You may recall that one of my New Years Resolutions was to learn how to take better pictures for my blog. Many of you have granted me many generous compliments regarding my photo "skills" (and I love you for it), but my abilities with a point-and-shoot are severely limited. I do think I've gotten pretty good at shooting certain objects (like food in perfect light), but other subjects (like food in any other light, or people pretty much ever) don't always come out so well.
I started saving for my first DSLR. As soon as I felt like I had almost enough money for one, I started researching what to buy. I pinned some ideas on Pinterest in order to bookmark them for later. Then, my cousin Shannon (who is artistic in so many ways and also kind of a rock star) mentioned something to me about how she just bought the Nikon D90 I had pinned. Now, one of Shannon's many talents is amateur photography. It started off as a hobby, but any hobby requires investment once the individual develops a certain level of skill. It made sense that she upgrade to this nicer camera, even though her old Nikon was still pretty ni---HEY! Wait a minute...what happened to Shannon's old camera? "Oh," she replied. "I'm getting my stuff together to try to sell it on Craigslist."
Of course, I asked if I could purchase it from her instead. She was thrilled to know not only that her first DSLR would be going to a good home, but also that she would be reversing the chain of hand-me-downs that we cousins had growing up with our favorite outfits.
And that, my friends, is how I became the proud owner of a gently used (but very loved) Nikon D40 with two lenses.
As soon as I got the camera, I did something I had admittedly never done before with a piece of technology: I read the manual. I was so clueless about how to use this thing. I googled tutorials, I pinned blog posts filled with helpful definitions, and I even watched the DVD that came with my manual. Then, I decided that the only way to get the hang of it was to get my hands dirty.
So I started playing with things that I knew nearly nothing about...
...like aperture...
...and focus...
...and then I just played some more!
I suppose next I need to get Photoshop and learn how to edit my photos, too! Do any of y'all have any advice for a DSLR beginner?
In other news, next week is Dr. Princess' first blogoversary! I have something really exciting for you to help me celebrate, so stay tuned...
7 comments:
New cameras are exciting! One of my missions this summer is to learn how to use my DSLR better, so I'm interested in seeing what resources you use!
Yay for the new camera!!
Yippee!!!! If I come up there when Christina is there then we'll definitely do some shooting and I can answer any questions, etc. But you're smart to get your hands dirty because that is the best way to learn. No book can tell you anyway about "vision" :)
So exciting! I've had my D60 for about two years and I'm still learning new things. Search Youtube for tutorials, there's great stuff out there.
Congrats on the new camera, that's so exciting! I posted some helpful links a while ago, maybe you'd like to check some of them out: http://hernewleaf.com/2011/11/10/photography-resources-for-beginners/
Yayyy!! Ok seriously, the best way to learn how to use it is to just take as many pictures as humanly possible. Be that person that takes WAY more pictures than necessary, it's fun :)
No advice here, but that's so exciting!
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