i cannot figure out this camera.. help?

color of my heart

color of my heart

New member
okay. so i have a brand-spanking new camera. i've had it since april. it's a nikon d3100 (i think it's a 3100). i've used it a couple times. and it's obvious that it's nothing like my p&s. and my pictures have come out terrible.

i just feel like an idiot because i can't take photos with this camera. they're all very washed out and way too bright. the focus is off. they look AWESOME when they come up on the little screen after i take them. but once they're big and on my computer, they're super washed out or bright or completely out of focus.

we're moving home in a couple weeks, i'm hoping that the city still does "community enrichment courses" like they have in the past, because they had a couple digital photography classes a couple years ago. if not, i think the college does noncredit courses. but who knows if they'll be offered in the fall.

so.

until i can find a course to take, do you lovely ladies any book suggestions? websites? tutorials? hints?
 
My first suggestion is to read your manual. There's a ton of information in there and it sounds like you can probably tweak your settings fairly easily to get the shots you want.

What kind of lens are you using? If you have a manual for that read it too. Start on auto and then move on to your other settings AP/ P etc. and then manual. Instead of going strictly by your LCD use your histogram. If you get some decent shots on auto read the exif info so you can gauge a starting point on your shots etc.
 
I have a 5100. Shooting with a DSLR has a big learning curve. Your pictures will look tons better if you shoot in manual mode. There are lots of websites to teach you how to do that. It does take time to learn, but it is so worth it.
Here are a few sites to help you:
clickinmoms.com (the blog will help even if you don't join the forum, but the forum is awesome)
http://www.kevinandamanda.com/whats...to-understanding-your-digital-slr-camera.html
http://my3boybarians.com/31-days-series/
http://clickitupanotch.com/2010/09/shooting-in-manual-the-basics/ (I found this one on a google search)
Good luck!
 
Could you post some of the images with the metadata/settings? That might give us a better idea of what's happening. Also what mode are you shooting in? Even in auto with auto focus you should be getting decent photos unless you're shooting in tricky light.
 
Practice practice practice. I cringe at all of the blurry or washed out from the flash photos from the days I was too scared to shoot in manual, and wish I had really started sooner. I honestly think that some p&s cameras shoot better than DSLRs on auto because the kit lens doesn't have a very wide aperture.
 
@ keely~b: it didn't come with a manual :thumbdown: there was a cd that came with it, but the cd wouldn't work in any computer i tried it in. i tried in a mac and two different pc's. it kept giving me an error, so i gave up.
and i'm using the kit lens. i figure that if i can learn to use the kit lens, i can then move onto a better lens.

@ scrapmommaof3: i'll check those out. thanks for the links! and i know i should shoot in manual, everyone's told me to learn to shoot in manual. but i can't even get auto down. but when i do, definitely gonna do the manual mode.

@ nettio: lemme find the worst of the worst. they're on my desktop computer somewhere in a folder. i'll post them. and if i can find the metadata, i'll post that too.

@ glumirk: i've ALWAYS has a p&s. it's all i've ever really used. the few times i used a dslr before i bought one? someone had always set the settings beforehand. i almost regret buying the big camera, even though i know i'll want it and be able to use it.

thanks everyone. i'll be back with photo examples. once i switch computers.
 
I have D3000 and there was a learning curve. Sounds like you might have your white balance out of whack. In my menu, there is a way to reset all the settings. You could try that and see if you can get back to factory settings and go forward from there.
 
I have teh same camera, and I get GREAT photos on auto. I mean, not like I could sell them or anything, but they make me happy. Maybe the problem is with the settings on your computer and not the camera. But yay for having the manual now! I bet you can figure out how to get really great photos with it!
 
There is definitely a learning curve with any DSLR!

The manual is probably the best place for you to start, I found where you can download it in a PDF form directly from the Nikon site - https://support.nikonusa.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/16910/~/reference-manual---d3100

Another resource I found helpful when I got my first DSLR was the 2 Peas 12 Weeks to Better Photos course, it looks like the PDF's are still available on their forum - http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/mb.asp?cmd=display&forum_id=21&thread_id=3053442

Also as far as lenses go, the 50mm 1.8 lens is a great starter lens and worked much better for me than the kit lens ever did (and made learning to shoot in manual so much easier). It's fairly inexpensive and works pretty good in low light situations.
 
it is certainly a learning curve, but I would say start on auto and see what you get...also sounds like maybe on the actual lens there is usually a "M" and "AF" button/slider and yours might be on the "M"...if it is that could be why you are getting really bad photos...check that and make sure it is slide to the "AF" for auto focus....I don't know much about Nikon;s but I know that I found TONS of resources on youtube!
 
You should read this series of blog posts by Katrina Kennedy at The Daily Digi. (Start with the last one there; they show up with the most recent first.) I have a mirrorless/compact system camera; I think of it like a baby DSLR. I upgraded from a P&S planning to use it in auto, and for the first few months I was so disappointed with the photos I was getting! I finally decided I had to learn to use it better, and Katrina's tutorials were my "aha" moment for understanding how to make it work off auto. Before that I'd flipped through a few books, and they made manual sound so confusing.

After reading Katrina's posts, I spend a few months shooting in shutter priority mode which gave me more control and better pictures than auto but was less confusing than going straight to manual mode. When I finally decided to give manual a try, it was much easier than I thought it would be. It wouldn't have been if I'd gone straight from auto to manual, but having the intermediate step made a big difference for me.

Getting a new lens helped too; my variable zoom kit lens just didn't let me get good indoor pictures because it couldn't let enough light in. When I got to the point that I was happy with my outdoor photos but still couldn't get good indoor photos, I invested in a better lens and it helped a lot.
 
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Lots of good ideas above!!

First yes, give us examples, it could very well be you or maybe it could be the camera! Seriously it happens very rarely but it does, so more data is needed to help you!

Second, yes read the manual, boring I know (and since it didn't come with a physical one there are all digital versions available online free and it comes handy if you are looking for somethign specific).

Thirdly, where were these photos taken? Even what seems like "lots of light" to us inside really isn't great light to a low-end camera/low-end lens. So most common problem people find inside shots are blurry. And this is usually due to too low shutter speed (how long between click and click of one picture - shutter open/shutter closed). The quicker the clicks (bigger the SS number 40, 60....250 etc) the more motion is frozen. So for inside shots most cameras on auto select a super slow shutter speed over increasing ISO especially if you are using the kit lens. So then your person has moved in that time of the clicks and all you see is the blurry mess of the combined image of their moving. So this is really common. Outside there is generally enough light for the camera/lens to keep the SS (shutter speed) up and such to freeze the action/movement. Oh and even if people think they are "still" they are moving all the time a little back and forth. There are lots of great tutorials out there that explain this more in-depth.

But I've found that with my friends, the most common problem has been their inside photos of their kids and their cameras/lenses just couldn't handle low light well. So now I recommend for everyone the 35mm f1.8 lens to start learning with. More expensive than the 50, but more useable inside on the camera. Unless you like just head-shots. The nifty-fifty (50mm f1.8) is cheaper but I found I couldn't get more than head-shots with mine inside.

And I second ClickinMoms. Even if you don't subscribe, the blog posts are very good. The membership though has been so worth it for me, but for now I'm sure you are looking for free options.

Also, look to see if you have exposure compensation (read in manual) set high. This might be why your photos are washed out. Again...examples and settings will help. What is the ISO, the Shutter Speed (SS) the aperture (f number) and the metering mode (read manual), focusing mode (read manual) and double check the Exposure Compensation.

I'm sure with a little help and good light...we can get you shooting great with your camera!:hugs:.
 
okay. i found my photos. funny thing is? the pictures i took a month ago when i was home, on an overcast day, came out perfectly. but the ones i took when it was semi-sunny when i was home in april? horrific. i sized them down cause they were MASSIVE. hopefully my issues come across. i didn't edit, i just took the dpi down from 300 to 72.

overcast day, auto setting: http://i39.tinypic.com/308uz5g.jpg
META: http://i44.tinypic.com/2eckkkm.jpg

semi-sunny day, auto setting: http://i44.tinypic.com/rjdzph.jpg
META: http://i42.tinypic.com/120nleh.jpg

see what i mean? if there's a ton of clouds? pictures look awesome. any kind of sun? washed out and gross.

thanks for the links and suggestions, everyone! and thank you keely and shawna! i found it weird that it didn't come with a full book, and only a cd. i didn't realize the manuals were online.
 
So in the second photo, the semi-sunny day one, it says the Exposure Program was set to Manual but you said it was in auto. Is it possible the dial got switched and you didn't realize it? Because that photo is definitely overexposed and if you look at the settings, they're kind of off for being outside during the day: ISO 1600, SS 1/20, f/10, where as the settings in your first photo are more normal: ISO 100, SS 1/250, f/8. It could be that the camera meter got confused by the dark siding of the house and over compensated for it, but the entire photo looks overexposed, so I'm not convinced it's that.
 
I agree with Lynette, that is kinda odd. And it does say its in Manual Exposure mode on one and not on the other.

It could be matrix metering as well depending on the darkness of the wall. See your camera wants to make the average of the scene middle gray. It really doesn't see colors it sees shades of gray (not the book! LOL) and uses this mathematical syestem (matrix) to figure out how to add all the differing blacks, whites and grays to make middle gray. So if this wall were VERY dark and most of the photo, it would over expose the photo to make overall gray. But like Lynette said, this seems more of an overall exposure issue. either through exposure compensation or it being in the wrong mode (Manual) and used inside previously.

And it makes sense on cloudy days its better, everything is more "gray" in brightness so the average looks more like real life!

Even if you don't learn manual exposure for now, learning how to use Exposure Compensation and how the camera works is good! Exposure compensation kinda is like a way to tell the "smart" camera that its not being smart (more difficult lighting situations). Scenes like snowy days, dark nights, bridal gowns or white dresses, black tuxedo or background. Etc. Exposure compensation with a + means make everything brighter than you think, and exposure compensation with a - means bring everything darker than you think.

I will also tell you, bright sunny high noon days...will have very bright brights and deep shadows. So getting good portraits/people photos this time of day is hard to not get under-eye shadows. But since this is a house...not the case here!
 
now it makes sense. thank you so much. i know why it was set to manual. my fiance takes photos in manual mode. he must have used it without telling me. and as for the "overexposure" thing, it was definitely a user-error. it was probably the weather mixed with it being in manual mixed with me not knowing wtf i'm doing.

i'm definitely gonna check out all the links, and try and teach myself. i figure i have a few years before we have babies. i have the time to practice. :thumbup:

again, thank you so so much, ladies. i do appreciate it :hugs:

also, to the people who suggested it- clickin moms might be an option for me. just not right yet. it's less expensive than i thought it was, so maybe i'll join after christmas. i've looked through their blog before, and i remember it being awesome. so thanks for the suggestion. if you think it's worth it, i trust you (:

oh, and i'm going to look into either the 50mm lens or the 35mm lens that were suggested. we have a camera store out here, so i'm gonna go talk to the guy tomorrow, and see what they have in stock.
 
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Also another wonderful forum option is Light Inspired, the forum subscription pricing is probably similar to CM but they also have a lot of info on the blog & Facebook and they are offering workshops and focal points will be available soon. All of the girls over there are super sweet and there are all levels of photographers from beginners to advanced etc.

http://lightinspired.net/
 
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