Hello! I'm a Newbie Here!
 

Not new to photography but I know I'll have to learn a whole new kettle of fish! I have updated my camera from a point & shoot casio EX-Z75 to a canon 550D slr ....

My aim is to get creative with taking shots of my handmade jewellery. Although my EX-Z75 was doing just the job, sometimes it took many a shot until i was happy.

As well as my jewellery, I love taking architectural shots and landscape. And I wouldn't mind picking up some advice for portraits!

I hope in time I can offer some advice to other newbies as I pick up some lessons along the way and pass the knowledge on!

welcome to the site, you'll love your new camera, the thing to do is just to use it, lots.

Welcome! I've recently just done the same as you, and also have a 550D! It's a great piece of kit, and can take some stunning photos! Which lens kit did you go for?

Hello Emma, welcome to the Forum.

The 550D is a cracking camera and with access to the range of Canon's lenses will do everything you want for many t=years to come.

My advice for coming to grips with your new babay: Take lots of pics to experiment with SS, F Stop and ISO, post pictures in the Critique forum here and ask for advice, join in the 'Weekend Comp' (it doesn't matter that you are new) and have fun. :)

Welcome to the forum Emma :)

Welcome Emma,take lots of shots and enjoy.Some great people and advice on this site.

Des

Thanks Guys!

[QUOTE=adam_christie;37047]Welcome! I've recently just done the same as you, and also have a 550D! It's a great piece of kit, and can take some stunning photos! Which lens kit did you go for?[/QUOTE]

I got the lens with the camera ..EF-s18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS . It came as a package via Jessops. I also got a Tamrom AF70-300mm F/4-5.6 LD MACRO 1:2. This is hopefully going to make my jewellery shine and also any photographs of flowers etc look better than point and shoot!

Hi Emma and welcome,
Of vital importance - get yourself a tripod and flashgun. Use the flash with pictures of flowers and they'll sparkle and stand out against the (darker) background. Use the tripod all the time. For best results get a remote cable release as well - you don't have to get a Canon one, the after-market ones are very good and will save you a packet.
Giotto, Gitzo & Manfrotto all make very good and affordable tripods. The 055 series Manfrotto has a clever centre column allowing you considerable flexibility for close-ups, which I guess you'll be doing a lot of.
Nissin make a very good and competitively priced flashgun. Always use rechargeable batteries - using alkaline batteries is like thowing £5 notes out of your car window.
Good luck and enjoy.