Complete novice looking for help

Ok, so here's the story so far. I love the idea of moving from the
point and click photography of many years taking the usual family
pictures to more artistic photography, particularly portraights and
movement (sport, dance, etc, which is my professional background).
Thing is I dont have a single clue what I'm doing. So I was looking for
some advice from the knowledgable members here :-)

I have bought myself a Nikon D80 which I am enjoying playing with. I am
a bit of a geek with photoshop having used it for years with work, so
can mess around with the photos that are taken to produce some nice
results. I also have plenty of room in my office building to set up a
small studio. I would like some advice on suitable equipment and
suppliers in the UK.

Particularly lighting. I'm guessing I need to get myself some Flash
Heads (like I know what I'm talking about. I did a google search for
flashy thingies and it came up with Flash Heads!). Can anyone suggest
where I can get the whole works, stand, Flash Heads and reflector
thingies compatible with my D80.

Also I need some backdrops. I saw a frame thing that a local
photographer was using doing the kinda shopping centre photo sessions
you see. It looked quite handy as it seemed to just come apart to
transport. Any ideas?

Lastly, as you can probably tell from my post I really dont have a clue
what I'm doing. Can anyone suggest some good courses or books, etc,
that might give me some tips. I tend to learn fast but need a starting
point.

Kind regards,

Paul

paulylaw wrote:
Ok, so here's the story so far. I love the idea of moving from the
point and click photography of many years taking the usual family
pictures to more artistic photography, particularly portraights and
movement (sport, dance, etc, which is my professional background).
Thing is I dont have a single clue what I'm doing. So I was looking for
some advice from the knowledgable members here :-)

I have bought myself a Nikon D80 which I am enjoying playing with. I am
a bit of a geek with photoshop having used it for years with work, so
can mess around with the photos that are taken to produce some nice
results. I also have plenty of room in my office building to set up a
small studio. I would like some advice on suitable equipment and
suppliers in the UK.

Particularly lighting. I'm guessing I need to get myself some Flash
Heads (like I know what I'm talking about. I did a google search for
flashy thingies and it came up with Flash Heads!). Can anyone suggest
where I can get the whole works, stand, Flash Heads and reflector
thingies compatible with my D80.

Go to your local library. There have been many good books covering
just the stuff you are looking for published over the years. Almost
any library will have at least a few of the good ones.

Also I need some backdrops. I saw a frame thing that a local
photographer was using doing the kinda shopping centre photo sessions
you see. It looked quite handy as it seemed to just come apart to
transport. Any ideas?

Lastly, as you can probably tell from my post I really dont have a clue
what I'm doing. Can anyone suggest some good courses or books, etc,
that might give me some tips. I tend to learn fast but need a starting
point.

Kind regards,

Paul

Hey,

Thx for the response. Have you any specific recommendations? You are
correct, the local library (and amazon for that matter) have a very
wide selection so was hoping to narrow it down a little.

Also, any recommendations of UK suppliers who dont mind walking a
novice through what they need would be appreciated :-)

Kind regards,

Paul

In article .com,
says...

Thx for the response. Have you any specific recommendations? You are
correct, the local library (and amazon for that matter) have a very
wide selection so was hoping to narrow it down a little.


Go to the library Paul, and spend a week or two getting introduced, and
then you should be able to narrow your questions down a little so that
they might be answerable. I think (not sure) your subject is "studio
lighting", so also search google.com for "studio lighting". It is a big
subject, not difficult, but broad, with many directions possible. We
learn by being interested and checking it out.

On 27 Dec 2006 06:45:20 -0800, "paulylaw" wrote:

Hey,

Thx for the response. Have you any specific recommendations? You are
correct, the local library (and amazon for that matter) have a very
wide selection so was hoping to narrow it down a little.

Also, any recommendations of UK suppliers who dont mind walking a
novice through what they need would be appreciated :-)

Kind regards,

Paul

You're looking for the quick & easy way.
Good luck.
Instead, put in the time and effort. Visit the library and read the
books.
Don't ask salespeople to teach you how to use the things they sell;
that's what the manuals are for.
To understand why you want to use the things they sell, you need to
learn a lot more. The manuals tell you what the different devices will
do; it's up to you to understand *WHY* you want to do those things.
You get that knowledge by either reading, or taking lessons, or
experience; the last being the best way by far. Reading and lessons
will only go so far, after that experience is needed. IOW, work.
It's up to you to narrow this down, no one can do it for you.
Sorry.
--
Bill Funk
replace "g" with "a"

paulylaw wrote:
Ok, so here's the story so far. I love the idea of moving from the
point and click photography of many years taking the usual family
pictures to more artistic photography, particularly portraights and
movement (sport, dance, etc, which is my professional background).
Thing is I dont have a single clue what I'm doing. So I was looking
for some advice from the knowledgable members here :-)

I have bought myself a Nikon D80 which I am enjoying playing with. I
am a bit of a geek with photoshop having used it for years with work,
so can mess around with the photos that are taken to produce some nice
results. I also have plenty of room in my office building to set up a
small studio. I would like some advice on suitable equipment and
suppliers in the UK.


Particularly lighting. I'm guessing I need to get myself some Flash
Heads (like I know what I'm talking about. I did a google search for
flashy thingies and it came up with Flash Heads!). Can anyone suggest
where I can get the whole works, stand, Flash Heads and reflector
thingies compatible with my D80.

Also I need some backdrops. I saw a frame thing that a local
photographer was using doing the kinda shopping centre photo sessions
you see. It looked quite handy as it seemed to just come apart to
transport. Any ideas?

Lastly, as you can probably tell from my post I really dont have a
clue what I'm doing. Can anyone suggest some good courses or books,
etc, that might give me some tips. I tend to learn fast but need a
starting point.

Kind regards,

Paul

You may find this useful reading -
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/ittlslave.htm

paulylaw wrote:
Ok, so here's the story so far. I love the idea of moving from the
point and click photography of many years taking the usual family
pictures to more artistic photography, particularly portraights and
movement (sport, dance, etc, which is my professional background).
Thing is I dont have a single clue what I'm doing. So I was looking for
some advice from the knowledgable members here :-)

I have bought myself a Nikon D80 which I am enjoying playing with. I am
a bit of a geek with photoshop having used it for years with work, so
can mess around with the photos that are taken to produce some nice
results. I also have plenty of room in my office building to set up a
small studio. I would like some advice on suitable equipment and
suppliers in the UK.

Particularly lighting. I'm guessing I need to get myself some Flash
Heads (like I know what I'm talking about. I did a google search for
flashy thingies and it came up with Flash Heads!). Can anyone suggest
where I can get the whole works, stand, Flash Heads and reflector
thingies compatible with my D80.

Also I need some backdrops. I saw a frame thing that a local
photographer was using doing the kinda shopping centre photo sessions
you see. It looked quite handy as it seemed to just come apart to
transport. Any ideas?

Lastly, as you can probably tell from my post I really dont have a clue
what I'm doing. Can anyone suggest some good courses or books, etc,
that might give me some tips. I tend to learn fast but need a starting
point.

Kind regards,

Paul


Paul,

Checkout this Web site for books... http://www.amherstmedia.com/

Find the book that you want and check amazon.com, ebay.com, etc for the
best price.

Here are some specifics.

First shoot in AV (Aperture Value, also known as Aperture Priority) mode
for the majority of you pics. When you shoot in AV with a short value,
for example 5.8, that will put the background out of focus so that your
subject catches the attention of the observer and does not distract.

Second, learn about the "Rule of 3's". I have also heard it referred to
as the "Rule of 9's". Mentally divide the viewfinder into 9 equal
squares. Never shoot the main subject in the center of the viewfinder.
Offset it in the frame, Left Right or Up and Down. Here is an
example. If you are shooting landscape and you want to minimize the
sky, have the sky across the upper 3 horizontal frames. If you are
trying to accentuate the sky, then the upper 2 thirds of the frame
should show the sky. (like air show pics). There is one acception to
the "never shot the main subject in the center of the frame and that is
for Portrait photography.

Just remember that there are always exceptions to any rule.

Thx for all the replies, very helpfull.

The specific recommendations are most welcome, I am following on that
now, and have found some interesting articles on the Rule of 3's :-)

Incidentally I found some very nice guys at Steve's Photo Shop
(www.stevesphotoshop.co.uk) who were really helpfull talking me through
some of the basic equipment I would need. Seems the Internet is one of
the most useful libraries going full of people willing to offer some
words of advice to send you on the right learning track rather than
many people each spending weeks trawling the traditional libraries for
the same information. Sharing is a great way to learn so I appreciate
the feedback you have offered :-)

Regards,

Paul