Rex Photography

I want to learn the basics of photography?

I have a Sony DSC-S600 and I really have a passion for Photography. But I dont want the complex photographic skills or something. But uhm, you know, when we have a field trip or something, I want to make pictures, specifically pictures of some places, that are like artistic. I want it to be attractice, artistic or something like that, any techniques?? thanks.

Public Comments

1. Err... read a book? The Digital Photography Book by Scott Kelby is great book to begin with. Thirds technique... divide your picture into thirds so have your subject offcenter about 1/3 of the way of a frame. Less is more. Dont try and cram in a huge scene unless of course its just a snap shot you want of an area, but for artistic purposes less is ususally better.
2. Here are a few basics from a pro. There are two basic types of settings on your camera - Speed and F-stops(also called apeture). Mild action (such as walking, etc.) can generally be caught crisply at 1/60th. If you want motion blur, slow it down. If you want to capture faster action, use a faster setting. The closer an object is to you (think flowers, etc.) the harder it is to catch crisply, so speed up your setting if in doubt. The f-stops(apeture) are more complicated to explain fully, but here are some basics: The higher the number, the deeper the focused area is. If you want shallow focus, where the object you are taking a picture of has an out-of-focus background, use a smaller number (5 is very shallow). If you want a landscape shot (like mountains) use infinity. My best advice - don't be afraid to experiment. I learned alot just goofing around in my spare time. It really helped me gain confidence for later projects that gave me less time to get the shots I wanted (wildlife, weddings, etc.)
3. Truly the best way to learn basic photography is with film. This is where you learn how to compose, expose, develop and print your images. As with other art mediums, the artist must first learn how to control it before any thing of "artistic" quality can be expected to be made. There are no shortcuts.
4. Mr Ace has turned me on again.................oh film glorious film. Want to build a house-Learn Want good shots - Learn Want to be a Butcher- Learn Everything Mr Ace said times it by 1000 FILM oh glorious film Dont want complex skills? well dont ask the question i want to build my own house but dont want to learn the skills to do it? listen to yourself!! buy a book, goto night school go hard
5. Photography is just like any other creative medium. You have to know the technical stuff before you can really be creative with it. A painter has to know about chemistry, color theory, perspective. A musician has to know either how to read music or how to play by ear. Either one is very technical. Everything has a learning curve. If you're really passionate about photography, invest a little time and effort into studying it. Learn a little at a time and eventually, the basics will become second nature. I think the best way to learn photography is to get an old textbook or two and read through them. If you learn the basics on an older manual camera, then you wind up knowing WHY your pictures come out the way they do. You may produce a wonderful shot with a fully automatic camera, but then how do you reproduce those qualities in your other shots? It sounds like the thing you're most concerned with is composition. The best advice I can give is to try to find a fresh perspective on the things you choose to photograph, even with your Sony. Take pictures from angles other than eye-level. Take advantage of moody or dramatic lighting. Use flash only when absolutely necessary. Move in close to your subject to fill the frame with the really interesting part.