Billyfrog

I am a new member, new to photography and new to the Nikon D5600. I'm 77 years old but have no knowledge of photography. I recently bought the camera in order to take pictures of animals in order to show grand sons what I tell them my wife and I see when we venture into nature. I have run into quite a learning curve. There are many tutorials on You Tube but they go very fast.

PAR4DCR Loc: A Sunny Place

Welcome to UHH Billy, glad you joined us. I was going to suggest UTube videos, (you can place them on pause and take notes and then restart them), along with your manual and tutorials from Nikon that you can view. You can leave your camera set to "Auto" until you get more used to it's operation. You can also ask questions here on UHH, many helpful and knowledgeable members. Hope I have been of some assistance to you.
Have fun, learn and enjoy the forum.

Don

Billyfrog

Thanks

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

Welcome to UHH
In addition to YouTube there are many books available on the various aspects of photography. Check your local library to see what they might have.
Most important, shoot as much as possible. Experiment, try different things.
Good luck and always have fun.

mundy-F2 Loc: Chicago suburban area

Enjoy for camera and hobby. I am learning along with you.
Mundy

Billyfrog

Thanks

catterar Loc: Angier, NC

Welcome Billy,
I'm 74 when I bought my D5300 5 years ago I got the "Nikon D5300 for Dummies" by Julie Adair King. I was able to sit with the book and camera and work through all the menus and settings at my own pace. There is a D5600 for dummies, used copies for under $10.00. It gave me all I needed to know when I took the camera to Antarctica 3 months later. The best thing you can do is go out and shoot and post images here.
Good luck,
Bob

gsmith051 Loc: Fairfield Glade, TN

Welcome to the forum.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Welcome to the forum.

Hint: if you click on "Quote Reply" we'll know to whom you are replying.

Billyfrog

Thanks

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Welcome. As mentioned, just put the camera in auto, with the lens in Autofocus (AF) and the VR - Active / On (Vibration Reduction). These cameras are built to deliver excellent results when you let the camera do they 'thinking' and you worry about pointing and zooming the camera at the action. When you get a taste of success, keep building on it.

Utube is free except for the time spent watching and the advertising. Use your <Pause> and <Rewind> keys and replay sections of the videos that seem too fast. Watch the time-marks and just click 'back' on the progress bar for 1:00 or the number minutes / seconds needed to just rewind and rewatch. Consider exhausting everything free before spending more money for pretty much the same thing.

Make sure you have the PDF copy of the manual so you can text-search for terms in the document on your computer. That PDF file can be downloaded from the Nikon site. Just google "Nikon D5600 user manual" and take the link that points to Nikon (free). One helpful setting is picking / using a specific group of AF points rather than letting the camera decide completely what / where to focus. In your manual is a section on "Focus" that starts at page 82. Consider using the 9-point dynamic area (page 87) clustered around the middle of the frame. The camera will grab and hold focus on anything covered by these nine points.

JeffL Loc: New Jersey

Welcome, Bill. As a fellow senior (78), I can relate to starting at the bottom of the learning curve. Most of the responses have been about learning the camera, not photography, which you said you’re new at. You can initially use the camera in “Auto” mode and let it make the adjustments in shutter speed and aperture. Your job is to think more about composition, light and focus. Knowing what you want as a subject, positioning yourself (and the camera) to take advantage of the light, or adding your own (flash), zooming and focusing to keep it sharp and subject dominant are all you should concentrate on initially. Those are the things that make for great photos. The camera is just a tool to capture that moment.

JeffL Loc: New Jersey

Welcome, Bill. As a fellow senior (78), I can relate to starting at the bottom of the learning curve. Most of the responses have been about learning the camera, not photography, which you said you’re new at. You can initially use the camera in “Auto” mode and let it make the adjustments in shutter speed and aperture. Your job is to think more about composition, light and focus. Knowing what you want as a subject, positioning yourself (and the camera) to take advantage of the light, or adding your own (flash), zooming and focusing to keep it sharp and subject dominant are all you should concentrate on initially. Those are the things that make for great photos. The camera is just a tool to capture that moment.

Vince68 Loc: Wappingers Falls, NY

Welcome to UHH Billy. In addition to the tips you have gotten so far from others, you may want to look for a book by Bryan Peterson called "Understanding Exposure" to help with learning the basics of photography that you mentioned. I think the most current version of his book is version 4.