Dslr Cameras

[Kaffy Magee]

I have no idea about cameras. What I want to know is can someone like me who has no knowledge of the ins and outs of cameras, take beautiful photos like I see all the time. I dont want to do it professionally, Im sure I would have to study for that, but I want to take nice pictures of my dogs and my cameras dont cut it. I know there are different lenses for different types of shots, is it just a matter of switching lenses or do you have to mess around with settings etc. I know it comes down to lighting and position, background of the subject etc but I just want nice quality looking photos . I want to be able to point and shoot and be able to take photos quickly, as with dogs, they are moving all the time and my photos always turn out blurry. As I said I have no idea about cameras, I just want to be able to take nice photos, without having to know the ins and outs of the camera Im using. Is this too much too ask???

Edited August 15, 2010 by Kaffy Magee

[Guest Tess32]

I have no idea about cameras. What I want to know is can someone like me who has no knowledge of the ins and outs of cameras, take beautiful photos like I see all the time. I dont want to do it professionally, Im sure I would have to study for that, but I want to take nice pictures of my dogs and my cameras dont cut it. I know there are different lenses for different types of shots, is it just a matter of switching lenses or do you have to mess around with settings etc. I know it comes down to lighting and position, background of the subject etc but I just want nice quality looking photos . I want to be able to point and shoot and be able to take photos quickly, as with dogs, they are moving all the time and my photos always turn out blurry. As I said I have no idea about cameras, I just want to be able to take nice photos, without having to know the ins and outs of the camera Im using. Is this too much too ask???

DSLRs do have an auto function, and *generally* you can get reasonably good (as in sharp, good colour) photos without being an expert. Not every shot will be good, and you will have trouble in difficult lighting conditions (such as indoor shots, when it is getting dark or in midday sun).

Will you get beautiful photos? Sure, sometimes if the light is nice, you'll get some nice photos without even trying. At other times you will get some crap.

Fast moving dogs aren't always easy, and it can actually be harder with a DSLR than a point & shoot. For eg (and without going into why's) if you have a long zoom lens on your DSLR, you will most likely find it difficult to keep focus on a fast moving dog if you don't plan on putting any effort into technique. Or, if you buy a lens like the 50mm 1.4 or 1.8 that is mentioned on here, you'll end up with lots of out of focus eyes and in focus noses if you have a dog with a long snout!

I would say all in all, you'll get some nice shots, and you'll probably find the shots better quality in terms of sharpness, but if you won't learn anything about the camera, you won't be able to guarantee any shots and so some days will be crap and frustrating, and other days you'll get some nice ones.

It's really not *that* hard to learn about photography, you don't need to know the ins and outs of every setting on the camera. If you simply learn about aperture, shutter speed and ISO, you'll get a lot more out of your purchase.

To get consistently good shots takes skill, to get some good ones every now and then, will rely on luck.

[becandcharch]

You are off to a great start with that beautiful model!