No more "auto"

Yesterday my Nikon 5000 and I attended a one-day photography class.  Yes, one year after getting my nice camera I finally decided to take it off of "auto" and use some of the many features it has rather than using it as an expensive "point and shoot" camera.

I learned all about aperture and F-Stops, shutter speed, ISO, white balance, lighting, exposure compensation, and a lot of other stuff.

I also learned that I need another lens. I have two really nice lenses, but the one I want is a 50mm F1.8G fixed lens, the lady sitting next to me in class had that lens and I fell in love with it.  Nobody in Colorado Springs has it in stock right now.  We could have driven up to Denver, but I really should wait until my birthday in March.  (I'm just not very good at waiting though.)

I learned so much that my head was spinning on the drive home from the class.  Now, "what did I do to fix that", or "how did I get that affect", "when should the F-Stop be low", etc. etc. etc.?

It's a good thing I took a lot of notes

Today I took the big step and took my camera off of "auto".  Mary has been wanting some shots of her and Mr. Beans so I had a perfect chance to practice some of my new skills.

I still have a lot to learn and I need a lot of practice, but I got a few good shots (out of 400). Below are 12 of my favorites. 

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

#7

#8

#9

#10

#11

#12
Don't I have a beautiful daughter and handsome grandson?  I don't think I did too bad for my first "shoot", although it's hard to take a bad picture when there is such an amazing back drop.
My favorite--#9, but #6 is pretty good too.  If we want a picture with Bella in it then I'll have to go with #3.

Which one do you like the best?  Please vote!  (The poll is in the upper right border)

Comments

Yogi♪♪♪ said…
These are great. You were really paying attention in class. I could use a lesson because the I find the manual baffling but the lessons are geared toward those with Digital SLR's with detachable lenses. I don't feel it quite yet to step up to such a camera.
January 29, 2012 at 7:58 PM
Dana of Oz said…
Mom, I have the 50mm prime and it's my favorite for portrait sessions. You can get it on Amazon for a decent price. You can also get it from B&H Audio/Visual.

You did well! I like the pictures - I really like the last one of Mary.
January 30, 2012 at 1:43 AM
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