Overwhelmed Newbie

[PeeGee57]

Hello.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

As a complete novice to the world of digital cameras i thought this would be a good place to sign up so i can go deeper into the world of photography.

First things first.

As i recently discovered from visiting a popular site in my home Town of Perth (Australia) it seems a lot of people have recently (Christmas presents) invested in some form of digital camera, as have i. I was given a Canon G12 as a gift to get me into photography. As i understand my new camera is a good starting place that will help me understand taking photos and how cameras work much better than a standard cheaper point and shoot camera. I also believe that this camera will do much more than i even know about.

I've taken a range of photos so far (all on automatic) from the wildlife that you see every day in Perth to a failed attempt at capturing the New Years Eve Fireworks.

My main question, is where do i start? I have this piece of equipment that is capible of so much more than i am. I have no technical knowlege of cameras, what the technology is, or what settings mean. I've read through some forums to get a better understanding of what the camera is capible of but its all a little overwhelming.

I really want to get off the Auto setting and into a world of capturing images. I've added a couple of images for no reason other than im excited to be getting into Photography. They are nothing more than quick snaps in Auto mode (and scaled down for e-mailing).

Thanks again for your time.

[Niresangwa]

Originally Posted by PeeGee57

My main question, is where do i start? I have this piece of equipment that is capible of so much more than i am. I have no technical knowlege of cameras, what the technology is, or what settings mean.

Seems you already know where to start, and you've answered your own question. Read, practice, do assignments, there's no magic bullet.

Originally Posted by PeeGee57

I really want to get off the Auto setting and into a world of capturing images.

Don't be hasty to get away from auto modes. Right now as far as exposure goes, your camera is way smarter than you are. As you gradually learn, you can start assuming responsibility.

By looking at the images from auto modes, figuring out what the camera didn't do correctly, and figuring out why that happened, will give you practical context to learn with.

As you slowly plod through this process however, you can focus on aspects such as composition, which the camera can not do for you, but is one of the most imperative aspects of a good image.

[Tito87]

Welcome to DPS. And yes, this is a very good place to learn. The previous poster has given you very good advice, so I'd suggest you listen to it. Shoot and shoot and shoot some more, and when you feel you're ready to start shooting manual, this might help you some:
Ultimate Exposure Computer

[graciousness]

Ok, I know exactly what you mean. When I finally decided to learn what the basics are for moving out of P mode (same as auto mode but gives you some manual settings you can do yourself like ISO and flash), I read up on the basics and everything just went straight over my head. Until I went to this forum.

If you want to move out of auto mode now, go to P mode. Usually, with auto, it will opt to use flash all the time even when you don't want it to so keep it off unless you know you need it.

ISO - start with this. At minimum of 100, this is the lowest you can set it to adjust brightness. The more you go up, the brighter the photo gets. So shoot an object inside your house now, use ISO 100, then 200, then 400, 800, then the highest setting you can go. You'll see the photos getting brighter and brighter the higher you go. If you look at the images, however, on the computer, the grainer the photo gets the higher the ISO. So do be mindful of how high you can go.

I would start with this and use this setting for a while. Let the camera decide your aperture (f/stop) and shutter speed for a while. Look at the light, look where it's hitting, try not to centre all your subjects every time (which it seems you have a good grasp of according to the cat photo you posted).

When you are ready to move on, then you can be more adventurous and go to AV mode to start learning and practicing your shutter speed and TV mode to practice shutter speed. With either of these modes, your camera can decide the other settings depending on what f/stop or shutter speed you use.

For me, I really only started getting it when I started reading and posting in the critique section. No matter how many times I read before, until I actually started to analyze photos of others and mine, that's the only time I started getting it. I started a few months ago on this site - almost a year later, I'm in full manual mode and no going back.

Plenty of tutorials here at DPS and other sites for you to read up and plenty of people to help you here at the forum should you need help with your journey.

Cheers and welcome!

Grace

[PeeGee57]

Thank you all for the advice. I guess i will only get better with practice and experimentation.

I'll read up as much as i can on the forums to get an understanding of the theory and see what i can do.

Thanks again.