Le Samourai Posted January 3, 2011 Share #1 Â Posted January 3, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hi, after messing around with my X1 for a few weeks, just shooting on auto, I now yearning to get better results but feel very restricted. Could someone point me at and online guide that simply (very simply in my case lol) explains the basics of photography so I can make the most of my wonderful camera? thanks in advance. Â Dan. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 3, 2011 Posted January 3, 2011 Hi Le Samourai, Take a look here Photography Basics. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
grober Posted January 3, 2011 Share #2 Â Posted January 3, 2011 THREE stages of progression for any photographer: Â 1. Learning the basics (f-stops, ISO, bits & bytes of digital, focal length perspectives, Photoshop, etc.) 2. How do I pay for all this gear and software I now want to buy? 3. What's the available light doing at the moment I want to capture the image? Â My advice: invert the list and skip to #3. Carefully watch how the available light moves and changes as it falls on and then reflects from your subject to your lens. Your knowledge of #1 and your capabilities for #2 will catch up over time. Slowing down and using a tripod are also good practices. (Who cares what others think?) The X1 surely helps you with the former because of its extreme slowness in everything it does! Â I'm forty plus years a Leica user; still struggling with the transition from the perfectly functional and quick Leica-M family to the slothful but potentially wonderful Leica-X. Â -g Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff S Posted January 3, 2011 Share #3  Posted January 3, 2011 Pick up a cheap set of Ansel Adams' trio of books...The Camera, The Negative and The Print. Old books, but the basics are still relevant.  For digital concepts, here are some basics...Digital Photography Tutorials  Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pharyngula Posted January 3, 2011 Share #4 Â Posted January 3, 2011 Ansel Adams' books are classics but you may want to start out with something a bit more approachable (and relevant to color digital as well as film), I'd recommend "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson and "Practical Zone Sysytem: for Film and Digital Photography" by Chris Johnson. Once you get completely hooked, start thinking about a meterless M body, available B&W films, developers and a darkroom - then you'll love reading about the zone system straight from the horse's mouth. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff S Posted January 3, 2011 Share #5 Â Posted January 3, 2011 They are classics for a reason; quite approachable. Digital should be addressed only after camera and exposure basics are understood, and that's what the Adams' books offer IMO. Â Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
phancj Posted January 4, 2011 Share #6 Â Posted January 4, 2011 My "formula" if I may: Â portraits: f2.8 (definitely) focused on the eyes, shutter speed 1/60, tune iso accordingly. Too bright then up shutter speed accordingly. Soon you will get the hang of it and have your own presets in the head depending on light. Always aim for lowest possible iso. Â landscape: f5.6-f11, adjust shutter speed accordingly. Always aim for the lowest iso possible. Â Night/dark shots: f2.8, shutter1/60, adjust iso accordingly. Always underexposed coz the X1 has a lot of data in the darker regions compared to other cameras so during post all the details can be rendered to their full glory. Ignore the terribly dark photo in the LCD. Â And yes, get a larger SD 19GB or more and shoot in DNG as well. That allows you more latitude for less than ideal exposure. Â Dont think you need to read more, just go out, shoot a ton of photos and it will come to you naturally. it aint rocket science for sure so enjoy! Â CJ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Le Samourai Posted January 4, 2011 Author Share #7 Â Posted January 4, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) Thanks for the advice chaps. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
h00ligan Posted January 4, 2011 Share #8 Â Posted January 4, 2011 Understanding exposure, learning to see creatively, the national geographic guide to field photography and Bryan peterson's digital camera guide(the exact title eludes me sorry) are all great IMO. Â Natgeo and seeing creatively cover most topics Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dewittehd Posted January 4, 2011 Share #9 Â Posted January 4, 2011 I think that referring a beginner to books by Adams and the zone system (for an X1 at that) defers all understanding. If realy a beginner with zero knowledge then something like The Complete Idiot's Guide to Photography Essentials [Paperback] (see Amazon) might be more useful, but of course super photographers like we are cannot recommend a mere beginners guide like that...... Jean Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgk Posted January 4, 2011 Share #10 Â Posted January 4, 2011 If you are really serious then this is well worth considering: Â Focal Press: Langford's Basic Photography, Ninth Edition - Book Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergius Posted January 4, 2011 Share #11  Posted January 4, 2011 If you are really serious then this is well worth considering: Focal Press: Langford's Basic Photography, Ninth Edition - Book  +1. Great book. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wda Posted January 4, 2011 Share #12 Â Posted January 4, 2011 Understanding the camera's histogram is one of the best ways of deciding the corrections (of shutter speed, aperture or ISO) needed to obtain perfect exposure. It is fairly intuitive, but if in doubt Google 'histogram' and search for an easy-to-follow tutorial. Many exist on the www. Remember thought that the camera histogram is showing you the jpeg image analysis. If shooting Raw, you have more latitude in post-processing. In all cases the histogram is the best guide to correct exposure. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff S Posted January 4, 2011 Share #13 Â Posted January 4, 2011 I think that referring a beginner to books by Adams and the zone system (for an X1 at that) defers all understanding. Â but of course super photographers like we are cannot recommend a mere beginners guide like that...... Â Adams' The Camera barely mentions the zone system...it's all about camera basics...f stops, depth of field, perspective, etc. Â I read the Adams' books before I knew squat about cameras, and certainly before I could afford any decent one. There are many alternative sources, of course, for the OP. But, no reason for you to get on a high horse. Your sarcasm shows a lack of decorum...and understanding. Â BTW, the Cambridge digital tutorials I also mentioned in my initial post are very straightforward and extremely useful for any beginner. Â Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest badbob Posted January 4, 2011 Share #14  Posted January 4, 2011 If you are really serious then this is well worth considering:Focal Press: Langford's Basic Photography, Ninth Edition - Book  Ditto - this is my favorite, really good for a beginner. Then afterward, get the advanced book by the same author. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
h00ligan Posted January 5, 2011 Share #15 Â Posted January 5, 2011 Hmm, it seems like the natgeo guide would include all of that info and more relevant to digital...of course imo. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill Posted January 5, 2011 Share #16  Posted January 5, 2011 photo school index  Give Roger my regards  Regards,  Bill Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
h00ligan Posted January 5, 2011 Share #17 Â Posted January 5, 2011 Wow, looks like a great resource bill! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeTexas Posted January 5, 2011 Share #18 Â Posted January 5, 2011 Books are great, but the best way to learn is experience. Find a subject and take the same shot over and over switching through the aperture settings. Do the same with shutter settings. Â Digital cameras make it much easier to learn than it was with film cameras. I had to take studious notes regarding what photos I shot at what settings because I might overexpose three rolls of film in a day and never know it until I had the film developed a week later. Then I had to go back to figure out what I did wrong. Â With digital, you can immediately see it. Don't be afraid to experiment. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
msbel Posted January 6, 2011 Share #19  Posted January 6, 2011 Books are great, but the best way to learn is experience. Find a subject and take the same shot over and over switching through the aperture settings. Do the same with shutter settings. Digital cameras make it much easier to learn than it was with film cameras. I had to take studious notes regarding what photos I shot at what settings because I might overexpose three rolls of film in a day and never know it until I had the film developed a week later. Then I had to go back to figure out what I did wrong.  With digital, you can immediately see it. Don't be afraid to experiment.  Concur here. Set up a tripod on a subject. Use the manual dials on the top of the X1 and in-camera iso to experiment. I learned to shoot fully manual by just doing it, and getting the general concepts of the interrelationship between f-stop, shutter speed, and iso film. Printed contact sheets to review and kept doing it and doing it. Soon, you find your flow, and how all of it works based on what you "see" for your capture.  A free video primer of some sort on the Web may be good for a basic explanation of these variables. Probably Wikipedia too.  Whoever stated that light is the key to all good photography is spot on. It starts and ends there IMO...even software like PS/LR, Aperture, Nik and the rest cannot change the soul of a shot that emanates from painting with light as much as we may want it to at times. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgk Posted January 6, 2011 Share #20 Â Posted January 6, 2011 Books are great, but the best way to learn is experience Ummmm. I'd really say that you need both. Finding things out empirically is useful enough when based on some knowledge, but may be a very time consuming method otherwise. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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