getting started with DSLR

Hey people,

So I took the plunge and got a Nikon D3000 with 2 lenses:

Nikkor 18-55 MM and 55-200 MM.

I tried to take some photos with the auto setting and the pictures came out insanely dark.

When I tried to use different settings, the color was off...

How do I go about adjusting it right? I saw amazing results with similar cameras and as I spent quite a bit, I want to learn to use it to it's fullest...so I'd love any directions/tips/anything you can provide.

Oren

I have a less fancy Nikon and I have never tried the manual setting but I think that's what you'll have to do, you'll set the shutter speed and what not, there's got to be a manual with the camera that would tell you how to do it. Sorry I couldn't be more help.

PM Chris (tyflier) -- he is a professional photographer so maybe he can give you some hints.

wstphal said:

PM Chris (tyflier) -- he is a professional photographer so maybe he can give you some hints.

Click to expand...

DYK I'd rather not, we're not on the best of terms... anyways, I am going to read the manual and see if I can make sense of it.

Maybe it's not on factory settings? There should be a way to default it.
Reading the manual and getting a good feel for the camera are probably the best options.
Also, try taking photos in lots of different lighting situations, with and without flash.

When I got mine (D40 - predecessor to the D3000) I first show mostly in Auto mode or the scene selection modes. But I wasn't happy with the results. I did three things to make my pictures better (nothing like tyfliers) but I'm happy with how they've started turning out.

1. Read a lot on photography. Prior to my DSLR I'd only messed around with point and shoot. I knew nothing about aperature, shutter speed, ISO, exposure compensation, white balance, etc etc. So I read up on them in books about general photography and books specifically for my camera. This helped me better understand how each setting would affect the picture, which leads me to number 2...
2. I switched from auto mode to manual mode and would just take lots and lots of pictures of the same thing to see how each setting affected the picture. I might start in auto mode, note all the settings, then switch to manual mode and start with those settings. Then I'd take several pictures. Then I might adjust ISO, take several more pictures. Then adjust ISO more, take more pictures. Then I'd set ISO back to 'default' and adjust aperature, take pictures, adjust again, take pictures, you get the idea. I did this a lot just by messing with one setting. Then I'd mess with two settings, and look at how the affected each other. And I just kept messing around until I started getting pictures how I wanted them. I also did this with different light sources (including adjust white balance) such as indoors, outdoors, cloudy day, sunny day, etc. I thought about signing up for some classes, but figured I'd save some money and just figure it out by trial and error. Now I'm still no pro or anything, but I shoot exclusively in manual now. Sometimes it still takes me several "tries" to find correct settings, but I usually do and the usually still end up turning out better than shooting in auto. Like I said, I'm no expert or pro, but I'm happy with my pictures which is all that counts IMO (whereas before I was like you, I was bummed that I spent this money and pics weren't any better than my old P&S).
3. Lastly I got an external flash and a tri pod. The pop up flash is garbage, especially for indoor shots. You really want something more powerful and flexible that allows you to bounce the flash. This will better light up your subjects and won't light them up harshly like the direct flash will. Especially if you're shooting in doors. I went with the SB-400. Much cheaper than the SB-600 which was more flash than I needed or wanted to spend $$ on). And the tripod really helped for taking pictures of snakes. I use the tripod and also bought the remote for the camera, this way I can have the camera set up ready to go and focus more on manipulating the snake. Before I'd get the snake posed and by the time I got behind the camera and all set it would have moved. With a tripod and remote, you can set the snake, then just move your hadn out of the frame, and use the remote to take a quick pic.

Also, take lots and lots and lots of pictures. The more pictures you take of something, the better chances you'll have of getting a good picture. I might take 20 pictures of a snake, and only get 1 or 2 that I'm happy with. Along those lines, only judge pictures by looking at them on your computer. The LCD isn't that great. It's good for setting exposure, etc, but often details aren't visible on it and sometimes pics that look good on it don't on a computer and vice versa.

I know you've already spent a lot of $$, but really consider an external flash. Many will say avoid the SB-400, but for probably 90% of people its plenty. It's one of those things that now that I have it, I don't know how I went without it.

Here are just two examples of the same snake taken several months apart.

Shooting in auto mode with built in flash (before I shot in manual and without SB-400 and tripod and remote). Note the "harshness" of the flash you can see reflected on him. He's also moved out of frame since I posed him:



Same snake taken using SB-400 bounced flash, tripod, and remote. You can see his colors look more natural and he looks lit up but doesn't have those harsh highlights. Also I was able to pose him and use the remote/tripod to snap this picture before he started to move away (though the camera focused on his body, and not head, so his head is slightly out of focus):

Practice, practice, practice. I can't stress that enough. The best thing you can do is to take your camera outside and just take pictures of things. Mostly, it's trial and error. With a lot of the manual settings you'll really want to use a tripod otherwise you'll get blurry images. I can't give specific advice on how to use your camera since I have a canon.

Here's one hint I can give and hope it works: I don't know if your lenses have this, but on my canon there's a small switch that says AF/MF. This stands for Auto Focus/Manual Focus. This comes in handy if you're trying to take a picture of something and your camera won't adjust to the proper focus.

dslr camera....

i have a cannon dslr i purchased about a year ago.
1. you should have a factory setting
2. you should be able to go back where you got it(someone should be able to set it)
3.there's alway's the internet !!

the manual i still have not mastered,these camera's just do too much,but never enough at the same time.

i basicly learned how to use mine through the intenet and talking with ppl who have my type of camera.

good luck

jay

jayson rafter said:

i have a cannon dslr i purchased about a year ago.
1. you should have a factory setting
2. you should be able to go back where you got it(someone should be able to set it)
3.there's alway's the internet !!

the manual i still have not mastered,these camera's just do too much,but never enough at the same time.

i basicly learned how to use mine through the intenet and talking with ppl who have my type of camera.

good luck

jay

Click to expand...

I actually got it worked out, sort of, but thanks

Kokopelli said:

Hey people,

So I took the plunge and got a Nikon D3000 with 2 lenses:

Nikkor 18-55 MM and 55-200 MM.

I tried to take some photos with the auto setting and the pictures came out insanely dark.

When I tried to use different settings, the color was off...

How do I go about adjusting it right? I saw amazing results with similar cameras and as I spent quite a bit, I want to learn to use it to it's fullest...so I'd love any directions/tips/anything you can provide.

Oren

Click to expand...

I would go for shooting RAW instead of JPEG and using Adobe to manipulate or am I stating the bleeding obvious.
:flames:

The D3000 is a great camera, and you should be able to get very good results with the on the camera flash using full auto mode. Sure, you could spend another few hundred and get the SB400 or 700, but I would recommend just fiddling around with your current setup - ESPECIALLY if you're new to DSLR. Keep that 18-55 on and stand about 4 feet away, shoot in "Auto" to start. Yes, you are going to get lots of advice to fiddle around with manual. I disagree. When I got my first DSLR (a Nikon D50, similar to your D3000 - I'm using a D7000 these days), I left it in full auto using only the on camera flash. Manual modes and speedlights like the SB400 can take a while to get good results if you're new to the game. Start small, learn with what you have and introduce one new thing at a time. You'll get the hang of it. If you really want to learn the manual modes for your camera - I highly recommend the "For Dummies" - I'm sure there's one for the D3000. I'd post picures of my snake, but it's not at home yet....a couple more weeks before the local dealer has them in.

Oh - and I'd stick to jpegs as well.....RAW processing is yet another ball to juggle when you're new with DSLR.

idloveaguinness said:

Oh - and I'd stick to jpegs as well.....RAW processing is yet another ball to juggle when you're new with DSLR.

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Completely disagree with that. as you could treat your raw as a standard jpeg
The only advantage of raw isd that you can do some corrections without loss of detail.
Like whiteballancing under and over exposure.

Something like adobe bridge does that automatically, and thereby enables you to correct the beginners errors as "depth of fiels" and "shutterspeed" backlight and flashing to strong on a close by object.

What you do with a raw is up to yourself. Your PC/laptop can print it just as is as well

desiredbard said:

Completely disagree with that. as you could treat your raw as a standard jpeg
The only advantage of raw isd that you can do some corrections without loss of detail.
Like whiteballancing under and over exposure.

Something like adobe bridge does that automatically, and thereby enables you to correct the beginners errors as "depth of fiels" and "shutterspeed" backlight and flashing to strong on a close by object.

What you do with a raw is up to yourself. Your PC/laptop can print it just as is as well

Click to expand...

I totally get what you're saying. I shoot RAW - actually, I shoot both RAW and JPEG with every shutter release. From a basic photo processing and sharing perspective, JPEG is easier for a beginner with a new system. I'm all about baby steps - one thing at a time. For the OP, it's a new camera. Now they've got a menu of things to choose from next.

great forum to learn about photography, and SPECTACULAR work there! it's ran by vBulletin, too so no crazy forum software to get used to: Digital Photography School Forums

and here's the full website: http://www.digital-photography-school.com/
in my opinion, Auto mode is 100% useless. it doesn't take everything into account, often leaving you with over or under exposed shots, shots with motion-blur because it didn't have a fast enough shutter speed, etc.

why NOT shoot only manual? it's digital, you could take infinity photos, and it wouldn't matter if they all sucked, because then you just delete them, and that's the end of it!

the very basic thing you should read about is the Exposure Triangle. it is the FUNDAMENTAL thing you MUST know in photography.

the D3000's an alright camera for a beginner, for sure. it shouldn't be too hard for you to learn. you;ll start getting more and more satisfying shots as you go along.

i just really don't recommend manual, because sometimes it ends up being a "crutch" for you to lean on, and then you get lazy, and never bother learning how to do it yourself. being able to manipulate every single aspect of a photo is something that simply cannot happen in Auto.

idloveaguinness said:

I totally get what you're saying. I shoot RAW - actually, I shoot both RAW and JPEG with every shutter release. From a basic photo processing and sharing perspective, JPEG is easier for a beginner with a new system. I'm all about baby steps - one thing at a time. For the OP, it's a new camera. Now they've got a menu of things to choose from next.

Click to expand...

True enough...cant get my Dad to deal with my photo's...however
If you start DSL you migh just as well get the conversin step under control for the rest of the world...

I shot both for a while but i dont see the use anymore.
I have an 8 G card (well more but in there)
I shoot high quality raw in series of 3-10 automatic.
I use adobe bridge
delete 30-80% of the photo's (remember i shoot 3-10 in one shot)
That looks a waste but eylids closed mouths just open , or snakes ..tongue just missed

If the photo allows reset your white balence
Add black (for the eyes, and a bit of vibrance
And eventhough RAW is huge... i can undo all my changes in one click ..days months years later if i ever wanted for some reason.

I personally dont think that the autocorrect setting in bridge i such a hard step to learn...and then take it from there, as you can see the sliders autoadjustand then finetune yourself.

(I was "forced" into this by a collegue a week after buying my dslr...and i never looked back) I dont think its all that difficult at all (I'm not realy gopod at it either though)...then again I am a nerd I like my IT.... (Feeding a mouse to your snake should come with extra clarification as i had to snip the usb cord out of its mouth)

All good advice. I also recommend dpreview.com as a good resource. Go to the D3000 forum and see what others are doing with that setup. You'll be amazed!