help the new kid

[Kbrick]

After many years of using a point and shoot camera, ok maybe 3, I am starting to take photography much more seriously.
My daughter upgraded her kit and she gave me her trusty Nikon D70. The Nikon is much more able than I at this time.
What I would like from you folks is some guidence. I'm working through the tutorial section but any insight would be helpful.

[Trader]

Best advice I can give you is to take a local photography class. Take as many as you can.

[bradzo66]

I dont use Nikon so cant help with camera specific Q's but my advice would be to take lots and lots of photos , throw them up for critique here and learn in a great environment , courses are cool but I prefer the practical side of learning . As you take shots you will see things you like and things you dont, learn ways to correct the bad bits and your images improve along the way . There are some excellent tutorials on the DPS site and some very knowledgeable people here as well , that you'll find love to help . I find the test of improvement is in yr images rather than how many hours you sat in a classroom , this is as much art as craft and having a feel for what looks good develops in the field , and to a certain extent through trial and error . In the end everyone is different and learns in their own way so pick what is best for you and enjoy what you do . All the best

EDIT: By the way Welcome to DPS

[witzeln]

read... read.. read.. and read.., then, pratice.. pratice.. practice.., lastly, share.. share.. share..

[southernbelle]

My best advice is to keep asking for help...listen to the advice and critiques here and shoot, shoot, shoot. Don't ever be afraid to ask anything... everyone is here to help... it is such a great place!

[southernbelle]

also, this post may fit a bit better in the general chitchat section...

[Kbrick]

Thanks for the input.

All these ideas are worth pursuing,

Thanks again.

[SusanH1970]

Nikon's got a great section of their site that gives a basic tutorial video. Here is the one for the D70. Hope this helps!

[Chip]

Maybe it depends on how you learn? Can you understand the exposure triangle by reading about it, by doing it, by being taught about it in class, or by some combination of all these? Same for composition - do you naturally have an eye for this, or do you need some help?

To me, it's best to first find out what areas you need to learn, then decided on how best you can learn them.

Have fun!

[PrimeTime]

Originally Posted by Kbrick

After many years of using a point and shoot camera, ok maybe 3, I am starting to take photography much more seriously.
My daughter upgraded her kit and she gave me her trusty Nikon D70. The Nikon is much more able than I at this time.
What I would like from you folks is some guidence. I'm working through the tutorial section but any insight would be helpful.

My advice, for what it's worth, is to first read the camera manual and learn how to control the camera. It doesn't matter what you learn about photography , at this point, untill you learn to function the camera. A well composed shot is worthless if the camera isn't set up right.

After you learn the camera, set it to full manual mode and shoot alot. Learn how to control the aperature;shutter speed;and iso to get the proper exposure. After you get that down, keep adding to it.

Don't worry about post processing,try to get the best straight out of the camera images you can.

Read everything you can get your hands on.