanks to all of you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zacker Posted November 19, 2005 Share Posted November 19, 2005 Hey Phil, Did you say CT? Im in CT too and your right, community coll's in around here arent really that good. There is the creative arts workshop in New Haven ... they have a bunch of photo courses but they are kind of pricy if your just wanting to learn some helpfull stuff and not become a pro. I took an online course at betterphoto.com, it was 8 weeks long and I learned alot from it. Check them out. I have the XT also, where in Ct are you? -zacker- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philippe_bourdon Posted November 19, 2005 Author Share Posted November 19, 2005 Hi Craig, I'm in Southington (between Danbury and Hartford). I will definitely check out betterphoto.com - I checked Tunxis, Capital, Manchester and all of their classes weren't that great.... What part of CT are you from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom_grim Posted November 19, 2005 Share Posted November 19, 2005 Check out www.photoworkshop.com/canon for "Online Learning for EOS Digital Photographer." This is a free course, and includes several phases of photography. There is a section on the Rebel XT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisjb Posted November 19, 2005 Share Posted November 19, 2005 Hi, this might sound strange, I may have missed it being mentioned. But IMO the 1st thing to do would be to sit down with the camera in front of you and read the manual, there is enough info to start and knowing your equipment and what it can do makes learning so much easier. Photonotes has a lot too. take time to get familiar then find a camera club or classes. my 02 cents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caesar Posted November 20, 2005 Share Posted November 20, 2005 See if perhaps there's a local photography club in your area that gives tutorials and the like. It's also possible that they'll have field trips and studio sessions that will allow you to refine your technique. Taking great pictures is more in the eye and mind than in the equipment and technique. Read the manual, get a good book or take a class on exposure fundamentals, then go out and take pictures. Practice is the best teacher. Perhaps set up a set of challanges you explore every weekend. Start with something simple, like seeing the different affects of shutter speed. The next week, explore apature. Do a weekend experimenting with landscapes, and portraits, and anything else you find intersting. Soon, you'll know what works, and what doesn't. Don't knock learning about B&W film. Lots of us probably started there, and it's an incredible foundation to build on. Black and white is technically demanding, on top of the requirements for an eye for the picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrik.ploug Posted November 20, 2005 Share Posted November 20, 2005 Here are a few links to get you started: http://www.photo.net/learn/making-photographs/ http://www.photosig.com/go/articles/browse?id=33240 http://ir.webphotoschool.com/ http://www.imaging-resource.com/BETTERPICS.HTM http://www.photoworkshop.com/canon/index.html http://www.photozone.de/4Technique/index.html http://www.shutterpoint.com/Guides-Articles.cfm?c=Technique http://www.takegreatpictures.com/HOME/Columns/Tips_-_Techniques/params/menu/205/default.aspx http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Photography-Tips/ http://www.tribalcog.com/learn/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phyrpowr Posted November 25, 2005 Share Posted November 25, 2005 I'm a little late on this, but I agree with Chris JB: read the manual. Canon makes a pretty good one, and if you can't quite get the chopped up prose, try a Magic Lantern book, better written I always liked classes, seems like the one thing you just can't get, someone can explain it in a way that makes sense. Don't be afraid to ask stupid questions. Ask at camera shops, museums, etc. about classes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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