Place to learn about photography

[Hiya!]

Hi everyone happy new year i knew its late but hey.

 

Can someone please guide to me a best place to learn about photography? maybe a youtube channel or website?

I have nikon D3300 with its kit lens and i dont know what i am doing, Most of the times i always put it in AUTO and since the flash is kinda dead sometimes it work sometimes it doesnt.

It ended give me a bad looking images (mostly).

See my avatar? if u download and zoom it u'll notice a lot of film grain or noises or whatever they call it and i heard it caused by using a high ISO? what is that? does it have something to do with light sensitivity or what? afaik ISO stands for International Organization for Standardization?

 

I need to learn about the basic first.

Oh and if u could help me find an external flash and maybe a lens upgrade? that would be great since i still have some new years money from my parents $250.

 

Thanks in advance.

[Evolution.]

https://www.reddit.com/r/Photoclass_2018/

https://www.reddit.com/r/photography/

[Guest]

Sooooooooooo many resources. Tony & Chelsea Northrup is a good place to start. https://www.youtube.com/user/VistaClues

There will be a ton of other things in suggestions after that.

 

To your question on ISO:

 

[NumLock21]

17 minutes ago, Legendarypoet said:

To your question on ISO:

Man, everything has a ISO certification, even bananas. Its ISO is 14001.

[Guest]

4 minutes ago, NumLock21 said:

Man, everything has a ISO certification, even bananas. Its ISO is 14001.

Sounds like the most boring or interesting job ever. Haven't figured out which.

[Hiya!]

33 minutes ago, Legendarypoet said:

Sooooooooooo many resources. Tony & Chelsea Northrup is a good place to start. https://www.youtube.com/user/VistaClues

There will be a ton of other things in suggestions after that.

 

To your question on ISO:

 

Wow just finished watching it.

Thats a LOT for just an ISO @_@

I'll subscribe to his channel thank you very much

36 minutes ago, VenomZ_ said:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Photoclass_2018/

https://www.reddit.com/r/photography/

Oh noo Reddit guess i dont have a choice

 

Thank you everyone that'll get me started.

[Guest]

1 minute ago, Hiya! said:

Wow just finished watching it.

Thats a LOT for just an ISO @_@

I'll subscribe to his channel thank you very much

 

There's a lot you COULD know, but you don't need to know it all. Just a few key things. ALWAYS shoot RAW, Learn to shoot in Manual mode first, and HAVE FUN!

So much to get caught up about. Your eye will be your guide.

[NumLock21]

8 minutes ago, Legendarypoet said:

Sounds like the most boring or interesting job ever. Haven't figured out which.

Maybe a bit of both?

Whenever I see those ISO certification stuffs, I mostly think of complex components like a psu, cpu, gpu, and so forth. But to see it on a piece of fruit or a cheap ass made usb cable. I think to myself, this is some grade A bullsh*t.

lol

[Hiya!]

1 minute ago, Legendarypoet said:

There's a lot you COULD know, but you don't need to know it all. Just a few key things. ALWAYS shoot RAW, Learn to shoot in Manual mode first, and HAVE FUN!

So much to get caught up about. Your eye will be your guide.

Aye sir! i am ready to learn!

[Dissitesuxba11s]

3 minutes ago, NumLock21 said:

Maybe a bit of both?

Whenever I see those ISO certification stuffs, I mostly think of complex components like a psu, cpu, gpu, and so forth. But to see it on a piece of fruit or a cheap ass made usb cable. I think to myself, this is some grade A bullsh*t.

lol

It's mainly so that every manufacturer, farm, tech factory or otherwise is selling products set to a certain standard. How low are those standards are set is the next question.

[AkiraDaarkst]

32 minutes ago, Legendarypoet said:

There's a lot you COULD know, but you don't need to know it all. Just a few key things. ALWAYS shoot RAW, Learn to shoot in Manual mode first, and HAVE FUN!

 

First of all, this is absolutely wrong.

 

1 hour ago, Hiya! said:

Hi everyone happy new year i knew its late but hey.

 

Can someone please guide to me a best place to learn about photography? maybe a youtube channel or website?

I have nikon D3300 with its kit lens and i dont know what i am doing, Most of the times i always put it in AUTO and since the flash is kinda dead sometimes it work sometimes it doesnt.

It ended give me a bad looking images (mostly).

See my avatar? if u download and zoom it u'll notice a lot of film grain or noises or whatever they call it and i heard it caused by using a high ISO? what is that? does it have something to do with light sensitivity or what? afaik ISO stands for International Organization for Standardization?

 

I need to learn about the basic first.

Oh and if u could help me find an external flash and maybe a lens upgrade? that would be great since i still have some new years money from my parents $250.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

@Hiya!

You DO NOT always need to shoot in RAW.  And you do not have to shoot in Manual mode.  What you need to learn:

Understand how the relationships between ISO, Aperture/Iris and Shutter speeds work

Understand how different focal lengths and aperture sizes affect the image

Understand what each button on the camera does (essentially read the camera manual) and how to change settings to do certain things on the camera

 

You can start learning by reading a book like Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson.

https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-Fourth-Photographs-Camera/dp/1607748509/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1514786536&sr=8-1&keywords=understanding+exposure

 

Or Michael Freeman's book titled The Photographer's Eye

https://www.amazon.com/Photographers-Eye-Composition-Digital-Photographs-ebook/dp/B072XD976Y/ref=mt_kindle?_encoding=UTF8&me=

 

Because you only have a budget of $250, and since you have a Nikon camera, you have a few options for flash units:

Nikon SB-500 (roughly $250) or SB-300 (roughly $150) or other third party options that are Nikon compatible.

 

I'm not sure if $250 is enough to buy both a flash unit and a lens, you will have to shop around or look in second hand shops.  But before getting another lens, develop an understanding of what different lenses help you achieve.

 

And one more advice: IGNORE EVERY COMMENT POSTED ABOVE, other than the one about International Standards Organization.  ISO in camera refers to Film Speed, but it is referred to as ISO because the current system for determining Film Speed is published by the international organization.  There have been different systems for Film Speed before the current ISO system came along.

 

I wouldn't even recommend Tony Northtrup if you want to be a serious photographer.

[Hiya!]

2 minutes ago, AkiraDaarkst said:

 

You DO NOT always need to shoot in RAW.  And you do not have to shoot in Manual mode.  What you need to learn:

Understand how the relationships between ISO, Aperture/Iris and Shutter speeds work

Understand how different focal lengths and aperture sizes affect the image

Understand what each button on the camera does (essentially read the camera manual) and how to change settings to do certain things on the camera

Oh my looks like i have a lot to learn @_@

But i will learn about all of that, if that is what it takes to take a good looking images.

And i lost my manual its okay it has info tab so i can just switch tab and it will show me the explanation for each settings.

7 minutes ago, AkiraDaarkst said:

You can start learning by reading a book like Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson.

https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-Fourth-Photographs-Camera/dp/1607748509/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1514786536&sr=8-1&keywords=understanding+exposure

 

Or Michael Freeman's book titled The Photographer's Eye

https://www.amazon.com/Photographers-Eye-Composition-Digital-Photographs-ebook/dp/B072XD976Y/ref=mt_kindle?_encoding=UTF8&me=

I need to order it from amazon? i might need to ask my parent.

8 minutes ago, AkiraDaarkst said:

Because you only have a budget of $250, and since you have a Nikon camera, you have a few options for flash units:

Nikon SB-500 (roughly $250) or SB-300 (roughly $150) or other third party options that are Nikon compatible.

 

I'm not sure if $250 is enough to buy both a flash unit and a lens, you will have to shop around or look in second hand shops.  But before getting another lens, develop an understanding of what different lenses help you achieve.

Okay so flash first then LENS after i know how to use my camera and whatnot.

 

 

And why shouldn't i always shot RAW? it suppose to store more information right? meaning the image will looks better i mean even the file size is way bigger

[AkiraDaarkst]

23 minutes ago, Hiya! said:

Oh my looks like i have a lot to learn @_@

But i will learn about all of that, if that is what it takes to take a good looking images.

And i lost my manual its okay it has info tab so i can just switch tab and it will show me the explanation for each settings.

I need to order it from amazon? i might need to ask my parent.

Okay so flash first then LENS after i know how to use my camera and whatnot.

 

 

And why shouldn't i always shot RAW? it suppose to store more information right? meaning the image will looks better i mean even the file size is way bigger

I forgot to also mention, you need to understand when you should use M, P, A, S modes on your camera.  Manual, Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, because these different modes can serve different purposes.

 

As for shooting RAW, there may be some instances where you don't want to deal with processing the image after shooting, in which case JPEG might be a good choice.  You have to learn when and where to make these choices.

[Hiya!]

2 minutes ago, AkiraDaarkst said:

I forgot to also mention, you need to understand when you should use M, P, A, S modes on your camera.  Manual, Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, because these different modes can serve different purposes.

Okay although u didnt explain it enough but i understand, I could take it from there

 

2 minutes ago, AkiraDaarkst said:

As for shooting RAW, there may be some instances where you don't want to deal with processing the image after shooting, in which case JPEG might be a good choice.  You have to learn when and where to make these choices.

Isnt post processing always necessary i mean afaik how the workloads goes is u take the picture,u pick the good one and delete the rest and you do post processing? am i right?

[.spider.]

Just start with learning by doing. Try the different modes and get familiar with them.

[AkiraDaarkst]

2 hours ago, Hiya! said:

Okay although u didnt explain it enough but i understand, I could take it from there

 

Isnt post processing always necessary i mean afaik how the workloads goes is u take the picture,u pick the good one and delete the rest and you do post processing? am i right?

By the way, Nikon camera manuals can be downloaded from their website and you don’t have to buy the books from Amazon.  I only placed those links so you know what they look like.

 

There may be times when you may not have time to edit the photo or you don’t want to. But again, I’m saying it’s a choice you can make.

[.spider.]

3 hours ago, Hiya! said:

 

Isnt post processing always necessary i mean afaik how the workloads goes is u take the picture,u pick the good one and delete the rest and you do post processing? am i right?

Yes that's why you usually use RAW but if you need the images quickly or for just preview purposes you can use various raw converter with automatic image adjustments to convert them to jpeg.

 

On the other hand you have still the possibility to archive and process them in the highest quality available.

 

Another option is to save RAW+Jpeg simultaneously.

[Hiya!]

42 minutes ago, .spider. said:

 

Another option is to save RAW+Jpeg simultaneously.

Okay i think my camera has that option so what does it do?

Does it save 2 files simultaneously?

[AkiraDaarkst]

5 minutes ago, Hiya! said:

Okay i think my camera has that option so what does it do?

Does it save 2 files simultaneously?

Yes, but unless you really need one version or the other don't use it. Waste of space on the memory card.

[Hiya!]

1 minute ago, AkiraDaarkst said:

Yes, but unless you really need one version or the other don't use it. Waste of space on the memory card.

Well it has 16GB so i think its no problem at all.

Just in case

[.spider.]

49 minutes ago, Hiya! said:

Okay i think my camera has that option so what does it do?

Does it save 2 files simultaneously?

Yes it saves the image as a RAW and jpeg in two files.

It is handy if you don't have the resources to generate many jpegs from RAW in a short time.

[cc143]

For the d3300 this is a pretty extensive guide on what each thing does on the camera. 

 

As mentioned above, learn what ISO, aperture and Shutter speed are, think about how they impact each image. Entry level dslrs now have pretty nifty GUIs that sort of show these things as well. 

 

Don't bother with buying anything yet, especially a flash, learn how to walk before you run basically, just learn about your camera and how to use it and once you are ready and have a better understanding of what you want to do with it and how to achieve it look at expanding your arsenal. If the money is really burning a hole in your pocket, try a small fast prime, I believe Nikon do a 35mm f/1.8 and a 50mm f/1.8 that are fairly affordable, but better save the money and decide later. 

 

On the point of RAW. It is true it takes up space and you will likely not be editing in the beginning. However, I regret not having a number of shots from my early days in digital photography, which I believe could benefit from some editing and could be made really better. My advise, if you have the space for it, shoot both, post a jpg if you will on fb or instagram or a print or whatever, and keep an archive of the RAW files separately. You never know, in 5 years from now you may wish you had shot that one image in RAW, might be your kids, a loved one, an event, something. 

 

ISO on film was how sensitive the film was to light, the higher the ISO, the less exposure to light it would need. So in a way, yes, ISO can be useful when you are shooting in low light situations or want to utilize a faster Shutter speed or narrower aperture. The drawback is that the higher you bump it, noise is introduced in the image. On a digital sensor, the basic intuitive concept is still the same, although it technically isn't that. 

 

Other than that, Shutter Speed is basically what it says, i.e. the time for which your shutter is open, exposing your sensor to light, the more time, the more light. Aperture is the diameter inside the lens. The wider (lower f stop) it is the more light. Each of these settings has a different impact on your image in addition to how much light it lets in. A faster shutter speed is used to freeze motion and a wider aperture means less stuff will be in focus in the image and vice versa. That is the basic jist of it, but in order to understand it experiment with your camera yourself and look through Youtube and google, there are many guides posted for beginners to understand how to use their cameras. 

[Evanair]

If you're willing to pay for it, lynda.com has good classes for basic photography that walk you through step by step. 

[Hiya!]

8 hours ago, Evanair said:

If you're willing to pay for it, lynda.com has good classes for basic photography that walk you through step by step. 

Ehehe i am a broke college student so yeahah

[cc143]

10 hours ago, Evanair said:

If you're willing to pay for it, lynda.com has good classes for basic photography that walk you through step by step. 

 

1 hour ago, Hiya! said:

Ehehe i am a broke college student so yeahah

There is a lot of free material on youtube and on google in general, sure, you can learn much more by taking an actual course (not so sure about lynda.com), and whats out there that is free could be better, but, until you have exhausted all the free material available to you, I see no reason why you'd spend money on learning material. tbh, the technical side, what each setting etc does it isn't really necessary to purchase material for that. The artistic side, like composition etc. it might be beneficial to get some photobooks, learn about compositional rules like the rule of thirds etc. but for now, you are fine with what is available for free.