Newbie HELP

[AmateurAndy]

Hello all, just bought my first DSLR, a Canon 600d, with the bog standard lens.
Struggling to get to grips. Have taken some photos, but dont know how good or bad they are.
Going on holiday to the coast and am looking to take some landscape shots. Any tips? What settings do i use?

[Jediboy]

Hi and welcome. Hope you are enjoying your camera.
For landscape shots a tripod is useful, as are ND grads and a polariser filter. Shooting wide angle is good, but its subjective so it depends on what you at trying to achieve. Small apertures can (f22 for example) produce more of the landscape in focus. But it really does depend on the photo you are trying to capture.
It can be a bit of a mine field and the best way to learn is just to get out there and have a play.
Good luck and enjoy.

[Frank-Kautz]

Hi Andy,

Well now, there is a loaded question. You can load yourself down with darn near every bit of photographic gear you can find and it won't change your pictures one bit. (Trust me, I happen to have learned this the hard way.) The best thing you can do is keep taking more and more pictures until you start to know your camera as well as you know your hand. It has taken me 5 years to even begin to like some of my own shots. What it comes down to is keep shooting. Learn to compose your shots, play with your settings, and practice, practice, practice.

Oh, in addition to digitalcameraworld.com, I highly suggest reading http://digital-photography-school.com/. Every day is a new topic and most are little more than a page or two long, however they are all wonderfully helpful.

Good luck and have fun!

Frank

[beatnik69]

do you have a tripod for taking landscapes? A lightweight one will be useful if you are going on holiday.

[wave01]

hi the beauty of a DSLR is you can take hundreds of pictures and it doesnt cost a bean. what i would do is look at what you want to shoot, landscapes so small "F" number narrow DOF large number large DOF. so if you shoot in AV mode the camera will set the shutter speed so keep an eye on it you dont want it to slow unless you have a tripod. when you review your shoots you will quickly learn by your successes and failures. to me theres no substitute for taking pictures to learn. good luck

[DigiDiva]

Jediboy.......I think you blinded our newbie with science......He may not understand ND grads, aperture etc..... (sorry)

Andy - Look online for information re composition and the rule of thirds. If you can't get that right, then your images will never work. For starters, until you read about and understand more about your camera settings, use some of the auto settings. The landscape one will be perfect for your holiday lansdcape shots. Portrait setting for family/friends and photos of people.That way you won't miss the shots but will get well composed images. On your return, then learn more about your camera settings, like shutter speed, depth of field (Aperture - how much is in focus) etc.

Good luck and enjoy your holiday snapping.

Happy to help you with what Iknow. Justask. Hope this elps.

[OldBoy]

Good advice given but a you are going on holiday soon, to much to remember. Set your camera in Program mode, so it chooses ISO, F-number and speed. Find a scene you want to capture, hold the camera upto your eye, frame it and make sure the camera is level, then take the shot. What ISO, F-number and shutter speed did the camera choose? Check the picture on the camera screen and zoom in as required. Does it look OK? If it's not sharp, perhaps the shutter speed was too slow. You can increase the shutter speed and retake the shot. Change your position and retake the shot and see if that improves the composition.

Look at the scene you are trying to capture. What is it that makes the main subject? Make sure that this is reflected in your shot but it doesn't have to be slap bang in the middle of the frame/picture. Just remember to try different angles and most of all, have fun.

[wavemachine]

Good advice from OldBoy as well.

Another alternative to start with if you are not sure about F-Numbers, shutter speeds etc is to let the camera deal with it but don't shoot in Auto if possible choose the appropriate scene mode i.e. landscape, portrait, night time etc that way you are helping the camera decide on what settings to use for example portrait it would choose a shallow depth of field, where as with landscape it would shoot at a higher aperture so it is sharp front to back. You will need to keep an eye of the shutter speed especially in landscape and night mode though as it may be necessary to put the camera on a stable surface or if possible a tripod if it has gone for a slow shutter speed.

If you want to get familiar with the settings then a way to play and learn is to try this.