brrywill

That is a good article and explains it well. To get started with the least amount of brain clutter, the best "rule of thumb" is to focus one third into the scene. That will give you the greatest percentage of useable photographs until you master the subtleties of the hyper-focal calculator. The only variables are the apeture and proximity to your subject.

oldtool2 Loc: South Jersey

It is so easy to get overwhelmed! I have been there many times! Just slow down and take baby steps, things will come to you in time. Just remember, what you learn today can be added to tomorrow. It doesn't all have to be all learned at one time.

Good luck, and remember that if a day goes by and you didn't learn something it was a wasted day, but it doesn't have to be about photography.

Jim D

axiesdad Loc: Monticello, Indiana

LOL. I've had my Nikon D3100 for a few months now and I'm still trying to figure out what all those buttons do. If you gotten so far as to be studying about histograms you are going great guns!

ole sarg Loc: south florida

It seems to me that really great photographs are those that are composed well. I don't think I ever heard Adams, Capa, Lang etc discuss hyperfocal or histograms but they did discuss composition.

bobmcculloch Loc: NYC, NY

Tracy, both are good to know and understand but not REQUIRED, I seldom if ever look at the histogram in the field, too involved in framing and shooting, if in doubt I set auto bracket at +/- 2/3 and shoot 3 shots on my T4i, hyperfocal I only use when using ultrawide, just use a focus point about 1/3 into the scene for landscapes, focus point on the eyes in portraits, oh BTW I only use one focus point on both my T4i and T1i, usually the center point, simplify your shooting and learn as you go. You get to know when to change things a bit.

riverlass Loc: northern California

Yes it is.... :thumbup:

gemlenz Loc: Gilbert Arizona

shoot, shoot, shoot, practice, practice, practice...that's the key...head knowledge is good...you have to apply it in real situations...it's like taking a course in music appreciation...you learn all about famous composers and types of music... it does not necessarily make you a better musician....the more pictures you take...the more proficient you will become as a photographer...

amehta Loc: Boston

With these and many other topics in photography, there are several aspects which can be discussed:
1. the basic concept
2. the technical details
3. the practical details and how to apply it
It can help to know which is being discussed at any point, so you can decide if it needs more attention or less based on your immediate goals.

For example, with hyperfocal distance (HFD):
1. This is a special case of the depth of field (DoF) topic, getting a range of distances in "perceptibly acceptable focus" while setting the focus distance at one specific distance.

2. For the technical details of HFD, first study the technical details of DoF and then solve the equations with the far distance set to infinity. Or, at least for now, skip it. :-)

3. The practical details are that it depends on the sensor size, focal length, and aperture, and the HFD is the focus distance which should be used to get things fairly near and at infinity acceptably sharp. For a given sensor size, using a smaller aperture (f/22 instead of f/4) and shorter focal length (24mm instead of 200mm) allows things much closer to be sharp.

Look at HFD/DoF tables to get a sense of the HFD distances for the focal lengths and apertures you are likely to use. This gets a little tricky because there are two variables and there is not a simple relationship between them.

amehta Loc: Boston

There is a 16 page topic generally disputing this. (Shoot, Shoot, Shoot...,Practice, Practice Practice,...Will It Make You Better??) :-)

Kingmapix Loc: Mesa, Arizona

We've come a long way since picking up a Brownie Hawkeye, pointing it, the sliding the shuttle lever. Our results are better now, but it takes some learnin' that's for sure.

Think how you are stimulating your brain learning the ins and outs of digital photography. For us older folks this is good therepy. If fact it is necessary for staving off brain decay.

Pick your time well for your studying. Then learn one thing at a time and practice it with your camera and lenses.

Good luck in your future.

stan0301 Loc: Colorado

Your camera is happy to do your thinking for you--forget the "stuff" and start taking pictures--which will be nearly always ok--thanks to the camera--once you consistently take good pictures then you can spend some time tinkering with the settings. But taking pictures--thousands of them--is vastly more important than spending time using and doing things Ansel Adams didn't
Stan

amehta Loc: Boston

I either disagree with this a little or a lot, not sure which yet.

Racmanaz Loc: Sunny Tucson!

The last sentence confuses me :)

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

TracyT4i, the first lesson my teacher, a professional photographer, taught us that there are only three controls on any camera; aperture, shutter speed, and ISO (ASA and DIN for us older people). Everything else, no matter how it gets titled, is just a combination of those three controls. I suggest you learn and understand thoroughly the relationship between aperture and shutter speed first and then learn and understand thoroughly how ISO affects aperture or shutter speed as one or the other is held constant. Once you have good understanding of the relationship the three have, most everything else (program mode, aperture mode, shutter mode, etc) will either make sense to you or will be much easier to explain.

As for hyperfocal distance, the aperture, focal distance, and you system size (normally film or sensor size along with what is called "circle of confusion") is what controls the hyperfocal distance. There are other terms involved with hyperfocal distance, like diffusion for one, but all this can be found in books and on line for a more thorough understanding. Also, there are free sites and applications that will calculate the depth of field or hyperfocal distance.

Histograms shows luminosity of either over all light or luminosity of the primary colors (how many pixels are between "dark" and "light" and their location on that scale of "brightness").

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

I agree with you on this one. There are so many times I have to use my knowledge to alter settings to get the picture.