I'm not going to go through all the comments, but in case it wasn't suggested. Check YouTube Tony Northrup. He has guides for a lot of cameras. They are about an hour long on most and are very informative. After that practice... a lot.

I shoot Canon, but if you give me the top of the line Sony, Nikon, Olympus, Pentax or any other brand I can still show you horrible pictures. Modern cameras are all good no matter what brand when it comes to still photography. Get out there and use the camera and get good at whatever you can afford and have fun. If you can buy the latest and greatest and want to change camera systems all the time, go for it. Otherwise let people use whatever they want without judgement. And if anyone feels that I am using the wrong brand, feel free to pm me for my address so you can send me the gear you feel is best.

I guess I got lucky and knew most of the insects that I saw. I appreciate you responding. I will try the manual focus on my next trip out and see if I'm fast enough to get it. The damselfly that I got I chased for 20 minutes before it finally gave up and sat still. Just wish I had gotten a better shot of it at smaller aperture. Next time.

Thanks for all the info. I will try this out and hopefully I will get some of the amazing images I have seen posted.

I recently purchased a 90mm macro lens and I finally had time to get out and try it for it's intended use. I learned a lot on my first trip out. (1) I learned that ISO 100 is a must. (2) I learned that I need to get a good tripod, my current one is garbage and I don't even use it. All shots are hand held because of this. (3) I need lighting so I can actually use ISO 100. I am willing to take any CC that you want to offer. I am aware that focus and grain is a bit of an issue, but I'm still learning. I just walked around and took pictures of anything that I saw moving that would sit still long enough for me to get a shot on.

Some type of fly

(Download)

Wolf spider

(Download)

Damsel fly???

(Download)

Honey bee?

(Download)

I have this and it makes me feel more at ease walking around. Very simple solution for a slightly overpriced design. But I guess you can't put a price on security.

I use Paintshop Pro X9. I don't get to shoot a lot and therefore don't edit a lot. It is cheap and works well.

Thank you everyone that replied, I'm short on time so I'm going to try to respond to everything at once. I shot at this shutter speed because I messed up and didn't realize it till I got home and downloaded the files, I would have definitely bumped it up if I had noticed, but still trying to learn to look at more than just my exposure meter before I take a shot. I went completely experimental in post, wanted to really see what the program could do, and believe me, if you saw what I did, especially with white balance, you would be shocked that it came out this good. I will always allow others to edit my posts, as long as you tell me what you did. If you use paintshop pro, it would be easier for me to understand, but I will figure it out even if you use lightroom or photoshop. The garden hose I was not 100% sure to get rid of, the spigot, was a must keep for me, brings back a lot of memories of working on farms getting a drink when I was a kid, I would never remove one from my photos because of the meaning to me. Now on to the multiple recommendations of tripod. I'm really trying to learn to get steady shots and during my learning process I don't want to use a tripod that much. I would rather fail and learn something, which I did on my latest outing, thanks to all of you, than use a tripod. I need a lot more practice, but I can already see improvements by learning from mistakes. Over exposed, I agree, but I was really trying to make the photo pop, and I went a little too far. This is why I have started to post my images. I took 84 pictures in this outing and kept 12. I experimented with a few things, some worked, some didn't. I learned a lot and hope to continue to learn.

Again thank you for all the advice and comments, it is greatly appreciated.

I have been out at much as I can practicing on steady handholding, composition, lighting, well... everything. I understand composition on portraits, but on shots like this, not so much. I think I have this composed well, but I would like the opinion of people that are far better qualified than I. I would also like some opinions on my post work which is why I put the sooc on as well. I'm very new to dslr's and doing post work, so I'm just trying to have fun with it. I went a little faster than I should have on post and messed up some areas, which I'm sure everyone will see, but I didn't want the beer can or the electrical to be showing. Also the house in the corner had to go. I used paintshop pro for all post work. The picture seems a bit soft, and my first thought is that I should have taken the aperture to f11 or even 16, increased iso to 200 or 400, possibly even 800 and raised the shutter speed 1 stop. Of course I only realize this when I get home and see it on the computer. I shot this at f8, ISO 100, 1/30 at 55mm. I used a Canon EF-S 55-250 IS STM, you know, that kit lens that is cheap to learn with.

Before anyone asks, yes I found the bird at the bottom and thought about getting rid of it, but I like it, so the bird stayed. Thought about getting rid of the Christmas/Drunk lights, but that was slightly beyond me, so they stayed. I will take any opinions/advice that I can get. Much appreciated.

SOOC

(Download)

Post

(Download)

I have never had a problem with auto white balance and I have the 80D. I have shot inside and outside. LED lighting, fluorescent (thank you spell check and fix), and full sun and cloudy sky. Never had a problem, but shoot in raw and do minor edits in post and you won't have to worry about it at all. I like my 80D, glad I bought it. Price was right, I have used Canon most of my life and am use to it. If price wasn't important to me would I have still bought the 80D? No, I would have gone full frame. But for the price I think the 80D is a nice camera and I am happy with it.

I was using center focus, but not single point. I use a canon 80D and the wide angle was a 18-55 is stm kit, zoom shots were 55-250 is stm kit. I want to invest in better glass, but just trying to learn a little more before I buy my next, probably the tamron 70-200 g2. I was using center weighted on the building shots, point on the goose and the man fishing, the only one that I really liked composition on. I got a dirty look from him, so I grabbed a couple shots quick and got out of there. I think I may have to calibrate the lenses to the camera, I thought I had a good focus point, but they all seem soft.

thanks for the help. I will start reading up on the rule of thirds and try to learn paintshop pro better. This was my first real attempt at doing any post work and I just hit the quick fix button and did a little on the exposure adjusting.

These are the first shots I am posting. I am wondering what I did right, if anything, and what I did wrong. Any advice is appreciated. I don't just want kind comments, I am trying to learn. If you just want to troll, I have no need for you. Actual advice please.

Thank you.

f5.6, 250mm, iso 100, 1/500

(Download)

f5.6, 175mm, iso 100, 1/400

(Download)

f5.6, 48mm, iso 100, 1/80

(Download)

f3.5, 18mm, iso 100, 1/640

(Download)

f5.6, 233mm, iso 100, 1/160

(Download)

I agree with looking at factory refurbished. You can get a lot more camera this way. I am a canon user and did a lot of research before I bought and I went with the Canon 80D. This seemed to be the right choice for ME. This may not be the right choice for you. Nikon also has refurbished cameras to look at. I saw that the 77D seems to be very user friendly and teaches, but I find this to be unnecessary as you will learn this information as you go along. Do a lot of research online. Read print on the cameras that you are considering and watch youtube videos and find out what options you are looking for. Portraits and landscapes look great on full frames, but the cost is significant. As you can see, I have a cropped sensor because of the cost difference. The 80D is about $950 refurbished with the 18-55mm lens (a good lens). Pair this with the 55-250mm and you will have a nice starting point. Also the 70D is at a good price point as well. I can't give too much info on Nikon, but I have seen others talk highly about the 7200. The rebel series in canon is also used by a lot of people. Nikons 3xxx and 5xxx series are others that you may want to look at. If you get into either of these you are somewhat committed to the lenses, especially if you start to buy higher quality glass. I would recommend not upgrading glass too quickly (people will probably crucify me for this statement), but if you buy a canon and after a year you want to go to Nikon, you may be stuck with some nice glass that you have to try to sell.

Most importantly, this is your decision, your money, and you are the one that needs to be happy with your decision. I don't know anything about mirrorless cameras, so I can be of no use to you there, but I did a lot of research before I bought my 80D. I chose it because I have used canon my entire life and it's what I'm use to. If I had it to do all over again would I get the 80D? Yes... and No. I would love to have a full frame camera, but that would mean that I would have had to wait a lot longer to find the extra money for one.

I have gone on about a lot of options and things to research, but it is a lot of money to get into photography and I don't want to see anyone spend this type of money and not be happy with their decision. I would recommend one thing above all others. If and when you decide to buy, whether it be Canon, Nikon, Sony, Pentax, Leica or what ever. Buy it from a reputable seller. If you do not have a local camera store, which I do not, buy from the manufacturer themselves, or companies such as B&H, Adoroma, Cameta (I never have, but have seen others praise them) or some other company that you can trust. Avoid gray market. Don't be afraid of factory refurbs on lenses or bodies. Used from a reputable seller is also a very good option.

Good luck to you on your purchase and I wish you the best.

I want to thank everyone that helped me answer my questions. I think I need to make more time to get out and just take a lot more photographs. All of this information has been very helpful. I will start watching more of the videos as well to learn my post software better. I look forward to posting some images in the future and getting some good honest feedback. I have thick skin, so I know I can take it.