[ValerieD4]

I'm going to be brave and post a few pics taken with my new D50. I'm still on auto mode since I can't figure out how to actually USE the manual stuff I've been reading about.

This was taken at Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, from a 4th floor balcony.



This was just the other day at soccer practice. I was using the continuous mode and don't think I could have ever planned this! I apparently focused a little wrong but I still think it's a cool picture! Of course, my son loves it!



And finally, this reminds me of one posted here earlier. The flash went off and I reshot it without the flash. But I liked this one better.



Valerie

[Toad]

Well, #3 is a beauty - the flash really worked here - without it, you might have overexposed the sunset and underexposed the flowers. Nice.

#2 is cool - slightly unfocussed - but I can see why your son likes it.

The sand in #1 is somewhat blown out, but I still like the shot - it has an otherworldly took to it.

Nice shots - post more when you have the time.

Best
T

[Pat]

Hi Valerie
I like the shot of your son however, I'm glad someone else is struggling to learn the manual functions of their new camera, I dont feel quite so alone anymore

[Wedding Shooter]

You have composed the beach shot very nicely Valerie.

[shuttertalk]

Hey Valerie, congrats on the new camera! I've got a D50 too.

I like your compositions, espeically the first one. The pristine blue water is absolutely beautiful!

I'd recommend too that you switch from Auto to P (program) mode - you can still use it as an "auto" mode, but it opens up more options and flexibility. In P mode the flash won't pop up automatically, so you can choose when to use it and when not to. It automatically selects the best aperture and shutter speed as well, but you can override it by turning the wheel dial.

Jules

[EnglishBob]

#3 is a real keeper, great shot.

[patch17]

some comments...

1st shot - the sand is a bit blown out (over exposed). You can take a reading of the sand, which would then make the water a tad under, but that's not such a bad thing as it'd deepen the blues. Since you have a digital, I'd suggest bracketing your shots. i.e. set the camera to aperture or shutter priority mode (not programmed auto), set your aperture or shutter speed and take a shot at the camera's selected exposure. use your +/-ev control and select one stop over and take a shot, then one stop under then take a shot. most modern digital cameras will have an auto bracket function. you could use that too. There's not muc interest in the foreground, so i would cut the weeds out to emphasize the sand and the sea.

2nd shot - again the problem with using auto mode and focus (i assume it was in AF mode). The camera has focused on the boy's chest, but I think because the light was not that good, it set the aperture at it's widest, hence the very shallow depth of field (DOF). What ISO setting did you use?. See how your son's hand and ball which I assume were not too far away from his body are out of focus? That's the result of a wide open aperture. I guess the camera selected a wide aperture to achieve a fast shutter speed for continous mode shooting. You can offset this by selecting a higher ISO, say 400 instead of 100 or 200. That way you won't need big apertures which would increase your DOF. That'd get the ball and your son in reasonably sharp focus.

3rd shot - good use of fill in flash. a bit too strong for my liking though. no flash would have resulted in a very dark and blotchy picture.

sorry for the long winded post...

[ValerieD4]

Thanks for all the comments, everyone!

Re: the photo of "soccerhead" - I was using continuous mode and a 55-200 lens. He actually kept getting too close to me for that lens. Patch, I don't know if that plays a role in your comments or not but I'm going to practice with the ISO and use your other tips, too. Thanks!

Jules, I'll try P mode, too.

Pat, I can't tell you how much I've read and that I think I understand what I'm supposed to do in manual. I just can't figure out how to use the camera! And to make matters worse, when I went to read my manual (you know, RTFM!), it appears that I threw out my English language manual and kept the Spanish one by mistake! But I love the possibilities and am having a great time, anyway. I truly think I need an in-person tutorial of some sort. Just an hour with someone who knew what they were doing.

Valerie

[NT73]

Hi valerie, Don't know why I am posting as I aint got a D50, but I don't think you will have lost the english language, just mislaid it
I think they are programmed into the camera as a read only thing.
If you can find it use reset which should put you back into the language at the beginning.
Somewhere in the instructions for mine ( a panasonic) is a little paragraph telling you how to do this, if for instance you get chinese by accident. If you haven't an english manual you should be able to download one in PDF from one of the sites. Happy hunting.

[wulinka]

Well, good to hear you are having fun anyway, if you just shoot enough, you will get a good feeling for your camara soon. I don't know Nikon cams, but I've held one briefly, and I can't think that pushing and turning the actual buttons could be your problem. for the rest you just shoot and shoot and shoot, and take a good look at the results.

it helps a lot to have a picture browser that shows you the exif data, i. e. the settings you were shooting at, your ISO, shutterspeed, aperture, in P mode the level of exposure compensation etc. that way you can see how your setting affected the picture.

I like #1 and #3, and #2 is a nice snap.
the colors are nice and saturated, I am not surprised that your cam in auto mode blew out the sand in #1, but it's not a big deal to fix in PS, if you use it.
i would close the aperture a bit the next time instead of exposing it less. in my experience, you get more saturated colors by closing down the aperture slightly, and of course it affects your depth of field (DOF).

excuse me if I am telling you things you know, I don't know what level you are learning at....

#3 is really nice, surprisingly good job by your inbuilt flash!

keep on shooting and post more soon!

uli

[shuttertalk]

Hey Valerie... you can download the download the PDF version of the manual here:

http://www.nikonusa.com/pdf/manuals/nopr...oprint.pdf

Best way to learn is to experiment, as Uli said.. if you need any help on any particular aspect, just sing out! We'll be more than happy to help.

Jules

[ValerieD4]

Thanks, Jules! I downloaded the manual and have reformatted my memory card. Which I'd been trying to figure out for days!

Valerie

[shuttertalk]

No problems, glad to be of help.

If you have any other questions, just let us know!