Monday, April 4, 2011

Now what??

OK so I got this awesome new camera... Now what?!

After several months of researching, debating and careful consideration ...
I decided to go with the Canon T2i (EOS Rebel 550D). It is a nice mid-entry level camera that fits my (our) needs perfectly and I don't see growing out of it any year soon. I was torn between buying a camera package (body, base lens, zoom lens & camera bag) or just the camera with a base lens. I decided on just the camera with the base lens (18-55mm) because I really want to get to know my camera and learn how to use it first. Then I'll worry about zoom.

How fabulous is my husband? When we got home from the store, he ordered me a really nice camera bag, 2 back-up batteries, a Hoya UV glass filter, 2 spare batteries and a good book on how to use this crazy camera! Isn't he the best??? I sure think so!

 My next purchase truthfully will end up being a Speed light. But ... let's not jump the gun too fast here! Ha ha! (Already eyeing up the Speedlite 430EX II!!)

Many moons ago, I had a Minolta Maxxum 3xi FILM camera with the 18-55 & 55-200mm lens. Sadly some of you out there may not even remember a world with film cameras. It seems very archaic, especially when you know you can now take 3000+ shots on a 32 GB card. I bought that Minolta and wow did I love it! It was the cream of the crop back in 1989! I used it right up until film cameras became extinct about 12 or 13 years ago. Konica has since bought Minolta. Sold it at a garage sale about 8 years ago for $25.   

I took some fab photos with that old Minolta. But this canon - it's a whole new world. It's apples & oranges compared to the Minolta. The basics stayed the same obviously (aperture, ISO/ISO Film, etc...) but wow, there are so many more things to learn. It's going to be a slow but super-fun process!

I bookmarked this website 'Two Peas in a Bucket' a while back - it has a free basic photography tutorial. I don't remember who's blog I found it on, but I am going to share it for anyone interested in the basics- It has some great info. You can even download the PDF's and put them on your E-Reader like I did! Technology rocks!

Does anyone have any other suggestions for Photography tutorial sites or classes that helped you? (Free preferably!)

Here are some shots I took of my mom's little ankle-biter Chihuahua when they were visiting yesterday.
I had no clue what I was doing with the settings but some of these came out ok.






Sadly I did not even get a chance to take many photos of Julianna. I did, however get her feet! 

This captures Julianna's personality since she is such a happy kid... I was playing with aperture (I think) and it's wayyy grainy but I love her smile... so I had to put it out here!  




7 comments:

  1. Adorable smile. Sweet little feet and ornery little dog. Ha! Great pix.

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  2. sweet shots * can never go wrong with little bitty toes :)

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  3. Hi Skye! I am a newbie too so don't take my suggestions seriously. I say, go get the trial version of lightroom 3.0, grainy shots may be fixed there in one click. The free download is good for 1 month so you can get a feel if you like it or not before making the splurge. Anyway, you can check out http://www.willettedesigns.com/ sometimes she has free online photography classes and tips. Hope this helps! :)

    I am very excited for you! xoxo

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  4. Nice! I can tell the diff--isn't it fun to play around with a new camera? Your dog is so cute! Love the baby feet pics too!

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  5. You are going to love that camera! I took a $40 class through Faith at Simplicity - it was awesome. I highly recommend it. If you get good at taking pics and want an awesome lens, Canon makes a 50mm 1.8 for like $99 and it's incredible. You will probably use it more than a zoom for taking family pics. I'm excited for you! I have the T1i and love it so much. :)

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  6. Yay...congratulations! Awesome camera and very nice hubby. ;) Lol about film cameras going extinct...I used film until 2005. You can't imagine how many pictures I have waiting for me to find time to scan them into digital files! I still have a TON to learn about taking digital pictures, and my camera isn't nearly as fancy!

    Carla

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  7. Thanks everyone -
    I am starting to take my tutorial online and get the basics in. My problem is it's still kind of chilly here and I want to get outdoors to test my newly aquired knowledge, but it's chilllly BRRRR! I can't bring myself to take another indoors picture LOL - I need sun & outdoors. Come on nice weather, I know you are right around the corner!!

    Thanks for all your advice. You are ALL my mentors when it comes to photography! I love checking out everyone's style and getting ideas & insiration! :)

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