gator81 Loc: Jeffersonville Indiana

Hello everyone, only in the last couple of years have I become more interested in photography and editing. I have a canon 70D kit and enjoy taking all kinds of pictures. I am still very much amature and for friends have done weddings, birthdays, and church events. Some times just go walking and take pictures of whatever catches my interest. I am also a grandfather and have taken hundreds of photo's of my kids and grandkids.
Right now I am trying to do better with my camera and work with the greater potential by using the other settings and not just shoot in auto. I have been on different facebook sites and another site to learn a lot more and it has helped me a lot but there is nothing like first hand experience :) I still struggle with the three (speed, iso, apature) in which one time I am spot on and the next time I am lossed :/
I don't get to get out as much as I am an old veteran and now fighting with a disability so taking pictures is something I can do with some limits. I am trying to save for a better lens but it feels like saving pebbles to build a bridge to cross a river :/ I am sure a lot of you can relate to that :)

I am considering the camera club in Louisville but with another post i have read I am starting to have my doubts and will keep working with what i can and take more pictures :)


Thanks

Lane

Laura72568 Loc: Anderson TX

Welcome Lane! I think you’ll find lots of info here. I think a camera club is also a great idea.
It took a while for me to understand the exposure triangle, but once you get it, it will help so much.
I learned by spending a week or two using aperture priority mode only, a week or two using shutter priority mode only. Then spent a few weeks deciding which (aperture or shutter) would be better for each shot. Then after a lot of practice I moved on to manual.
I’m sure everyone does it differently but that was my process to move beyond auto mode.
If you need anything, just ask. Someone will help you.
Most of all, have fun!

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

Welcome, Lane. My only piece of advice: Font try to learn it all at once and don’t try to buy everything at once.

Andy

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

Lane welcome to the forum. Camera clubs in my opinion are good with the programs on techniques and competitions if you are interested. Also you can possibly meet other vets. Happy Memorial day from a Vet

Dan Downie Loc: Rochester, NY

There is a plethora of information to be had from videos on YouTube to help you understand the relationship between aperature, shutter speed and ISO. Personally, I've never really used auto except in the very early stage just to see what settings the camera chose to use as a starting point. However, auto chooses settings base on the scene, not necessarily your intended subject. I'm not going to a beat horse with information that is readily available at nauseum on YouTube, which is far better than any response you can receive here or any other forum merely because they are videos that show you step by step by step of whatever it is you want to learn, including menu settings that are camera manufacturer or model specific. You cannot beat watching someone do what it is that you want to do. Try numerous lessons by multiple presenters. The more you watch, the more you learn. Here's 4 important tidbits for you. 1) put your camera on spot metering so you meter your subject for proper exposure, not the whole scene, unless shooting landscape or other large scale subjects where evaluative metering may be a better choice. 2) Aperature controls depth of field, that is, how much is in acceptable focus from foreground to background, and in relationship to your subject. 3) Shutter speed controls motion, including compensating for camera shake - faster shutter speeds can freeze motion. 4) ISO increases/decreases the sensitivity of your sensor. Optimally, strive to shoot at your base ISO (typically 100-200) for the best quality. However, that is not always possible unless shooting outside on a sunny day. You can play with the other two (aperature / shutter speed ) to help keep the ISO down. The whole point of trying to keep your ISO down is because it introduces noise (grain) into the picture. Some handle noise better than others. You will eventually discover that ISO does not actually increase the sensitivity of your sensor, it's just the easiest way to describe the result instead of going the technical route in that it amplifies the ambient light. Soooooo... watch videos, practice and have fun! Happy shooting!

joehel2 Loc: Cherry Hill, NJ

Welcome to the forum.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Welcome to the forum.

photophly Loc: Old Bridge NJ

Welcome to the Hog

ebbote Loc: Hockley, Texas

Welcome to the Hog Lane, enjoy.

jack schade Loc: La Pine Oregon

Welcome to the forum Lane.

Jack

gator81 Loc: Jeffersonville Indiana

that's a good idea and when using the one setting I can see what the camera auto sets for the others to gain more understanding on the combination. I was trying to do a reply to laura and messed up hehe

gator81 Loc: Jeffersonville Indiana

thank you Andy, I have already put in over 200 hours studying online and wanted more. I then seem to do better when stepping away for awhile to let the info sink in and I would remember more when I would be out taking pictures :) Then you just want to learn more :)

gator81 Loc: Jeffersonville Indiana

Thank you for your service, I was nothing special but I was really surprised. I was in the Army as a Cook, I was blessed to be stationed at Ford Island Hawaii and I was a cook on a boat! And all I could do was think if I wanted to cook on a boat I should of joined the Navy. After that thought I ended up working in a Navy Garrison cooking as we had army eat there and there was also a Marine cook there too and that lasted a year.
but again thank you for your service :)

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

That’s the right track.

Nothing builds confidence like experience, both shooting and post processing.

And thank you for your service!

gator81 Loc: Jeffersonville Indiana

Thank you for the info, I have been watching so many and have really enjoyed one site that I would enjoy sharing but from what I read of the rules that's a no no :/ I also agree to watch how different people work to get the same result as the combined information may give you more of a complete understanding of what your trying to do and helps you keep an open mind. As for iso I just cannot understand why cameras would have such a high setting of them if you really wouldn't go that high. My camera has a max iso of 128000.. and I have not been in a place to go above 400.
now as a question for speed, I have been practicing by shooting a running fan. I have kit lens's so 4.5 is the lowest I can go and I was using lights to make the room brighter. It would seem even with 1/1000 I was not getting a still shot. When looking at my meter inside the camera my iso was find and so was my aperature. Now if I took the same picture at a slow speed with a flash, I could go at 1/60 and get a still shot. I still working on it just to experiment with freezing the picture but wanted to see what you may think.