Photography - Elbert,CO

My suggestion is to join a website like 365project and take a photo a day. They have forums and such that can be VERY helpful. Just taking a photo a day and looking and asking what others did to get amazing photos can be very helpful.

Ok, some quick and dirty info:
The different lenses your hubby bought. Presumably there is a zoom and a telefoto in there. A zoom has a variety of focal lengths, such as 55mm to 110mm. Allowing you to 'zoom' in and out on a subject. A telefoto is a fixed focal length meaning that it does not zoom (ie 75mm, 250mm etc). (FYI the focal length is the distance from the end of the lens to the 'film' pane).

Each exposure is made up of a shutter speed and an aperture/f-stop.

The shutter speed is how long the shutter remains open, allowing the light to be exposed to the film/image pane. In DSLR's you will have a wide variety of shutter speeds, from 15 seconds to 1/3000 of a second. The longer your shutter speed, the greater the chance for movement and possible camera shake. Anything less than 1/125 should be on a tripod in order to avoid camera shake. It may be possible to handhold the camera at 1/60 or 1/30 if you stabilize yourself but you may still get some camera shake and blur. The faster the shutter speed, the greater your ability to stop action. For instance, sports photography would benefit from very high shutter speeds (1/1000 or higher). On your digital camera, you should have an option to select 'shutter priority' (or something similar). This will allow you to select a shutter speed and the camera will select the corresponding aperture/f-stop. Play with that and take a bunch of photos of the same thing/same setting. Make sure there is something in the picture that moves (like your kid sitting in a chair). Notice how as you move from higher shutter speeds to slower shutter speeds you will start to see movement: bushes moving in the wind, your kids hands blur as they play with a truck... When you get comfortable with the idea, set your camera up on a tripod and take some long exposures at night/early evening. I love the movement in long exposures :)

Aperture/f-stop: this is the size of the opening inside your lens. This opening controls how much light passes through the lens to the film plane. The f-stops range from f1.8 to f22 or f36 on most cameras. This part can be a little confusing: the smaller the number, the larger the opening and the more light that passes through the lens. When you are shooting at f1.8, you would be shooting 'wide open'. As you move down and get closer to f22, you are 'stopping down'.

Depth of Field: you can't talk about f-stops without talking about depth of field (I will abbrieviate to DOF for ease of typing). Now, one may ask, why should I ever 'stop down'? First of all, DOF is the area before and after your focusing point (ie your kids face) that is in focus. If you have a shallow DOF, there is a very small area before and after your kids nose that will be in focus. If you have a large DOF, there will be a lot before and after your kid that will be in focus. How do you change the DOF? F-stops. If you are shooting wide open (f1.8, f2 etc), you will have a very shallow DOF. As you stop down, your DOF increases and there is a lot more in focus. DOF is a great way to control your image and help to convey the feeling you want. It can make the difference between a good image and a powerful image. :) Just as your camera has a 'shutter priority' setting, it should also have an 'aperture priority' setting. Set your camera to the aperture priority and do the same experiment: set up a scene and take a variety of pix at a variety of exposures. Get close to your subject to really see the changes in DOF. Move up close and have object at various distances from you (ie 3 stuffed animals. Focus on the middle one and play with the aperture, watch how the sharpness of the other animals changes with each exposure).

How do shutter speed and aperture relate to one another? They are always connected to each other. There is always a certain amount of light that is needed to make a good image. As you slow down your shutter speed (giving the light more time to be exposed to the 'film' plane), you will need less light passing through the lens. As you speed up your shutter speed (1/500, 1/1000 etc), you will need to open up your aperture (f2, f5.6 etc) to allow more light to pass through since you have a shorter amount of time for the light to be exposed to the 'film' plane.

ASA/ISO: ASA & ISO refer to the speed of the film. While a digi obviously doesn't use film, the numbers are still used to refer to the sensitivity of the sensors. The higher the ASA (800, 3200), the less light that is needed to create an image. The lower the ASA (100, 200), the more light that is needed to create an image. Why use a slower ASA? All film is made up of 'grains' of silver. The smaller the grain, the finer the appearance of the image. It has a smoother look. The larger the grain, the 'grainier' the image will appear. While digi obviously doesn't have grain, you still get the effect (don't ask me, that one is beyond me). So, if you are outside on a sunny day, you may choose a slower ASA (400 is nice) so that you will have less grain. In doors, you may bump up your ASA so that you don't have to use your flash as much and you can take advantage of the natural light (always my first choice!).

Keep in mind, the shutter speeds and f-stops I've quoted above are just examples to show you which direction you will need to adjust. In bright daylight, it is possible to take a picture at 1/1000 with f16.

Most of all, have fun and take LOTS of pictures. As my dad always said, film is the cheapest part of photography (meaning shoot a lot!). Well, now it is even easier with digi. Shoot alot, study & delete :) Also, most digi cameras now store the exposure etc with each shot so you can see what you did differently with each one.

Play play play! Shoot shoot shoot!

PS for what it is worth, I got my BFA in Photo (but not teaching, hope I was clear. lol) :)

There are lots of online, go-at-your-own-pace courses you can take. I know that DigitalScrapbookPlace.com has a forum with free suggestions and tutorials called "get it off auto." It is a very big site, though, and is mostly about digital scrapbooking, so it might not be the easiest thing to navigate. I will say that the ladies there are WONDERFUL and very interested in helping you improve your photos. Because we digiscrappers know that a great scrapbook page starts with a great photo.

I am into digital photography. I don't have all the gadgets I'd like, but I can tell you two ways to go about getting started. 1) Look at other people's photography. If an image "speaks" to you, analyze it. Why does it touch you? what makes it striking? Is it the lighting? Is it the subject matter? 2) Take lots of pictures! You can't get good without practicing. With digital, this is so easy, and doesn't cost anything but electricity. Back in the days of film, cost was so prohibitive!y to "copy" some photos you've seen. For example, if you see a photo like this
https://picasaweb.google.com/susielancaster/October2010#5...
look around for some ripe grain/grass seed (this was ornamental grass outside my subdivision) and think about how to shoot that picture yourself. It's backlit, meaning that I was shooting into the sun. Try doing that sometime yourself and see what it turns out like.

When you're looking at others' photography, don't jump straight to world-renowned photographer's work. Chances are you won't have the know-how to even begin to understand what they've done, and you won't have the subject matter available to you (like penguins, lions, beautiful eyes frame by saris in India, etc) I suggest you start with other hobbyists, actually. I'm a hobbyist, and I think I have some shots worth looking at, so I'm going to send you to my Picasa album that I call "If I had a portfolio..." You can look around at my other albums, too, but a lot of them are just snapshots of my crazy kids.
https://picasaweb.google.com/susielancaster/IfIHadAPortfo...#

You're going to need some programs, too. I recommend Picasa. It's free to download. It is great for organizing your photos, and you can crop right in that program, then click a button and upload your photos for everyone to see (or only a few people, you can choose). I also think it's a great learning tool, because you can learn about soft focus, filtered black and white, etc. It's very user friendly.

Photoshop is almost a necessity, too but it's so expensive! GIMP is an awesome, FREE alternative. Especially since you're just starting out, free is a great idea.

You'll also want to learn about a few terms. You ought to be able to google these and find articles about them. I suggest you look up:
Depth of Field (where your background is blurry, but the subject is in sharp focus--it is what makes photos look professional)

Rule of Thirds (I taught my mom about this in about 1/2 an hour, and her photos were instantly improved by 50%!!!)

Burning

Dodging

Open Shade

Selective focus (You'll want to learn how to do this on your camera)

And if you have any questions for me, you can email me. I'd be happy to give you some tips as far as what I know. Send me a PM and I'll pass on my email address if you're interested.

My husband got the book "Digital Photography Workbook for Dummies" as a Christmas gift. I like that it is a workbook and has you learn about your computer with exercises. I learn best (and remember best) this way. You may be able to get this book (as well as others) from the library to check out before you buy. I had one at one time (I don't remember the name exactly but I think it was also a "Dummies" book), I didn't like it as well. Also, if you want to focus on a specific area (such as portraits photography) google that and see what you get.

Practice and pay attention to the settings of your camera and the lighting of the environment, make notes. Using your camera a lot will be your best teacher. It's so nice that you dont have to worry about wasting film anymore, you just shoot, look at it on your pc monitor and delete if it's substandard and do it again. If you dont have time to attend a class you will have to teach yourself, and practice makes perfect. Just remember that lighting is key.

I would start with the boring and dry manual. There are books you can check out from the library as well as a number of online courses. Karen Russell has a class that is well sought after as does Candice Stringham. Based on the fact that you mentioned lenses I am assuming you ard working with a dslr. Instead of a full blown class what about looking into day long workshops. Or checking out your local community center. Also the best it to take pics everyday and look at what settings you used to create the one pic you really like and then see if you can recreate the results.

Some local libraries have classes for free, usually only lasting an hour or two. Some meet just once, some meet weekly, some monthly. There are book clubs, sewing clubs, etc, so there might also be a photography club that meets once a month or so.

Another suggestion I have is to check YouTube. There are instructional videos on many subjects covered. I haven't looked into photography, but it is worth a search there. Also search for your camera. HTH!

The other posts here offer great ideas!! I just wanted to add that even with all the books and classes and such, it really comes down to trial and error and learning how you use your camera. I took a one-night class from our local camera shop a while back on basics and learned a ton, which was a great jumping off point to "figure it out". Also, one of the websites I go to everyday has a photography section - the lady has no formal training, but offers advice and how-to's from herself and others she knows. The site is www.thepioneerwoman.com There is a bunch of other great stuff on this site as well - including a home schooling!! Good luck and have fun playing :)

Maybe you can start by looking online for instruction/help listed under the make and model of camera you have. There are sometimes online "classes." You can also go on Amazon and see if there are books about using your particular camera. I did that, and found that I don't learn readily about machines (any machines!) from books. So I'm going slowly, but I'm closer to town than you are and I also know a particular shop where I can pick people's brains.

Scott Kelby would be a good place to start. He writes amazing books. My husband is a photographer and I see those books around the house. He also went to school for graphic arts. He does sports photography. You live in a great state for beautiful pictures. Good luck, you can do it!

Kelby books are great. Also look in to local adult education classes. I took several of those. They were fun informative and very affordable.