newbie here ..........

[newbietom]

hey there new here and totally new to photography , i have a rebel xs camera and am pretty much clueless on how to use it ,i can point and shoot but as for all the features ,im clueless.
is there anywhere that anyone can reccoment to practice with this camera ,be it an online coarse or a actual photo studio that teaches lessons and gives u assignments .
i know henrys does but not sure if thats just for using the camera or not .
i am located in toronto
thanks
tom

[theantiquetiger]

There are a ton of webcast and blogs here that teach the basics of your camera. There are two basic areas that you need to first study, using your camera and composition of photographs. I was a novice this time last year (still a novice), but have come a long ways. Just by learning these two areas, my shots have come a LONG way.

Study what happens with different f-stops, shutter speeds, white balance. This is the basics of your camera. Also learn basic composition of an image, rules of thirds, depth of field,etc. If you just get decent with these basic techniques, your images will take leaps and bounds.

DO NOT ever put your camera back in point and shoot mode. If anything, use [P] mode and learn what the camra is doing. It will tell you the f/stops, speed, ISO, etc.

[Marko]

First off welcome to the forum!

Antiquetiger gives fab advice.
However (shameless plug since it came up), if you are looking for 1:1 instruction and you are ever in Montreal, feel free to check out the link in my signature and email or private message me. I offer a crash course that people have been digging. I love to teach and I am super-patient. Occasionally I do go to Toronto...

That said, if you are patient and dedicated, you can learn everything you need to on this site for free.

Hope to see some pics soon and welcome again!

[theantiquetiger]

A good basic exercise is this:
Find a well lit subject. Put your camera in [P] mode. Put ISO and WB (white bance) in Auto. As you get ready to shoot, press your shutter release down halfway and hold. Now look at the screen. It will show you the recommended shutter speed and f/stop. Take the shot.
Now put the camera in manual [M] mode and set the f/stop and speed to the exact same settings you saw in [P] mode. Now decrease the f/stop one time. What you just did was cause the shutter open more, letting more light in. Since you are making the shutter open bigger, you will need to decrease the shutter speed to make up for the greater opening. After adjusting these two settings, take the shot.

Now compare the two images. The second one should have a blurrier back ground and the subject should be alittle sharper.

This is the basics of how f/stops and shutter speeds work with each other.

[newbietom]

ok thank u i will try that and deff will look forward to the podcasts
thanks again
tom