A bit of help for a newbie please?

[Goatboy]

Hi all

Now, I am completely new to the world of SLR photography so as you can imagine, it's a bit of a minefield at the moment.

My first day out was around a local park. Snapping away in auto mode on a nice sunny day. Really enjoyed it. Took me three times longer to go around my usual route and i enjoyed looking at nature in a different way. When I uploaded my photos onto a computer I was amazed at how good they were. OK a decent photographer may tear them to pieces but for my first effort, I was astounded.

Before you think I'm getting big-headed, I'm fully aware that this was more testament to how clever modern cameras are, not my own skills

Second time out, I was down at my local reserve trying to photograph a Tern from a hide. It was a bit cloudy but still bright in the middle of the day. Uploaded these photos and ....aaagh. Not so good. The results were much much darker than my first attempt, even if the skies weren't. Obviously auto snapping doesn't cure all problems. I guess I need to explore manual photography a bit more.

So, where do I start? Increase aperture? If I do this do I lose the ability to take sharp pictures of moving objects? What are normal settings for aperture, iso etc.? What is a good starting point for settings before I start experimenting?

My set up is a Nikon D80 with a Sigma 150-500 lens if that helps

[Foz]

Hi, its not an easy subject to explain.
You will need to understand all your camera settings and exposure to do well on manual, but the results are worth it.
Have a look in the "photography techniques" section at the equivalent exposure calculator thread, its a good starting point.
What you will need to do is take a meter reading from the background, and then alter either the ISO, f stop or shutter speed to get the correct exposure, remembering to keep a fast enough shutter speed to cope with any movement in the subject and stop lens shake if no IS.
( shutter speed for hand held needs to be quicker than the focal length of the lens, including any crop factor).
Have fun playing about and above all remember Rome wasn't built in a day, but look at the end result

[Alan Hewitt]

It sounds that your photographs may have became victim to our traditional british drab sky. Maybe your camera has exposed for this whitewash sky adn therefore underexposed your subject?

[Goatboy]

Thanks for the tips. I'll take a look at the calculator. I guess I just need to get out and practice, practice, practice.

I can think of worse ways to spend my time.

[Geoff F]

Firstly, forget about the auto settings. It will take a bit of time to fully understand working in the semi auto settings, like aperture priority etc, but it is the only way to fully understand what you are doing and will enable you to become 'cleverer than your camera'!

Sometimes, auto set cameras can be unbelievably stupid.

And secondly, that is a tricky lens to use. It can take good photos but I regard it as a 'good light lens'. Best used around F8 to F11 and never fully open at F6.3. The OS does work well but even with this you will need a shutter speed of at least 1/250 and preferably double that.

Turn off OS when using a tripod.

Focusing is a bit slow but it usually gives sharp focus eventually.

But to give specific recommendations, we need to see a sample of a failure photo plus all the relevant shooting settings.

And one other suggestion. Read all of the Tutorials at this site http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials.htm then read them again - eventually everything will start to sink in and you will start getting consistently good results.

[Goatboy]

Thanks for that link Geoff. That's pitched just at my level.

I'll get some practice in this weekend and see if I can make some sense of it.