burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

There's an old saying around the Internet: RTFM. It means: "Read The Fine Manual." (Okay, okay, so if you are trying to translate Jenglish (Japanese English) back to English, the F might stand for something stronger!)

If I've learned anything in my 59 years, it is that most people are unwilling or undisciplined enough to RTFM, so those of us who ACTUALLY read the manual are the ones who rise to the top of our fields.

There is no substitute for the learning formula used by the military and others for decades: SPQRRR, which means "Survey, Peruse, Question, Read, Review, Report". The essence of this learning process is REPETITION.

You survey the material rapidly, to get an overview sense of what you are going to learn.

You peruse, or view more slowly, to get an outline structure of the material in your head.

You begin to ask questions about it, based on that structure, to build interest.

You read it in detail, for understanding, which means thinking about every sentence.

Then you review it, perhaps several times, to be sure the details fit into the framework where they should, and everything comes into perspective.

Finally, you make use of the material in some way, perhaps by your actions, or by teaching others.

TRUE learning takes, at a minimum, three repetitions or encounters of anything to form synaptic connections in the brain. Most people require as many as SIX repetitions of something before they commit it to memory or actionable intelligence.

Another way of saying this is that a Presentation (survey) leads to Education (perusal to draw out interest), which leads to Instruction (a step-by-step revelation of how to do something), which leads to Training (immersive, hands-on practice), which requires Facilitation (expert hand-holding and feedback)… All of these steps lead to Learning, which over time leads to Development of the individual.

As a portrait photography trainer, a decade ago, it was my duty to write a context-specific manual and video script, explaining how to use a Canon EOS 20D with Tamron 28-75mm zoom to photograph school portraits.

My first task was to read the camera manual, cover to cover, three times. That gave me an excellent sense of which features we needed to use, and which we should ignore.

Then, I took the camera into my studio and put it through its paces, making test shots of standard targets, varying every single menu selection on the digital beast in isolation from the rest.

After making unadjusted 8x12 prints of each frame, along with careful notations of the metadata, I studied the results and compared them with the very best prints we could make from film, both optically, and from scans of Portra 160 negatives.

I determined a finer range of tests, and made images of both test targets and live human subjects, to determine the settings we would use. These tests confirmed most of what I learned by reading the manual! They also gave us the sweet spots of performance (best menu settings for our product) for the camera and lens.

Finally, armed with knowledge of what would work best to duplicate and perhaps even improve upon the results we had achieved for years with film, I was able to "report" — write and illustrate a step-by-step manual for mere mortals to use to set up their cameras. From that, I produced training videos.

My point is that the help you need to learn anything is right in your own head... It begins with a commitment to the process of learning, the patience you need to be methodical, and the faith you need to believe you can learn something new.

Digital photography sent hundreds of thousands of film photographers reeling. I watched many of them retire, switch to other careers, or cling to film, declaring it somehow "better" while the rest of the market proved them wrong.

Truthfully, I believe most of them were just scared fartless by the daunting tasks of learning new concepts, learning to type, and learning to use computers... No one had ever really given them the FRAMEWORK for learning, and held them to it.

Sorry for the long lecture... But it is a good day to get on my soapbox.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Set your dial to "P" instead of "A", the processor will then judge a scene and use presets loaded into the camera to pick the settings for those conditions. It does much better than "A" when you don't have time or know which manual settings to use. When I am not on full manual my 6D stays on "P".
"P" stands for "program" mode, though some call it "professional" since the presets were developed by professionals for Canon.

A simple easy to use book is: Canon EOS Rebel T3i / 600D For Dummies which is available as a book, kindle, nook and pdf.

MarkD Loc: NYC

There are two books that I recommend. "Digital Field Guide Canon T3i" is a combination guide to your camera, basic course in photography, and a glossary of digital and photographic terms. "Understanding Photography Field Guide", by Bryan Peterson covers more topics than his other book, "Understanding Exposure".


oops! Sorry latebloomer. I didn't mean to hit the quote button.

craggycrossers Loc: Robin Hood Country, UK

Sounds like you need a course to help you learn the basics (and then more) at your own pace ....... this set of videos is highly instructional, easy to comprehend, deals with one topic at a time and allows you to go back and re-watch whenever and as frequently as you wish ....... and it won't cost you a penny ..... er, sorry, dime !

http://www.photographycourses.biz/videos

Laura72568 Loc: Anderson TX

Don't give up...it took me over two years of online classes, online searches, and constant reading, etc to finally get it to "click" and make sense to me. I started shooting in Auto but after a few classes I decided to shoot only aperture priority and shutter priority with Auto ISO. Then I started messing with the ISO. Then I took an online class that taught me to shoot in Manual. It was a long process for me. But it finally "clicked" and now I shoot in Manual the majority of the time and it doesn't overwhelm me anymore. Everyone has a different learning curve. Just remember to enjoy the process --- don't lose the enjoyment of taking the actual photo!

Mr PC Loc: Austin, TX

If you do Kindle books, Scott Kelby's series, Brian Peterson's Understanding Exposure and Tony Northrup's Stunning Digital Photography all helped me a lot when I was starting out. Northrup has hours and hours of video tutorials linked to his book that are very good. Here's one example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PN9R0D3pF0

Good luck!

latebloomer Loc: Topeka, KS

The great thing about Kindle books is that they are also accessible on your smart phone.

Ruthiel Loc: Las Vegas

This is exactly what I have for my Nikon model . Excellent advice! Your manual is a technical guide and it's not user friendly BUT keep it handy it does have all the information you need . Go ahead and shoot auto... Look at the settings the camera chose for you and then shoot the same scene again varying those settings and looking at the results...soon you will know how to change all your settings without looking it up and you will see what those settings do. Keep it fun .

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

Akron, it might take you a day or two to do everything you've been told!! :lol: :lol:
SS

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

Akron, it might take you a day or two to do everything you've been told!! :lol: :lol:
SS
See, it took me TWO tries just to post THIS !!

Crwiwy Loc: Devon UK

Lots of free videos on using this camera on YouTube and there is a good video of a B&H lecture on YouTube.

For example;
Canon T3i (600D) Settings & Functions Overview - "How to" Tutorial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlXVzOZtlII

What Each Function Of The Canon T3I Or 600D Does & How To Use them (3parts)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYz7_C16eRg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2-FORPiccU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7rnCGgfYmA :thumbup:

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

While any modern camera can be used in automatic mode, to master photography you really need to understand the use of aperture and shutter speed and how it impacts not only exposure but depth of field. Understanding this and applying that knowledge makes you a photographer, not a taker of snapshots.

heyjoe Loc: cincinnati ohio

best way to learn is practice ,go out and start shooting,
we all have our own style,some like wide,some like zoom,
some like flash,some like tripod and slow shutter,

Gemgirl1 Loc: Grand Rapids, MI & Shalimar, FL

D

What a great suggestion wish you would have been around to give this advice to me when I got my first digital camera.

kayakbob Loc: Placerville, CA

People learn differently, you may want to check out the camera specific videos from Blue Crane Digital (bluecranedigital.com). When I was first learning how to use my Canon 60D I bought both DVD's for my camera to help shorten my learning curve. Since photography is a video medium, l find video/CBT (Computer Based Training) a better method than reading a book for somethings, such as explanations of differences in lighting effects.
You might also check out Lynda.com & kelbyone.com web sites for videos on photography. There are also aftermarket books for your camera that explain the Why for the various settings, not just the How as the manufacture's manual does.
There are also short videos on YouTube as well.
Bob