New Gal, new hobby!

[Donna]

Hi guys and gals out there, I'm new to this forum and also new to photography. I have always been interested in photography but never had the ways and means to get started for real. I now own a SLR Canon EOS 300 and a couple of lens' (28-90mm and 70-300mm) and was just wondering if anyone can give me any advice/tips on how to get the best out of my images and my camera. I'm into landscape images not portraits and also want to try my hand at photographing areoplanes. So any advice will be greatly appreciated, thanks Donna

[srphotography]

Welcome!

Although this is for digital the same applies for film:-
http://www.srphotography.co.uk/digit...rture-iso.html

Hope you find the information of some use.

Steve.

[Donna]

Thanks Steve, that's really useful. I'll try out different apertures and shutter speeds, see how I get on!! Thanks again.

Donna.

[DjCrackers]

Hi Donna,

I have something to add for your keen interest in Aeroplane Photography.

I took a great shot of a Virgin Blue plane a few years back, apart from being very hard now to take photos of aeroplanes - post sep 11, it is important to use a wide angle lens.

I see you have a 28-90mm lens, this will be sufficient if you just want to take a photo of the plane at the 28mm zoom length if you are to take it from a close up distance.

Your EOS 300 will have an automatic setting for focus, shutter speed and aperture so you will have no dramas creating a great looking shot.

However, if you are taking the photos of the planes from a distance, you will require your 300mm zoom lens for that purpose. The problems you will encounter however, are light problems. When you use a long zoom lens, the amount of light that can be absorbed by the film is less, therefore, the shutter speed is automatically reduced to offset this inbalance. The problem is though that the speed that planes travel at - this is just not a good solution.

To combat this problem you have to do one or all of these tips:

* Use a ISO 400/800 speed film
* Use a tripod (to prevent camera shake)
* Manually set your shutter speed to 1000 for ISO 400 or 1500 for ISO 800
* Take your pictures in a sunny day with the sun above your camera and not on a cloudy day (as there is less light)

This should enable you to take good quality shots without too much grain, if you can avoid using the ISO 800 film... twood be best.

For a more advanced way of doing things - if your EOS 300 has a manual F-Stop adjustment or Exposure Compensation toggle, try taking three photos, one at the usual position of the F-Stop, then the second at -1 f-stop and then the third at +1 f-stop, you can then, once the film has been processed, distingiush what you need to use in certain circumstances as changing the f-stop will allow or dis-allow more light.

Hope this helps

[JTF]

A good sturdy tripod is a must for quality images.

[joekid]

the opposite goes for landscapes, you need a good tripod and slowish film 100asa, with small f stop say f 22 and as slow shutter speed ,try this at a waterfall and see the water like a milky mist,also with landscapes focus a third into your chosen scene (manual focus) good luck Donna,

[nikonuser]

Hi Donna - welcome

Chris

www.newsarum.co.uk

[stevedevil]

Hi Donna, Im new here too, but not to photography..

The best way to learn how the camera works is to put it in Manual and have a go..

You will need to understand the ISO ( Film Speed ), f stop ( Aperture, Depth Of Field ) and Shutter speed ( how quick is seconds and th/sec the shutter operates )

Your EOS300 has an exposure meter built in it, and this helps get the correct exposure on what you are shooting, so I would start using 200ISO film, as this reacts to shallow light better that the ISO 100, then decide what you want out of the shot, so a Low f stop ( say f4 ) will make the subject crisp and clear but the backdrop more out of focus, and sat a f22 will mean that everything is in sharp focus through the shot..

Then look at the light meter whilst half pressing the shutter, and adjust the shutter speed until the light meter shows correct exposure,

Also as a rule.......

Overexpose Dark Subjects, Underexpose Whites.....

Happy Snapping

Steve

[Manamarak]

Hi guys,

Stevedevil is right when he says:

The best way to learn how the camera works is to put it in Manual and have a go..

You will need to understand the ISO ( Film Speed ), f stop ( Aperture, Depth Of Field ) and Shutter speed ( how quick is seconds and th/sec the shutter operates )

As a professional photographer, I can assure you that the best place to start is always with the basics. You know what they say, you need to walk before you can run.

Anyway, there is a small selection of articles dealing with the basics of photography (whether digital or film) which can be found at:

Basic Photography Tips | Illustrated Photography

I had a small hand in helping research some of these, and hope you find them useful.