Any advice for beginner photographer?
I just got the Nikon D200 and I'm completely clueless. I really want to get into photography but I'm gonna need a lot of help. So any tipsss or anythinngg? Haha XD
Sure.
a) don't pretend having a decent camera makes you a "photographer."
b) learn, learn, learn, learn, learn.
c) practice, practice, practice, practice.
d) Don't get into "gear mentality" -- make great shots with what you've got before you go buy some lens that you think you "need."
e) take honest feedback from people you trust about your work -- the good and especially the bad.
After a few years of doing the above, you may turn out to be a good photographer. If you do, all the work will be worth it. Have fun and good luck!
Join a local camera or photography club - there you can get tuition, join in competitions & get meaningful feedback on your work.
If you can't do that for whatever reason, then read your camera manual & get a copy of Bryan Peterson's Understanding Exposure.
Read BOTH thoroughly & go out & practice with the settings. Don't just adjust things randomly & fire away though - go through each setting logically & see what it DOES.
You can also see how focal length, aperture, shutter speed, ISO etc effect images using this helpful simulator;
http://camerasim.com/camera-simulator/
First and foremost if you don't have the Owner's Manual for your D200 you need to get a copy.
http://www.nikonusa.com/...oprint.pdf
The best way to learn photography is by taking classes but classes aren't always possible. However, if classes are available then enroll in them.
Once you've read and studied the Owner's Manual you'll need to spend time at these sites learning about Light, Exposure, Composition and Depth of Field.
LIGHT
http://photographyknowhow.com/photography-lighting/
http://photographyknowhow.com/quality-of-light-in-photography/
http://photographyknowhow.com/direction-of-light-in-photography/
EXPOSURE
http://www.digital-photography-school.com/learning-exposure-in-digital-photography
COMPOSITION
http://www.photographymad.com/pages/view/10-top-photography-composition-rules
DEPTH of FIELD
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/...-field.htm
Spending time at this site will also be useful:
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/columns/aesthetics-1.shtml
Good photography requires thinking so you need to start training yourself to think about Light, Exposure, Composition and Depth of Field before releasing the shutter.
The worst thing you can do is to go out and just shoot and shoot and shoot and shoot. All that does is produce a whole lot of random, poorly done snapshots. Ansel Adams once said: "12 significant pictures in a year would be an impressive body of work."
Think about the light.
Think about the exposure.
Think about the composition.
Think about the depth of field.
Then release the shutter.
That's totally fine. First, you have to learn about the very basics of photography but before that, you need to know your camera or how cameras, especially DSLR cameras work and function.
Get to know your camera.
There are a few fundamental things you MUST know very well:
Shutter speed, aperture and ISO (three of them control exposure or how bright or dark your photos are.)
Focal Length and different lens types like wide angle lenses, standard and telephoto, etc.
These are the technical parts of photography. Composition, color theory, etc these are the more creative side of photography which are very subjective.
There are many books and websites which explain photography in details.
One great website is:
http://digital-photography-school.com/
An amazing channel on YouTube is AdoramaTV:
http://www.youtube.com/.../adoramaTV
Lynda.com has excellent tutorials and courses on photography. Check them out.