Beginner with Nikon D40

[amo_chief]

Hi guys, I have a Nikon D40 with stock lens 18-55 which was pawned by a relative. I’m planning to take our family picture portrait using this with tripod this Christmas Eve:confused. Please give me tips coz I have no idea how to set this. Thanks in advance and have a happy holidays!!

[faeriegodess612]

Easiest way to do this in my opinion would be: Shoot in Auto, or in Portrait. Dont try to figure out the more advanced controls in such a short time. Also, since we dont know what kind of lighting conditions you'll be shooting in, or what exactly will all be in the shot, thats one reason I say Auto. Set it on tripod, and set it to take a timed shot. Like you would with a point and shoot. In Auto it automatically adjusts your white balance, aperture, ISO, shutter speed, and will use flash if it needs to.

Thats what I'd do,... I'm new to a DSLR, but not to photography. I'm not a pro at it,..just have a bit of an understanding of how it all works. There are others here that can give you much more precise advice that I.

[amo_chief]

thanks faeriegodess612 maybe Il just do that. I dont know how will it come out but im sure its close to perfect.

[lanza2002]

R u taking a whole family shot ? If so stick with auto.

If you are taking portraits I would zoom out to 55mm and set the tripod back so you can see from say chest up in the photo. Set the camera to Aperture priority and drop the f number as low as possible. Take one photo and check the sharpness on the face. If there is blurriness set it higher They often say 6-7 is a sharp F number but you will lose some blurriness from the background. Also make sure there is a good distance between the subject and the background wall/tree etc.

To take the pressure off shot one in auto and one in Aperture priority. Also ask others to take photos with their camera. Dont forget some of the nicest photos will be the candids you get.

Enjoy.