Your 3 top DSLR tips for a newbie

Top 3 tips for me were:-

1. Practice

2. Practice

3. Practice

I have to go with the emphasis on taking photographs so my three tips would be;

1 Take lots of photographs of lots of things - a friend would walk to work and take a walk at lunchtime and come home with 100+ photos every day! 99 of them were rubbish but so what?
2 Visit a web site like PhotoSIG or for more oddball stuff of sometimes questionable quality (IMO) AltPhotos and get inspired and also see what others do and if it works.
3 Work on the basics like always get the focus point you want using the autofocus - personally I'd let the camera do its stuff on exposure but keep an eye on it. I would suggest using Av or Tv depending on what you want to control and keep an eye on what aperture/speed it's suggesting. Then learn about how to change that exposure. As was said reading the histogram is a great skill which I still don't have.

I need to cheat and add one! Shoot RAW and use something like SilkyPix to begin with.

Mike

Only one tip. Get yourself the best tripod money can buy( your money that is) and use it. It will slow you down and makes you think twice before you press the shutter. The quality of your pictures will improve a lot, believe me.

Martin.

I'll agree with that Martin..

don't get put off/intimidated by all the nikannon users, especially when they claim their gear is better than yours.

It's you the photographer that makes the photograph not the gear, or as the saying go's...... Bad workmen blame their own tools. So you have a Pentax tool so your halfway there.

Don't agree with that at all!

You'll feel really conspicuous using a tripod - I know I do. I agree it slows you down but I think it creates a barrier to actually taking photographs all the time just again and again.

It depends what you're shooting and where but in general I find a tripod a darned nuisance.

All personal opinions of course.

Mike

Mike, I too felt really self conscience using a tripod at first, but I use one a lot now.
It has another advantage too - people seem to assume you are a professional because you are using a tripod, and go out of their way to avoid being in your frame. No tripod and people see you as just another happy snapper and just won't care if they walk through your frame.

Hi Mike,
The OP said this:
Hardly a combination that is know for its speed, right? Call me "old school" if you like, but everyone knows what the most common problems are, when starting out with SLR photography. Unwanted movement, wonky horizons, bad compositions.......you name it. In fact......there is only one type of photography I can think of that justifies Not using a tripod. And somehow I don't think the OP want to dive in the world of photo journalism or documentary,yet.....
Just IMHO, of course.

Martin.

I think we will agree to differ on this.

I like to be unobtrusive and merge into the background so I can get on and make my mistakes so a tripod wouldn't be such a great idea for me.

But each to his own we've given the OP something to think about which was the whole point!

I'm sure we do agree that actually taking photographs is the real key - I know sheer volume helped me when I came back to photography after a 20 year break.

Mike

I agree with all of the above. I am new to photography and seeing the standards on here I didn't want to post any of my pics to be laughed at. But, people have been really helpful and not only said that something was a duff shot, but why they thought that and what I could have done to improve it.

Also, have a go at the competitions. I've found that really helped focus my mind on the shot.

And has been sid many times...have fun