Next step as a DSLR photographer?
My Dad bought a Nikon D3100 DSLR camera as a present(Photography is a hobby). I read the User's Guide and understood it all and everything is just fine. I don't know what to do next, I want to use my camera as much as possible and use all its capabilities as well. So what do you think?
Get out of the house and start taking pictures. It's the only way you'll learn how to use your new camera.
Just do it. You don't have to pay for film. Save everything on your computer or online and ask some of us pros what we think about your work after you put it online on Flickr or some good website.
Next step Read Books:
Nikon D3100 For Dummies:
http://www.amazon.com/...004G5Z2D0/
Nikon D3100 Digital Field Guide:
http://www.amazon.com/...004DI7JSQ/
Nikon D3100: From Snapshots to Great Shots:
http://www.amazon.com/...0047T86GU/
It is a very easy to read introduction to the camera and to general principals of digital photography. I'm not sorry I read it. But I agree with another reviewer that it is not as comprehensive about all of the features of the d3100. There's nothing about taking video (and he admits that he didn't intend it for video). You have to go to the publishers website to get two "bonus" chapters. While on that site I noted that the author wrote a book of the exact same title except that it was for another camera. I could only assume that is why the detail is missing -- probably so that pretty much the same generic photography lessons (which are okay) can be applied to more than one book on various cameras that have similar features. I've ordered another book by Dave Busch that seems far more comprehensive. If you want a very non-threatening, easy to read introduction to digital photography which references and has pictures of the d3100, then this is okay to start with. You will probably wish to go further, as I did.
Follow up 5-23-11 -- The Dave Busch is much more comprehensive and more about just the D3100, and yet is also easy to follow. I would recommend it over this book.
Watch this video tutorial: http://www.nikondigitutor.com/eng/d3100/index.html Who better than Nikon to teach you all about your Nikon D3100?
Learn all you can about Exposure, Light and Composition. Spend time at these sites:
Exposure:
http://www.digital-photography-school.com/learning-exposure-in-digital-photography Whether you ever shoot in Manual or not, learning about the Exposure Triangle which consists of Aperture/ISO/Shutter Speed will help you avoid asking questions similar to this: "I was outside on a sunny day and set my shutter speed to 1/4000 and all my pictures turned out black. I had the aperture at f16 and used ISO 100 because it was so sunny. What's wrong with my camera?" Answer: "Nothing. Your pictures were very underexposed. Your shutter speed should have been at 1/100."
Light.
http://photographyknowhow.com/photography-lighting/
http://photographyknowhow.com/quality-of-light-in-photography/
http://photographyknowhow.com/direction-of-light-in-photography/
Composition.
http://www.photographymad.com/pages/view/10-top-photography-composition-rules
If all you do is go out with your camera and point & shoot, point & shoot, point & shoot, point & shoot without knowing anything about Light, Exposure and Composition then all you'll be doing is taking snapshots. By learning about Light, Exposure and Composition you will begin thinking about them before you release the shutter. I'm convinced that good photography requires thinking about those components.
Your goal should be quality, not quantity. So what if you take 300 pictures and only 3 or 4 are actually worth keeping? What have you accomplished other than snapshots that will only be deleted? Wouldn't it be better to make 40 or 50 exposures that are all worth keeping? Even if only 90% are worth space on your hard drive you've accomplished something to be proud of.
So educate yourself about Exposure, Light and Composition and begin learning to think about them before you release the shutter.
It's kind of like learning how to drive a car. You will never learn unless you go out and practice.