Any tips for a beginning photographer?

[chrispie]

Hi, everyone. Looking forward to learning as much as I can about digital photography. Any suggestions on where to begin my education? I have no photography experience whatsoever (just a point and shoot, inexpensive Canon A70 digital), and my photos show it! I was thinking of enrolling in a photography class at the local community college to get me started. Would that be my best bet? My goal is to get some great pictures of birds. Right now all I use is the automatic setting because I don't know what the settings are for. Thanks for your help.

[KC Foggin]

Hi chrispie and a warm welcome to WPF.

I don't know how much optical zoom you have on that camera, but if it is less than 10x, you might be hard pressed to get a decent shot of the bird. You never want to use "digital zoom" as it really deterioriates the shot and of course, you never want to get too close to the bird as it will only scare them off.

Before spending money on a photography class, why don't you try hanging around here for awhile and reading some suggestions and of course asking questions.

[greypoint]

I've used a similar A75 - definitely not ideal for birds. On the other hand I've seen some stunning landscapes taken with an A70. Might be best to concentrate on what the camera will do well first and hone your technique. For birds etc.with a compact you really need to look at something like a Panasonic FZ20/30 or perhaps one of the Minolta Z series.

[GavinM]

"Get close, then get closer still." - Don't remember who said it first (not me) but it's really good advice.

Take a lot of photos. A lot. Photograph everything in your home. Then things around your home. Annoy all the people in your life by taking pictures of them (but not too much). Read a lot of books and look at the works of other photographers in your local library. Flat out copy them, and then experiment with it.

All these things I'm still doing, and don't think I'll ever get to a point where I can say, 'right, I'm brilliant at this, now I can stop trying.'

Just my tuppence worth.

[yelvertoft]

Hi chrispie,
Welcome to WPF. As others have said above, I don't think you are going to get decent bird pics with that camera. However, if you are just starting out with photography, you'd be better off starting with some rather less challenging subjects.

Take a look at our gallery, do as Gavin says, take pictures of anything and everything, practice is the key. Look, really look at what you see in the viewfinder (or on the screen) before you press the button. Look all around the scene you have in front of you and think about what it is you are trying to capture.

Please, ask questions here, post some pictures, ask for advise on how some of your pictures could be improved. We don't bite. I like to think we are certainly one of the most friendly, yet honest, photography forums.

Duncan

[chrispie]

Thank you both for the good advice. Practice, practice, practice is what I need to do. And then practice some more! This site is a great learning tool.

[robski]

If your keen to get some bird shots with this camera you will need to get as close as 5 to 6 feet to the birds. An easy way to attract birds this close is to put a bird feeder near an open window and quitely sit by the window. If that is not possible then sit on a park bench and sprinkle some seed and/or nuts on the ground. Most of the compact camera zooms are x3 that range from wide angle to short telephoto which is ideal for portrait. For bird photography at a farther distance (20 feet) you will require a compact with atleast x10 zoom.

[henning]

If you really want to start with birds without a loooong lens, try the nearest park where the birds are used to have people very close. Feeding the pidgeons once a day will get them really close. Swans and ducks are easy too. Maybe not the most prestigious birds but the pictures can be great never the less.
Out in the wild you would have to sit still for quite a while in a hiding for any bird to get reasonably close.
Henning

[nirofo]

Hi chrispie

First thing I would recommend is to buy a good tripod, then go out and find some decent landscapes and practice like mad, taking shots at various zoom settings just to see what the camera is really capable of. I reckon you'll be surprised at the quality of shot you can get with this camera. I'm not sure how close your camera can focus on a subject, but I would try doing a few close up shots of flowers etc, try a few portraits. Concentrate on using the tripod as much as possible, there's very few situations where you can't get better results by using one!

Another thing, read everthing you can get your hands on about photography and the subjects you intend to photograph.

nirofo.

[robski]

As my long telephoto is in for repair and I was keen to get a shot of this cheeky fellow who waits on the gate for it's breakfast at 8 a.m. I took the shot with a short zoom (24-70mm) from a distance of about 3 to 4 feet. This would be similiar to using the A70. The european robin can be quiet bold and will come close to human contact. The first image is the full frame scaled for the web. The second image is a 500 x 500 crop for use on the web based on the 3mp resolution of the A70. This was taken in poor light, it has been very dull and cloudy in the UK since the new year.