[Scott_G]

Folks:

Not sure if this is the exact forum I should be posting in but. . . I'm tired of being ignorant. I use my K30 to mostly take PR photos. Everything's in focus, everybody famed medium, dial set to Auto. ::sigh:: I want to be more artistic with my camera, use it with less than 20 flood lamps at once. I'm tired of relying on either a bright day or Lightroom. I'm ready to play with light and shadow, content, and all that other fun stuff.

What I'm looking for is some handholding, I guess. Either a pre-recorded video class covering the K30 specifically and photography in general, or a Pentax "expert" - someone who knows more than me and can communicate it - who's willing to work with me for a few hours until I can get stuff through my thick skull.

Any suggestions would be helpful!

[enoeske]

Folks:

Not sure if this is the exact forum I should be posting in but. . . I'm tired of being ignorant. I use my K30 to mostly take PR photos. Everything's in focus, everybody famed medium, dial set to Auto. ::sigh:: I want to be more artistic with my camera, use it with less than 20 flood lamps at once. I'm tired of relying on either a bright day or Lightroom. I'm ready to play with light and shadow, content, and all that other fun stuff.

What I'm looking for is some handholding, I guess. Either a pre-recorded video class covering the K30 specifically and photography in general, or a Pentax "expert" - someone who knows more than me and can communicate it - who's willing to work with me for a few hours until I can get stuff through my thick skull.

Any suggestions would be helpful!

This is a very friendly (mostly) and helpful forum. Ask away and you'll probably have the answer faster than you think.

My advice for getting started would be to get out of auto mode and start controlling ONE thing at a time. The three areas that make up an exposure are Aperture, Shutter, and ISO. Others things that you can control are focal length (zoomy-ness of the lens) and things like white balance. If you want to learn the basics, try setting the white balance to Auto and keep your focal length at one setting. Don't zoom in or out with the lens. Keep it in one spot and move your feet to change the composition. This will let you concentrate on just one singe aspect of the exposure. Experiment and learn.

Switch over to Av mode, which allows you to control the aperture while the camera takes care of the other two. Find out what effect that has on your photograph. Try shooting really close up to something with the aperture open (smaller f/ number like f/2.8 or f/4). Try stopping down and see what effect that has on the same shot (f/11 or f/16). Where would a small aperture or wide aperture be more useful?

Now try out Tv mode, which allows you to control the shutter speed while the camera takes care of the other two. Try out long shutters like 1/20th or fast shutters like 1/2000. ...

And so on...

[jatrax]

Would be glad to, except you would have to fly out to Oregon.

dial set to Auto. ::sigh::

First thing to do is take it off 'auto' and forget that exists.

As a beginner I would put it on Av for most things and Tv if you are shooting moving things that you want to stop the action of.

There are hours (more like centuries) of video instruction on YouTube. It is created faster than anyone human can ingest it. However, many of us started with a simple book: "Understanding Exposure" by Brian Peterson. It's paperback and available in several editions, I think 4th edition is the latest. It explains the boring basics that you must know before you will feel comfortable with your camera. I strongly advise to start there.

And there are many people on this site willing to help but "teach me" is a little hard on a forum. Try "I want to do some product shots" or "I want to take pictures of my dog running" and you will get good answers. But photography is a very broad subject and teaching you how to do portraits is quite different from birds in flight, or product shots, or landscapes.

[wtlwdwgn]

If you want to go cold turkey put the mode dial on 'M' and you'll have to make your own decisions as to shutter speed, f stop, and ISO. Since you have a DSLR you don't have to worry about wasting film so you can try out lots of different combinations. After awhile you'll be able to look at the light and subject and guesstimate a starting point. To get good at anything you have to do it every day. Practice makes perfect. You can also do a search for specific types of photography. I know there are some tutorials available here. Just my $0.02.

[UncleVanya]

I'm going to go against the grain here. I say start using the SCN modes and pay attention to what it does vs. AUTO. Shoot the same scene both ways and look carefully at the EXIF info and begin to understand what the camera is doing to compensate for different types of Scenes. Many times there won't be much difference because it tries to figure out what Scene to use. Once you get the hang of this you then can play with Av or Tv and add in exposure compensation. Ultimately you can then start manipulating things in Manual or Tav as you want.

Also while I have the K50 the two cameras are nearly alike. Anyone with a K50 should be able to help with all the basics. Anyone with a camera lacking the SCN modes will tell you to ditch them (and that's not a bad bit of advice just not my advice) and start manipulating your exposure yourself. Every approach to get you there is valid.

[jatrax]

Every approach to get you there is valid.

To get good at anything you have to do it every day. Practice makes perfect.

These ^^^.

[osv]

maybe try posting up a couple of the typical pr shots that you take, and get some opinions.

pr would mean mostly portrait shots?

[Lowell Goudge]

Folks:

Not sure if this is the exact forum I should be posting in but. . . I'm tired of being ignorant. I use my K30 to mostly take PR photos. Everything's in focus, everybody famed medium, dial set to Auto. ::sigh:: I want to be more artistic with my camera, use it with less than 20 flood lamps at once. I'm tired of relying on either a bright day or Lightroom. I'm ready to play with light and shadow, content, and all that other fun stuff.

What I'm looking for is some handholding, I guess. Either a pre-recorded video class covering the K30 specifically and photography in general, or a Pentax "expert" - someone who knows more than me and can communicate it - who's willing to work with me for a few hours until I can get stuff through my thick skull.

Any suggestions would be helpful!

Any basic photography book will do, Paterson (I think it is) is regarded as the best

[mag07]

I'd start with some reading. There is a brilliant little article on these forums regarding exposure - Exposure Basics: A Complete Guide for Beginners - Articles and Tips | PentaxForums.com. Ms son who's just starting to take photography bit more seriously, emerged with a clear head in regards to the most important concepts after reading it.

Next, I'd look for your camera specific book/guide. The manuals shipped with cameras are not very beginner friendly and the format is annoying. While not a novice to photography as such, my first days with my K7 where overwhelming and I found going through the manual exhausting and discouraging. I found an ebook that I still go back to at times. Can't remember the author of the top of my head, but can check in my paypal history if you are interested. If I remember correctly the author had a whole series for various Pentax cameras. Bought one for kiddo who's using my old k100d.

When reading, have your camera at hand. Be it a book, or a guide, or random tips. Familiarize yourself through with the menu. You could even take another route and simply Google for those menu terms you don't quite understand and read up individually on what they refer to.

Once you're familiar with the basic terms, forget about Auto mode, and simply turn the dial on to the next in line, and explore all it can offer. When in doubt, ask, or Google . Take lots of photos in each mode, by the time you get to full on Manual, it won't seem scary at all. In fact, you might end up wanting to skip a couple and head straight to it. Shot, shoot, shoot. Take your camera out whenever you can, or shoot inside if you can't. Don't necessarily bother fixing all your photos in Lightroom, rather use them to observe the effects of your actions. It won't take you long to start seeing the dependencies. If in doubt, or you forget how something works, don't get discourage, have another read from another source. That's the beauty of internet. When you don't quite understand something as explained by someone, you can happily find an alternative 'teacher' or ask less generic questions on the forum and get accurate answers.

It all seems overwhelming at first, but the basics are easy to learn. Once you're comfy; mastering it, is another story. But that's where all the fun is

[interested_observer]

Lots of excellent suggestions......

Here are a few more..

• Here is a FREE online photography course. It started yesterday and runs for a month. You can still register. Even though it is down under (in OZ), anyone in the world can "attend". Take a look - there is a full course description....

  RMIT University is an Australian university of technology and design based in Melbourne, Victoria. RMIT was founded in 1887 by grazier, politician and public benefactor the Hon. Francis Ormond—as the Working Men's College of Melbourne
  
  What's it about?
  
  You will learn about photography as a visual art practice, and how this can help you to become an engaging and active photographer. You will explore the work and concepts of contemporary photographic artists, which may trigger a new interest in what you photograph. In addition to this, you will also learn some of the practical skills required to further explore photography in exciting and creative ways. Finally, we look at the idea of a “digital darkroom” and explore ways that you can further your interest in photography through post-production knowledge and techniques.

  • https://www.open2study.com/courses/the-art-of-photography

• Check in to extension classes offered by your local community college or high school.
• Check into a local "meetup.com" group for photography in your local area.
• Check into a local photography club
• Check YouTube for beginner photography videos
• Reddit has a free online photo class - https://www.reddit.com/r/photoclass2015
• Reddit has a photo mentor area - https://www.reddit.com/r/photography/comments/2cumky/rphotography_mentor_list_2014/

_______ ______________________

What I was also going to say is - that regardless of what you do, shoot for 5 or 10 minutes, then go load the images on the computer, see how they came out. Figure out what you like and don't like. Keep doing what you like, and figure out on the ones that you don't like what when wrong and then work on fixing it on the next 5 to 10 minute shooting period. Rinse and repeat frequently.

[ebooks4pentax]

You can get a free sample of the K-30 e-book and see if it covers what you are looking for. Just PM me and give me your email address.

[K McCall]

Folks:

Not sure if this is the exact forum I should be posting in but. . . I'm tired of being ignorant. I use my K30 to mostly take PR photos. Everything's in focus, everybody famed medium, dial set to Auto. ::sigh:: I want to be more artistic with my camera, use it with less than 20 flood lamps at once. I'm tired of relying on either a bright day or Lightroom. I'm ready to play with light and shadow, content, and all that other fun stuff.

What I'm looking for is some handholding, I guess. Either a pre-recorded video class covering the K30 specifically and photography in general, or a Pentax "expert" - someone who knows more than me and can communicate it - who's willing to work with me for a few hours until I can get stuff through my thick skull.

Any suggestions would be helpful!

I would personally advice to use the photo critique forum as a free class. Of course, all critique is subjective, but a good critic can help you see your photos through a different set of eyes. I find that most of the criticism here is quite gentle; the hardest part can be reading between the lines as so many people don't want to offend!

[WPRESTO]

There are some some electronic on-disc instructional guides available. A couple are on sale in the BUY/SELL threads (sell obviously). Try: pentaxdslrs.blogspot.com for an e-book for the K30.

ps: the website is also www.ebooks4cameras.com

[link81]

B&H has an event space where they do training sessions, they post alot of these to youtube. Jeff Cable has done quite a few beginner ones that i've found really helpful. Just do a youtube search for jeff cable, and quite a few come up right at the top of the list.

[redcat]

This is a very friendly (mostly) and helpful forum. Ask away and you'll probably have the answer faster than you think. My advice for getting started would be to get out of auto mode and start controlling ONE thing at a time. The three areas that make up an exposure are Aperture, Shutter, and ISO. Others things that you can control are focal length (zoomy-ness of the lens) and things like white balance. If you want to learn the basics, try setting the white balance to Auto and keep your focal length at one setting. Don't zoom in or out with the lens. Keep it in one spot and move your feet to change the composition. This will let you concentrate on just one singe aspect of the exposure. Experiment and learn. Switch over to Av mode, which allows you to control the aperture while the camera takes care of the other two. Find out what effect that has on your photograph. Try shooting really close up to something with the aperture open (smaller f/ number like f/2.8 or f/4). Try stopping down and see what effect that has on the same shot (f/11 or f/16). Where would a small aperture or wide aperture be more useful? Now try out Tv mode, which allows you to control the shutter speed while the camera takes care of the other two. Try out long shutters like 1/20th or fast shutters like 1/2000. ...

this guy said it all ^^
I did the same when I started in the photography world last year (yeah, I'm a newbie just like you) and AV mode is the first thing, I love background blur (bokeh) so I started with wide aperture (ex : f2.8) then try to get the focus correctly (ex: on the eyes for portrait). Shutter speed is used when I need to capture moving subject or shoot in low light...
After that, I learned some composition rule (ex : rule of third : the most used) and if you like shooting portrait, I can recommend some great books to read and get inspired :

• Understanding Exposure : my first book, really help me understand shutter speed, Iso, aperture - very basic
• The digital photography book, Part 5 : recipes on how to shoot and post process (like a pro) - easy to read & understand
• Stunning Digital photography : easy to follow, like a wiki on digital photography
• Picture perfect posing : decompose perfect posing in 15 check-points, very very useful
• Picture Perfect Practice : beyond techniques, it's all about training eyes, highly recommend
• Creative 52 - Weekly Projects to Invigorate Your Photography Portfolio : ideas, inspiration to make your photos standout