Day 9: Manual Round 2

     After finally figuring out all the settings on my camera, I decided to give manual another shot. Instead of taking pictures of my dogs, however, I took pictures of the plants in my yard. I figured this would be easier because plants don't move when you're trying to take a picture of them. I basically did trial and error. I would guess what I thought would work, and then adjust my camera accordingly. I ended up getting a lot of pictures that were either too bright, or too dark, but I did get a lot that I was happy with. I was also really happy because I was able to see firsthand what each setting on my camera controlled.
     Since I was feeling really confident, I decided to do a small photo shoot with my sister, Sydney. I really liked using my sister as a model because she's really photogenic. She also doesn't act all weird in front of the camera the way other people do. In addition to her being a good model, she likes it, so it was easy to get her to participate. I'm extremely happy with my results from today. I'm also really thankful my sister was patient enough to let me fix the settings on my camera multiple times for each picture.

Pics from today:

Day 8: First Time on Manual

     After all my research yesterday, I thought I would be able to try shooting on manual today. It did not go well at all. I went into my backyard before sunset to try and take some pictures of my dogs. They were all turning out very dark and I couldn't figure out how to fix the settings on my camera. The sun started setting, making my pictures even worse than they already were. So, I decided to go figure out how to change the settings. By the time I figured out how my camera worked, it was too dark to go take pictures. Overall, my first time on manual was pretty disastrous.

Pics from this disaster:

Day 7: More Research

     If I've learned one thing about photography, its that it takes just as much research as it does practice to improve. What I mean by that is, you really have to spend time learning about all the things that go into taking a photo. There's the amount of light, the distance between you and your subject, the angle you're taking the picture at, and more. So, I decided to go on YouTube and watch some tutorials on basic photography, and take notes on them.
     After doing some research, I decided to make a goal for myself: to learn how to shoot on manual mode. When shooting on manual, you manually control everything on your camera. This is much harder, but it gives you more control over what your picture will look like.

Day 6: Second Day Shooting (game 3)

     So today, for the third game, I really wanted to focus on making sure my pictures are in focus, and focused on the subject. When we arrived at the field, I realized that this was a turf field. The previous day they had played on grass. I quickly noticed the light reflected off the turf much more than it did the grass. I was unsure of how this would effect my pictures, so I took a lot of practice pictures of my sister warming up. Luckily, because I was on sport mode, my camera naturally adjusted to the light.
     After reviewing my pictures from the game, I wasn't really happy with my improvement. I did improve a little bit, but not as much as I had wanted to. This is something I will continue to improve on.

pics from today:

Day 5: First Day Shooting (game 2)

     So after reviewing my pictures from this morning, I tried to think of what I could improve on for the second game. I needed to focus my pictures on the right subject, work on the timing of my pictures, and holding the camera level. I decided to keep my camera in Sport Mode for the second game.
     After reviewing my pictures from the second game, I could already see improvement. I improved the most on the timing of when I snapped the pictures. I also did a better job keeping the camera level. There are still a lot of pictures that are out of focus or not focused on the subject, but I am still working on it. I know I still have a lot to learn and improve on, but I am really pleased with how much I have already progressed in a matter of hours.

some pics from today:

Day 5: First Day Shooting (game 1)

     Today was my first day taking pictures! My little sister had two soccer games today that I went to take pictures of. Since I was only going to be taking action shots, I put my camera on the Sport Mode. This mode basically adjusts everything for you so you can just point, focus, and shoot. This makes it so you don't miss any good shots because you're adjusting the settings for each individual picture.

     For the first game, I think my pictures turned out decent, considering it was my first time. My biggest problem was clicking the button too late. Someone would do something, and instead of taking pictures of them in the act, I would take the pictures too late and miss it. Also, a lot of my pictures were out of focus or focusing on the wrong part of the image.

some pics from today:

Day 4: New Camera!

   Today I got my camera!!! After a bit more research I decided I wanted to get the Nikon D3300. I went to Best Buy and ended up getting a bundle. It came with the camera and two lenses. The first was the AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II, and the second was the AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED VR II. I noticed that the second lens was much bigger than the first lens. The first thing I did was take out the manual and start reading it. The first thing it said to do was to attach the strap to the camera. That was pretty easy. Then it said to charge the battery. While the battery was charging I continued to read the manual. It showed what each part of the camera was and what it did. It also showed all the settings on the camera. Once the battery was charged, I inserted it and the memory card into the camera. From there the camera asked me to select a language and put in the date and time. Once I was done setting up the camera, I attached a lens to it and started looking around and focusing it on things in my room. By then it was really late so I decided to play with it again in the morning.

Day 3: Camera Problems :(

     Life lesson: Do not let anyone order something online that you haven't approved of! So a few days ago, my dad ordered the camera I asked him to order. I told him to either get me the Nikon D3200 or the Nikon D3300. He ended up ordering the D3200 off of amazon. Today, the package arrived in the mail. I opened the box and took out the instruction manual and the camera itself. I was confused because it didn't come with a lens. I emptied all the packaging out of the box, thinking maybe I missed it, but I hadn't. It just didn't come with a lens. So, my dad went back to amazon to check the order, and it said in big, bold letters, "BODY ONLY". After yelling at my dad for a few minutes, he said he would take me to go buy a camera tomorrow.

Day 2: Research

     My goal for today was to learn some more about basic photography so I could decide what camera I wanted to buy. I didn't really achieve that goal, but I am closer than I was before. I started out by watching some more videos on YouTube, and then moved over to google. I found Photography Concentrate's, "The Ultimate Guide to Buying a New Camera," by Lauren Lim (http://photographyconcentrate.com/camera-buying-guide/) to be the most helpful. I decided I wanted to get a DSLR, or digital single-lens reflex camera. The only question I had left was what brand, and what model. I decided I was either going to get a Canon or Nikon, but I was having a hard time deciding.