burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Read, try, read, try, read, try. Photograph daily.

Get Tony Northup’s *Stunning Digital Photography* and Bryon Peterson’s *Understanding Exposure* and read them. I know you hate it, but FORCE yourself to read the manual (dirty little secret: nearly EVERYONE hates Japanese camera manuals because of their ridiculously poor translations, and the other 2% are lying!). I promise, at some point past reading #2, it begins to make sense!

Learning anything complex is hard work. It’s like digging through a brick wall with a Swiss Army knife, but on the other side of the wall is a world of creative possibilities you will live, love, and use for life.

twinhearts Loc: Southwestern Michigan

David, the original poster stated his location in his post. He lives in the north suburbs of Houston.

Bill_de Loc: US

I sure missed that! Thank You

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tomcat

If you are not good at learning from books and have trouble following videos or youtube, then I suggest you join a camera club where a live person can show you. Otherwise, you seem to be limited in your choices of knowledge input.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

I quick answer that likely incorporates everyone else's comments is "Live Long Enough". My first DSLR that I bought in 2010 I still learn new things about it from time to time. DSLRs are not quite as complex as Photoshop (software) which has a never ending learning curve. But digital is far beyond film / paper / chemical photography. And even that has tricks I've never learned fully since 1978.

Pegasus Loc: Texas Gulf Coast

I'm located in the north suburbs of Houston, but I'm a Nikon fanboy, as they say here.

Nikonman44

You are doing fine. Practice practice practice . You can attend classes, join a foto club and what I suggest is you click on ecpert photography and let Josh share ideas ( no cost) but probably the best class on what all to do.

When you click on Expert photography, tell Josh I sent you. he is also a Brit and does a heck of a job making it easy and simple to learn.

John Delves

sirlensalot Loc: Arizona

Welcome to the hog! I think you answered your own question. Camera clubs can be a good option.

paulrph1 Loc: Washington, Utah

[quote=dborengasser]What is a good way to learn to fully use all the features of a "real" camera? I bought a used Canon D60 and a Tamron 18-270 mm lens. I'm OK with the automatic features (turning the top left knob CCW (counter clock wise) from "fully automatic, but clockwise features are a mystery.

I'm not good at learning from the manual, or other books. I have trouble following Utubes/video tutorials. I have learned other things when I have a knowledgeable person with me to ask questions.I am considering visiting a camera club, and looking for an introductory course at a local college or Leisure Learning course. I live in the north suburbs of Houston.

Some things came to mind:
"ALL" it will never happen. Photography is a lifetime of experience and it is not all in he books.
At the same time? that is not possible either.
Practice, Practice, Practice and then Practice again. It is cheap with digital and expect to delete most of what you take.
There is no such thing as the perfect picture. But expect the best you can do.
Photography is the study of light as recorded in relationship to film.
Take one aspect at a time and study that. e.g. ISO, aperture, shutter speed. Depth of field, lens aspects, color balance, light temperatures, take one at time and play with it for a week, maybe two until you get the basics. There you have a start.
Do not expect perfection!
Come see me and I will help you. I work cheaply (free)
Rome was not built in a day so do not expect to understand photography in a week.
Remember a good photo contains many aspects, light, composition, sharpness, depth of field, mood, feelings which are many and diverse, posing, subject,
Take multiple shots and select the best ones and delete the rest. Do not be afraid to delete.
Expecting to get the perfect photo is like trying to find the perfect car.
Expect to spend some money as your talents increase. Equipment is not cheap and there is much.
Photography is subjective so what you like someone else might not like.
That should get you started.
Good luck

SusanFromVermont Loc: Southwest corner of Vermont

First, you have to decide what method of learning is best for you. There are so many options out there to choose from, you ought to be able to find more than one to pursue. As OP have said, you also have to be persistent, put in the work involved in learning, and practice a lot.

One source that I did not see mentioned was other forums like this one. DP Review and Cambridge in Colour are two other good ones. Also, follow CreativeLive and take advantage of their free "On Air" video tutorials. Some of the instructors also have their own websites, where there is generally a mix of free and for a fee information. There are also a variety of websites that can be very helpful, such as DPS [digital photography school] and Digital Photo Mentor. Look around online and you will find more sites than you will ever want to look at! The Canon website may also be a source - I am a Nikon user, and Nikon has plenty of helpful information on their site.

Hope this helps.
Susan

Streets Loc: Euless, TX.

He asks a question and then says "I'm not good at learning"??? Why would anyone offer this guy any advice?

mizzee Loc: Boston,Ma

Adult Ed classes almost all have photography classes. Also your local camera store may offer classes. My local store, Hunt's, near Boston, has classes and one on one tutorials.

iampewter Loc: Bason, TX

Don't be discouraged. I bought my first DSLR, Nikon D100, and was so overwhelmed that I didn't use it for two years. I just kept shooting film. Then while on a transatlantic cruise I ran out of film and couldn't find it anywhere. I was forced to use the DSLR or not take pictures. One of the crew members stopped to talk to me about the camera and with his help in just a few minutes, I had a good enough understanding of the camera that I was comfortable using it. I have learned much since then, mostly trial and error, but the bottom line is keep shooting. The two most helpful books were Bryon Peterson’s *Understanding Exposure and David Busch's guide for the camera. I too live north of Houston and any classes or clubs are at least an hour away so not really an option for me. At least with digital the images are free so shoot, shoot, shoot. I learn best by doing it wrong until I get it right. Hope this helps.

AlfredU Loc: Mooresville, NC

Good point! As I pointed out, it takes effort. Maybe even getting out of his comfort zone!

Nikonman44

[quote=paulrph1]

WOW that was a mouthful and then some. But it was well worth reading again.

I still say ( as I did before) practice, practice and more practice . Josh the founder of expert Photography is still a great source for help.

Try what he suggest and then decide if he helped you.

Good luck and dont forget digital is really really cheap compared to what we had to do in the past as in prints.