Now that I'm an expert....

[wingflapp]

Hi Guys.

Well, I've read (I think) everything in the Tips and Tutorials, quite a few posts, the Nikon D3100 for Dummies book, and quite a few articles from other pages as well. A good amount of information in a relatively short amount of time. It won't be long before that info is all one jumbled mass of confusion.

To that end, does anyone know a site that offers something like cheat sheets? Any kind of reference cards to carry with me when I go shooting, just in case I forget which white balance to use when shooting under the sun.. I'm sure there isn't a cliff's notes book for photography, but if there were something like a 'for sunsets use a long exposure time, and so on and so forth'

A 'Frequently used Settings' reference, as it were....

Before anyone says it, I do understand that photography is subjective, and there are a squillion possibilities, and so on.. .and I can't wait to start seeing those possibilities. For now, I'm just looking for a safety blanket.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Best regards, Steve.

I've found them to often be more cumbersome than anything else. Keeps me not focused on my vision.

Just my $13.32

~Eric

[Jim Poor]

The best "cheat sheets" are the ones you make yourself. Just the effort of making them ingrains the information that much more.

[Indigo November]

Originally Posted by Jim Poor

The best "cheat sheets" are the ones you make yourself. Just the effort of making them ingrains the information that much more.

+1 Any information I think I need, I always copy it down for myself.
It gets to the point sometimes, where people question why I don't just print the web page, bring the book, etc.
But as redundant as it seems, it really helps. Info I write down, I usually need only once or twice in the whole time I own it.
Info I get from someone else, I need to check back on a lot more often before I have learned it.

Even if you find a cheat sheet, copy it a few times for yourself, it will help.
Best really to find out on your own though, as Jim said.

[Biomech]

Keep an eye out for the photo magazines, they often put quick reference cards in for free (or those horrendous coloured pieces of plastic :P)

[Jonbar18]

Originally Posted by Jim Poor

The best "cheat sheets" are the ones you make yourself. Just the effort of making them ingrains the information that much more.

This.
Making it makes you think about what you are doing, help you learn.

[SwissJon]

I subscribe to a couple of photo mags, but really the best way to learn to take good photos is to go out there and take a whole load of bad ones while you learn to control your camera. Twist bits that twist, push buttons that can be pushed, post the results in the critique sections with some intelligent questions and learn..

Photography is a right brain activity, it's artistic, intuitive and subjective, it needs to be learned like dance or sculture, by trying, practicing and finding out what works.. You're approaching it from a left brain perspective by trying to learn everything before you go out. You can't. It's not like a computer, today it rained, tomorrow it's sunny, when you left the house it was clear, when you arrived, it's foggy.. Are you going to go home because you bought the wrong book, or adapt and enjoy the challenge?

There's huge amounts to learn, but just remember, it costs nothing to take a photo on a digital camera, you're not learning to use your camera, you're learning to look.

[BexJarratt]

I'm a beginner myself, so I guess I'm still learning to appreciate what the experienced advice in this thread is teaching us too. But I've found a smart phone app called digital photography tools which is quite handy. It has the sunny 16 rules, depth of field calculator, etc. and also it calculates your local sunset, twilight and dawn times and the phases of the moon and its rise/set times. A handy app, but I guess you still have to know when/how to use it.