Learning my new camera

Moose

I was talking with a fellow D3100 owner over on my Facebook page and she was wondering how best to learn her new camera. I thought it would be beneficial to share our conversation with all of you...

Kea's Question: I've just received a Nikon D3100 for Christmas. Very new into the whole photography thing. Would you recommend I take a quick course to get the best out of the camera or just a bit of time and practice does the trick??

Moose's Answer: My advice is to make the mode dial your new best friend (big round dial on top of your camera).

Stay away from P, S, A and M for the time being and start using the other modes depending on which shooting situation you're in. For example, when shooting landscapes (sunsets, beach, mountains) rotate the mode dial to the 'Mountain' icon. When shooting portraits or small groups (2 to 5 people), use the 'Portrait' icon. By selecting a scene mode, you're telling the D3100 exactly what you're looking at which helps it determine the best settings to use in that situation.

If you take lots of shots indoors, you may want to start saving up for an external flash. Most people don't realize that an external flash can actually give you more natural looking shots when shooting indoors under low light. If you angle the external flash upward towards the ceiling, the light will spread evenly throughout the room giving you more light and a more natural looking shots of your friends and family. The Nikon SB-400 is a great starter speedlight, which is both affordable and compact. All you really need to do is slide it onto the hot-shoe and let the D3100 take control...the D3100 is pretty intuitive.

Lastly, I would get yourself a copy of Scott Kelby's Digital Photography Book. It's not your normal book, full of technical terms and long chapters. Rather, each page is broken down into a singular topic. He usually provides an example photo on each page which makes understanding certain settings much easier for a beginner.

JohnPaulPatton

Thanks for sharing that!