# First pictures with my new DSLR



## admg1 (Mar 4, 2008)

After years of wanting to improve my photography skills, I finally took the plunge and bought myself a DSLR 
Its only an entry level Canon 1100d with the kit 18-55mm lens but i'm looking to add a couple of different lenses when funds allow.
I've only used basic point and shoot cameras in the past so hopefully with a lot of reading and advice i'll be able to improve my photography skills in the near future.

Here's a couple of pics of "Bob" my Gold Severum Cichlid




And some random beetle


Any advice on things to change to improve the pictures will be much appreciated.
Thanks :thumb:


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## Multipla Mick (Feb 5, 2006)

Pretty good photos if you ask me. Maybe the Beetle one could do with a bit of a tweak to make it 'pop' a little more, bit of contrast or playing with levels or whatever tools for image editing you have. 
You can also have a play with some of the scene mode presets if you like, things like Landscape mode boost saturation, sharpness and contrast a bit in camera. Compacts often boost all those on their default settings, while DSLRs don't, so first time with a DSLR can leave people disappointed with the pictures they get. But you can use a pre set or create your own custom presets I believe. (I shoot in RAW as it is ideal for correcting my shortcomings small adjustments on the computer afterwards )

Don't go apologising for 'only' having an entry level model though. It doesn't matter what camera it is, it's what you do with it that counts really. I've got a 450D and the only reason I'd upgrade it is to get a metal body, preferably weather sealed. But all the extra doo dads and whatnots that come with the upper level cameras would just confuse me even more than I am already :lol:


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## admg1 (Mar 4, 2008)

Thanks for your comments and advice Mick:thumb:
When I've read up a bit more of what does what, I'm going to have a play around with the settings a bit more.


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## Guest (May 30, 2012)

Welcome to the DSLR beginners club.

I also bought one (but a Nikon D3100) a little while back and am slowly getting more and more into photography, still got so much to learn.


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## ovolo (Jun 7, 2009)

Great photos matey :thumb: 

I got a Nikon d5100 last July and have been in the unfortunate position of being off work for the last few months. However this has given me loads of time to play with my camera and all it's various settings. Only last week I realised I could do HDR "in camera" I find that practice and looking at other peoples shots to see what you can do gives you a great basis to work from and also gives you inspiration to do stuff you wouldn't have thought of. Don't be over critical either, I was going to delete some shots from the weekend when my mate said he thought they were brilliant, I thought they were rubbish. Have a look at talk photography too mate might get a few ideas. 

Oh and finally like detailing you'll always be buying stuff you "need" too.

Good luck and keep posting your images.


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## admg1 (Mar 4, 2008)

Thanks For your comments and advice Gurj and ovolo :thumb:


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## bretti_kivi (Apr 22, 2008)

Gurj247 said:


> ...still got so much to learn.


It doesn't stop. You get better at anticipating, but there's always something that doesn't necessarily work 100% how you expected. And yes, those numbers go down over time, but we're talking years / decades. So don't worry if it doesn't feel like it will work now, you do need to work at it.

- Bret


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## chris l (Mar 5, 2007)

Nice photos mate. How you finding the 1100D so far? Been looking at them myself as a complete beginner.


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## admg1 (Mar 4, 2008)

chris l said:


> Nice photos mate. How you finding the 1100D so far? Been looking at them myself as a complete beginner.


So far i've been getting on alright with it, although I haven't got as far as using the manual settings yet. 
Although I'm no expert, I'd definitely recommend it for a beginner :thumb:


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## chris l (Mar 5, 2007)

admg1 said:


> So far i've been getting on alright with it, although I haven't got as far as using the manual settings yet.
> Although I'm no expert, I'd definitely recommend it for a beginner :thumb:


Cheers, been looking at one for a while just can't make my mind up.


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## DrDax (Apr 16, 2009)

Nice starting pics. 
Learn how to use manual, understand depth of field, shutter speeds, composition (rule of thirds) 
Understand how the camera sensor detects light very different to how human eye sees light. 

Photography is easy to do but takes a lifetime to master. 
There are some great books on the subject 

Most of all just enjoy it, just because someone else dislikes yours pics, so what. The main thing is do you like them? 



Sent from my GT-P1000 using Tapatalk 2


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