Guideline for newbies totally new to photography

Some one I know just bought a DSLR because he got ‘rachuned’ by his friends. He also got ‘rachuned’ by the sales person into buying things that I think are not necessary. He eagerly asked me about things. So that other newbies don’t fall into the same pitfall that he and me had, here are some guidelines:

1. Do I need a DSLR/SLR?
I would say, until you have exhausted all the skill you have to produce great photos using your current camera, don’t buy a DSLR/SLR just yet. I sincerely think what makes a photo great is the composition. 

A photo shot by a junior while I was in secondary school is forever etched in my mind - her siblings and cousins standing at a window of what appear to be their grandparents, traditional wooden house on stilts, looking down toward her camera. The soft morning light, the bright colours of their clothes, and the pastel colour of the window. And how nicely the window seemed to framed the photo. What camera did she used? A no-brand film-PnS that didn’t even has a zoom lens. Until now, I still couldn’t find the opportunity to shoot / imitate the image. 

There are great photos shot using digital PnS. Some of the examples are photos by Uncle Maxby.

If you think you have already pushed the limit of your current camera, by all means, go and buy a DSLR/SLR.

2. Which DSLR / SLR?
Main different between DSLR and SLR is that the former use digital format while the latter use film. Having used both, I think DSLR sort of encourage people to “shoot first, think later”. SLR users on the other hand have to “think first, shoot later”. With DSLR, we can shoot, chimp (preview the shot), make adjustment to the settings, and re-shoot, to get the image that we want. With SLR, we had to think hard about the subject we want to shoot, and the settings we want to use, before pressing the shutter release button. We could only image how the image will look like until we send the film for processing. 

If you can afford to buy and develop rolls and rolls of film, have a go for SLR for different films (brand / ISO / date of manufactured) have different characteristics that many film shooters love. Otherwise go for DSLR. There are other type of specialized camera’s that I shall not mention here. Brand wise, here are my takes on some of the commonly-used DSLR brands:

Nikon vs Canon:
Both have their own followers. In terms of 3rd party and 2nd hand accessories, there are lots of them around. Having had the chance to use both, I prefer Canon’s colours over Nikon’s. But at default automatic exposure/setting, Canon’s photos generally tend to be a bit ‘darker’ than Nikon’s. 

Sony:
If you’re into creative lighting thingy, go for this system. I’ve seen the ease of setting up wireless flash provided by Sony alpha. But don’t expect much of 3rd party and 2nd hand stuff.

Olympus:
I’ve had opportunity trying an Olympus DSLR (forgot what the model). I was attending an event when a friend handed me his (or rather his child’s) Olympus and asked me to cover the event. The camera small size and lightweight was great during the hot-midday-outdoor event. It didn’t get in my way and didn’t tire me down. The colours great. The small zoom lens has amazing range. The down side may be it’s price and lack of 3rd/2nd hand stuff.

3. I’ve decided to buy a DSLR, what else should I buy?
If you’ve already pushed the limit of your current camera (refer #1), you must already have some ideas what you want to shoot. Buy things that are related to what you want to shoot. For example don’t go spend money on macro lens if you want to shoot birds. You will be better off buying top-of-the-class tele-lens. But if you are into macro-shot, you may want to invest in one of those flash-ring. I heard they are great for macro shot.

If you still not sure what you want to shoot, just stick to the kit lens. Other things that I consider as a must are:
1.Screen protector: to protect the screen from scratch.
2.UV Lens filter: to protect the lens. A friend gave the advice of buying at least a Hoya as the cheaper filters tend to give problem in auto exposure and focusing. 
3.Tripod: If you can’t afford to buy the expensive ones, buy tripod that can at least provide stable support for your DSLR with the kit-lens attached.
4.Camera bag: to carry your camera.

Battery grip, diffusers, lens hoods etc. are not really a necessity. But if you have extra cash, do buy external flash that can be tilted and twisted. External flash is a must if you want to shoot indoor-events.

4. Now that I’ve bought a DSLR/SLR, what next?
First, read the manual. Get at least some basic ideas how things work, the dos and don’ts. Then go out and shoot. But don’t shoot blindly. Decide what skill that you want to hone. 

For example, if you want to concentrate on compositions, you might want to use auto or program mode, letting the camera decide the aperture and shutter speed. Do be aware that in program mode, you can actually select which combination of aperture and shutter speed that you want, whereas in auto mode, the camera selects for you. If you want to concentrate on technicalities, you might want to use aperture priority mode, shutter priority mode or even manual mode. Whether technicalities or compositions, there are lots of guidelines that you can search in Photomalaysia. Do read them, and try them out.

Someone told me that the best way to learn is to go for photo outings. During such outings, you could get immediate feedbacks and tips from fellow photographers (i.e. learn from others). But if you don’t have time, or live in some remote corner of the earth that have no other photographer to go outing with, don’t let that stop you from going out and shoot. Post your best photos and ask for comments in forums such as Photomalaysia. If somebody do comment, be open and take it with a pinch of salt. If nobody comments, don’t feel dejected. Keep shooting and posting.

5. Which format, RAW or JPEG?
To simplify, JPEG is sort of a compressed and processed raw data of the image. As it is a compressed format, every time it is copied and saved, it looses certain details. If you set your camera to use highest image quality, the loses may not be that apparent to your eyes. Thus I highly recommend that you use the highest image quality available in your camera. 

I had made the mistake of using a ‘medium image quality’ when I started using a digital PnS. The first image I download from the camera to the pc, had a beautiful clear blue sky. I burned the file into a cd and send it to be printed only to see the sky turned into dull white. Outraged, I wanted to complaint the printer shop, only to discover to my horror that the file in the cd has dull white sky too! By then, I’ve already delete the first file and all subsequent files have the same dull white sky. 

Most sifus in Photomalaysia would recommend you to shoot RAW for easy editing. It is easier to adjust things like white balance, in RAW than in JPEG. But, as the name suggest, RAW is the image in raw data. The files tend to be bigger thus less image can be capture in the memory card. As the data is raw, images is said will not loose any details when copied and saved repeatedly. Unfortunately, you’ll need to use special programs/plug-in to view the file (different program/plug-in for different camera brand).

Hopefully newbies to photography would benefit from this article. Do add or amend this article where necessary. I’m still learning too!

Thank you!

by ryn_msg via PM