waegwan Loc: Mae Won Li

Amen

blackest Loc: Ireland

Getting it right in camera with jpeg pretty much limits you to photographs where all the detail is within a 5 stop range. Lets say it is a sunny day blue skies the odd cloud and you take a photo of a car under a tree in the background you can see blue sky. You take your picture of the car it looks fine on the screen not too dark not too light but what color is the sky, I'll tell you it is white not blue because the scene has too much dynamic range. Ok you increase the shutter speed and finally the sky looks blue but you can barely make out the car as its hidden in the shadows.

One solution maybe to add some fill flash, camera adds enough to keep the subject at the right tone and lift it out the shadows.

Otherwise you need to capture raw your camera can capture about a stop more bright detail than the jpeg will use and it can pull more detail from the shadows. Off course that means you need to make some tonal adjustments to get everything into range so the cars the right brightness and the sky is still blue. If your happy with white skies then keep shooting jpeg.

Back with film your Darkroom tech would have been dodging and burning to get the best print possible or you would go to walmart and get white skies again.

leftj Loc: Texas

It was just today when UHHer posted there is never a need for a tripod.

leftj Loc: Texas

For some, starting out in Auto is the best for them. For others who want to start getting into the nitty gritty elements of photography going manual coupled with lot of study or classes is the way to go. It's up to the person behind the camera.

Rick from NY Loc: Sarasota FL

Seems like too many replies here are not specific to digital photography advice. Too many comments here can be applied to film photography as well. The OP asked about advice on digital photography.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

Fall in love with a camera in your hands. That unfortunately leads to early divorce, especially if expensive gear is in the horizon.

leftj Loc: Texas

Wow! Where did that come from?

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

40 Years ago, I bought the cheapest UV filter I could find, from a bargain bin in a camera store. I think it cost $1.00. It was reserved for lubricated portraits.

Cokin Filters came along later, and once I got their tools, the Vaseline vignetter and pantyhose diffusers went in the trash.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

So? Photography is photography. Digital is not a subset, and neither is film.

Toby

Either they didn't tell you the whole story or you weren't paying attention. Whenever you take one of the controls away from the camera you must monitor the other 2 to be sure that as they float they are always in an acceptable range. In using Aperture priority set the ISO so that in the worst lighting the ISO will always be high enough to prevent the speed from getting too low. Aperture priority is a good technique when you want to highlight your subject from the background. Of course for landscapes you must go smaller to get a good depth of field.

ChackbayGuy Loc: South Louisiana

Couldn't agree more with bkyser! Worst advice I ever got was "pick an expert and stick to them".

Seems to me most modern digital cameras, even fairly low end, are like a well equipped shop. You wouldn't use a welding rig to join two pieces of lumber or use wood glue to join two pieces of metal. You likely would pick the tool for the job at hand. Why should a camera be different?

I hark back to the film days and had a full darkroom, did most of my own "photoshop" work with the enlarger, filters and the developing trays. Now I use most all of the settings on my D750 and D7500, depending on lens mounted and shot desired. Love to shoot gymnastics with my Grandson, air shows whenever I can (ground and air to air) and working at learning Macro. Am having a blast and spend time learning from my "delete" shots. Keep on having fun and "Les ses bonne tonne roulet"

anotherview Loc: California

Worst tip: Buy, carry, and use an expensive tripod -- as holdover advice from the film era, now passe since the introduction of effective image stabilization.

Of course, some conditions do call for use of a tripod for an intended result. But as a rule, a photographer could carry an inexpensive fold-up tripod for those conditions.

For example, a tripod can help to achieve the fad effect of making the flow of water appear blurry, by enabling the use of a slow shutter speed for this result.

Overall, though, a photographer can do without a tripod nowadays in the digital era.

leftj Loc: Texas

Well, at least he's moved from "never need a tripod" to "sometimes you need a tripod". We're making progress.

Bob Boner

What Gene said!!

MaryFran Loc: Front Royal, VA

I am laughing about that. A couple years ago, when I was a member of a camera club over on the Eastern Shore of Delaware, a friend in that club said, "Carry your camera everywhere." I do that more and more often now even when I am going places I have already been many times. And, almost every single time, I find something begging for a picture. That is the BEST advice I have ever been given.