Shoot Fly Shoot

A few years ago, I purchased a Canon Rebel DSLR camera, because I wanted to start taking better pictures.

But.....I never took it off the Auto setting.  I have read MANY books on photography and quite frankly it was all Greek to me.  I couldn't for the life of me understand F-Stops, ISO, Aperture etc.

A few months back, I found the Shoot Fly Shoot blog.  It was created by Josh Moates and Kevin Palmer.  

I signed up to take their Photography 101 class.  It is a training class for beginners set in video format.  I am so happy I took this class.  Kevin and Josh cleared up the mystery of my camera settings and what each one does and how they work together.

Now, I am just beginning to practice what I learned, but I wanted to show you some examples of photos I took today.  I will show you one with the AUTO setting, and one with the MANUAL setting.

Here is a plate with a lemon and tomato, taken on the AUTO setting.

Now look at the same plate taken in the Manual setting.  I used a 50MM lenses for both shots.

My living room in this rental house is VERY dark.  I found it was hard to get a good shot with the AUTO setting.  The picture below was taken with the AUTO setting and the camera was on a tripod, but still turned out blurry.

The same shot below was taken with the MANUAL setting and the camera was on a tripod.  I used a 18-55mm lens for both living room shots.

Now remember, I am just starting to apply what I learned, and I am thrilled with the pictures I am starting to get.

If you are interested in learning how to take pictures in the manual setting, click on the link on my sidebar and go to Shoot Fly Shoot to sign up.  I HIGHLY recommend Josh and Kevin!