How to take a good photograph

[stretchy]

If you are like me, You have gone out and bought a reasonable camera, and then pointed it at your coaster of choice and produced a rubbish photo. For me, it's always when the weather isn't sunny.

I got to the stage of being really dejected during the last Live feed that all of my night shots were.. dire. Then Mark (head of the Nerds) said "Do you know about the manual mode?".. My response was Urmm. Anyway. He did some bits and bobs to my camera and I managed to take :

Did I really understand what he did? I have to admit Nope. I know he changed the ISO to a low number and then had me jiggle a dial but I hadn't a clue why. Well not till this lunch time when I found the following course.

http://www.lynda.com/course20/Photography-Cameras-Gear-tutorials/word-about-camera-brands/71923/78466-4.html?w=0

I have watched 40 minutes of it up to yet and recommend it to everyone.

[James & Co.]

Good find! I'm one of them people that already knew about manual mode But that is only because I did a photography GCSE (Which I admit I got a D in ) It's really useful to use, because with theme parks it's great to get sharp shots of the coasters. I would also say, if you're taking pics in the day, try using shutter priority mode, it means you can change the shutter speed, and the camera will set the other settings automatically. Really useful to get a nice frozen action, with no motion blur!

Edited November 1, 2013 by Tommy
*did not done! D in English too? ;)

[Jammy3112]

Does it matter what camera you actually have? Or does every camera have all these settings?

[James & Co.]

Does it matter what camera you actually have? Or does every camera have all these settings?

You would need at least a bridge camera to get these settings. A bridge camera has all of the settings of a DSLR, but not the detachable lenses.

If you have a point and shoot, you'd be lucky to get these settings. Bridge cameras aren't too expensive, they're about the same price as a high end point and shoot.

[pluk]

I done a photography GCSE (Which I admit I got a D in )

GCSE photography? What the actual hell? When I did GCSEs they were in academic studies, not hobbies and pass times. The world's gone mad I tell you. This sentence itself is a brilliant demonstration of where GCSE efforts should be instead!

Did I really understand what he did? I have to admit Nope. I know he changed the ISO to a low number and then had me jiggle a dial but I hadn't a clue why. Well not till this lunch time when I found the following course.

http://www.lynda.com/course20/Photography-Cameras-Gear-tutorials/word-about-camera-brands/71923/78466-4.html?w=0

I have watched 40 minutes of it up to yet and recommend it to everyone.

That is a superb series, thanks for it. I have a basic understanding from this book, which I'd recommend, but still I struggle. I think with the basic knowledge it is just repetition that is required to get a knack for it, but I don't put enough time or effort in to get to that point where it becomes intuitive. I really should try a bit harder at some point.

[Jammy3112]

You would need at least a bridge camera to get these settings. A bridge camera has all of the settings of a DSLR, but not the detachable lenses.

If you have a point and shoot, you'd be lucky to get these settings. Bridge cameras aren't too expensive, they're about the same price as a high end point and shoot.

I have a Nikon Coolpix L810. I think that's a bridge camera. I must admit, I try not to play around with the settings too much haha, but will have to now!