Yet another new guy

[Dualsportvet]

Hello all,

Just thought I'd stop by to say hello.  I bought my first real camera about a month ago and I'm just now really messing with it.  WOW there's a lot to learn.  But I think I've taken a few decent pictures already.  I've decided to stay away from the auto modes and only use the manuel mode so I have to learn.  Plus some of the outdoor pics in auto mode aren't any better than my Samsung S6 edge pictures. 

I was going to upload some of mine to my picture album but can't seem to do so.  Is that because I'm new?  Some forums make you hit a certain post count before you can use the full site, figured maybe that was it. 

Anyways, I'll have lots of questions, I promise to try and search first, but don't hate if I ask one that has been asked a million times.  And if any other new person is around the Austin Texas area and wants to meet up drop a line.  And no I'm not on here to find a date, purly pictures. 

Thanks for looking,

Bryan

[Jason · Accepted solution]

Hello Dualsportvet,

Welcome to the Canon forums! We're glad to have you here and look forward to your contributions!

We'd love to see your pictures, and you should be able to upload them right now. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to do so:

http://community.usa.canon.com/t5/help/faqpage/faq-category-id/images#images

We hope this helps and look forward to seeing them!

[Dualsportvet]

I saw that before I posted. And for the life of me I didn't see the button until after you posted lol. You know what they say, if it was a snake! Thanks.

[RobertTheFat]

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@Dualsportvet wrote:

Hello all,

Just thought I'd stop by to say hello.  I bought my first real camera about a month ago and I'm just now really messing with it.  WOW there's a lot to learn.  But I think I've taken a few decent pictures already.  I've decided to stay away from the auto modes and only use the manuel mode so I have to learn.  Plus some of the outdoor pics in auto mode aren't any better than my Samsung S6 edge pictures. 

I was going to upload some of mine to my picture album but can't seem to do so.  Is that because I'm new?  Some forums make you hit a certain post count before you can use the full site, figured maybe that was it. 

Anyways, I'll have lots of questions, I promise to try and search first, but don't hate if I ask one that has been asked a million times.  And if any other new person is around the Austin Texas area and wants to meet up drop a line.  And no I'm not on here to find a date, purly pictures. 

Thanks for looking,

Bryan

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In a good-sized metropolitan area like Austin there are bound to be a fair number of community colleges and/or vocational schools. They're likely to have adult education programs with night courses or individual lectures on digital photography. (There are two nearby in my corner of the Boston suburbs.) They can be a fine way for a newbie to get up to speed much moer quickly than by asking individual questions on forums. and when you do consult the forums, you'll have a better idea of what to ask. We are, of course, happy to have you in the forum; I suggest the night classes as an addition to, not a substitute for, your participation.

As for posting pictures, there is a file size limit, but no "time of participation" barrier. And how to do it probably isn't explained very well. I've only done it a couple of times myself, so I'll let somebody elso help you with that, lest I accidentally give you erroneous advice.

[ScottyP]

You are lucky in Austin to have a real camera store. These days that is rare. 

I recommend free internet video tutorials, starting with viewing a few on the exposure triangle to be sure you have a firm understanding of the central idea in photography. 

The next thing I'd look into would be Aperture Priority mode (Av mode) and Shutter Priority mode (Tv mode). It is laudable that you want out of Auto mode but full Manual mode (M) isnt really necessary and will cause you to miss a lot of shots to bad exposure.  These are not automatic modes and most photographers use them more often than they use full M mode.  Shutter priority lets you pick a shutter speed when that is the key variable in the triangle.  Aperture priority lets you pick the f/stop when that is the key variable.  The camera just instantly meters the shot and calculates the other variable.   (ISO, the 3rd variable in the triangle, can be set manually or left to the camera too).  That instant calculation and setting is great because your exposure can change between shots even if your feet stay planted, depending on what you are pointing the camera at.  If you are using a kit lens, it has a variable aperture so even if you don't move and you don't even change what you are pointing at, the lens may change your aperture setting as you zoom the lens in, which would thoroughly screw you up on Manual. 

I also recommend the book Understanding Exposure by Bryan Petersen.  Really great and explains with pictures how there are usually about 6 "correct exposures" possible for any scene, and how, to achieve your particular artistic goal, to choose the "right exposure".  

Welcome me to the forum and to a great hobby. 

[jrhoffman75]

http://www.austinshutterbug.com

http://hcphotoclub.org