Beginner wanting to learn.

[Manda74]

Hi all I’m a beginner I have a Nikon D500 and I’m in way over my head with this camera. But I want to learn. Any advice would be really welcomed. I love all photography but macro and wildlife is my favourite.

[tandeejay]

Hi Manda, thats a nice camera you've got. That will have plenty of scope for you to grow in your photography journey.


What lenses do you have?
How do you prefer to learn? Some people like YouTube videos, some people like books, some people like being shown. All valid ways of learning.


I'd say which ever is your preferred learning style, learn about the exposure triangle; that is the relationship between ISO (how sensitive is the sensor/film?), Aperture (impacts depth of field by changing how big the hole is that lets light through the lens) and shutter speed (how long the shutter is open and impacts how much any motion in the frame affects the image)

Don't try and learn everything at once, but stick to one or two new concepts and go out and photograph focusing on how the concepts your currently learning affect your end result.

But most important of all, take photos, and then look at those photos you've taken and try and see what you like about the photo and how you might improve it (also taking into consideration the one or two new concepts you are learning about), And if you're not sure if/why a particular photo is good or bad, post it here and ask for advice.

I have a couple of Tom Ang books that I really like. Each chapter is quite short and covers a single topic, and they have an "assignment" where you go out and take photographs based on the content of the chapter.

Also if you can find a local photography club, they can be helpful as well.

and last but not least - Don't buy any new gear until you have reached the point where you've exceeded the capabilities of your camera for the types of photography you are doing. The tricky bit here is working out if you've exceeded your equipment's capabilities or if you need to improve your skills and techniques.

[Manda74]

Thank you John I have started with aperture to learn and you tube and being shown are my favourite way. The Tom Ang book sounds interesting I will look him up.

- - - Updated - - -

Just wondering what Tom Ang would you recommend for a beginner please. :nod:

[tandeejay]

Thank you John I have started with aperture to learn .

That sounds like a good place to start


Just wondering what Tom Ang would you recommend for a beginner please. :nod:

Digital Photography - Step by step (https://www.penguin.com.au/books/digital-photography-step-by-step-9780241226797) is the 1st one I got.

[Manda74]

Thank you John really appreciate the help I’m going to buy that one first. :nod:

[tandeejay]

Actually, if you go to the AP site sponsors here http://www.ausphotography.net.au/forum/showthread.php?13499-Ausphotography-Site-Advertisers I see that Booktopia has Tom Ang books available, and if you buy from the link on the site advertisers page, AP gets a commission :)

[bitsnpieces]

Looks like you're in good hands already XD

Welcome to AP :)

[ameerat42]

Welcome to AP, Manda...

-- And here's a free learning guide you can find in the AP Library:
http://www.ausphotography.net.au/forum/showlibrary.php?title=Indexes:New_To_Photography_Book

[Mary Anne]

Hello Manda and Welcome to AP.

[ricktas]

Welcome to AP.

Good to see you joining in and members offering you advice. Everyone here had to start at the beginning so the site offers a great wealth of knowledge already stored in our forums and asking questions is a great way to tap into that knowledge.

Enjoy the site and hopefully we can see some of your photos soon and help guide you to improve.

[John Humpo]

I also have the D500 it is a great bit of kit, just make sure the lenses you use are reasonable quality because it doesn't matter how good your Camera is if the lens is not up to scratch ( plenty of Google study will help you here) I agree with tandeejay You Tube has some excellent info on everything photography including of course on the D500 & how to set it up for different scenarios you might encounter. I find Steve Perry's videos are excellent for learning wild life photography, he is also very informative re suitable lenses, but once you learn something go out & practise it after a while you will be excited at how much better your images will be, patience is a virtue as the saying goes. All the best.