Beginners Guide to Using your 1st DSLR Camera....
Got a New DSLR Camera ?
The First Question is... How do you set up a DSLR camera before you've even thought about how do use a DSLR Camera.
When starting out with a DSLR camera, all the different camera setting can often be a bit daunting at the start.
People often get frustrated and overwhelmed at all the different options in the camera menu along with all the different buttons and dials on the camera itself and often put the camera away and don't go back to it.
But this is where I'm going to help you.....
The First Question is... How do you set up a DSLR camera before you've even thought about how do use a DSLR Camera.
When starting out with a DSLR camera, all the different camera setting can often be a bit daunting at the start.
People often get frustrated and overwhelmed at all the different options in the camera menu along with all the different buttons and dials on the camera itself and often put the camera away and don't go back to it.
But this is where I'm going to help you.....
DSLR cameras are often slightly different based on brand and on different models of that brand.
Hopefully you've bought a Starter DSLR model, usually at the cheaper end of the camera market but don't let the term Started DSLR Camera fool you, they are often as capable as more expensive cameras especially in decent daylight conditions but they have a more simplified menu and set up so as to not overwhelm newcomers to photography. Start by taking a look at your camera manual, there's usually a diagram somewhere near the start with a list of what buttons are for what on your camera. Although you may not understand what the terms mean or what they actually do, when someone mentions one in the future you'll be able to find it or recall seeing it in the manual. At this stage don't start to change setting in your menu or other settings. Don't forget to fully charge your camera battery and make sure you have a memory card in your camera, these are simple things but many a photographer has forgotten one or the other at some point.
Taking your first photos... Get your camera ready, put the fully charged battery and the memory card in. Make sure your lens is attached correctly, then you are all ready to go. It's probably best if you go outside in daylight, maybe in your garden or in the street, to try your camera out for the first time rather than being inside your living room. If your room is dark or you try taking a photo of someone or something in front of your window your photo may not turn out too well or may not even take a photo at all because of the lighting. Turn the dial on top of the camera to Auto... (I know you want to jump right in and starting using all the different setting but it's better to do little steps and work your way up rather than start at the top and find you don't know where to start with it) Turn your camera on, if you have a zoom lens, twist it until goes about half way, if your lens has a button on it you will hear a click and this is the minimum zoom the lens can be used at. Now look through the viewfinder (don't forget to take the lens cap off), and twist your lens to zoom in and out until your happy with the scene in your viewfinder. 
At the bottom of the display in the viewfinder you'll see a row of numbers, along with some other symbols, these numbers are your ISO - Aperture - Shutter Speed, some or all may keep changing as you move your camera around as the camera tries to automatically allow for the light, distance, movement etc. Don't worry about them now but they will be important as you learn more about photography.
Aim your camera at an area you want to photograph, keep the camera steady, half press your shutter button, your camera will now autofocus, you will usually see some squares appear, these are focus points and they usually turn from red to black as the camera completes it autofocus, (in good light you may not see the colour change as the camera may focus extremely quickly) wait until they have turned black then press the button fully, and now the camera will take the photo. Often your camera will automatically show you the photo preview now on the screen at the back, if not take a look at your manual for the preview button, it's often a little button with a "play button" symbol, pressing this should then show you your photograph. If this or my other Photography Advice guides have helped you,
please show your appreciation to a small independent business. It takes lots of my time to keep writing and posting these guides here to help for free. Clicking the button below and buying me a coffee would be great help..... Thank You ! Take a look at your photo, it should be fairly sharp, not too bright and not too dark, and have decent colour to it. Now repeat, many many times and practice. The more photos you take the better your photos become and the more you start to understand what you can and can't do with your camera. Go to a local park, take photos of the scenery, your partner, the dog, statues, sporty cars, flowers or anything else that you want to. Not all your photos will be great but don't get disheartened, its all part of the learning process. Its like anything else you start to do, learning to drive or learning a new language, you don't pick it up in a day... you make plenty of mistakes at the beginning but you do learn from them and things get better and easier the more your practice. Later when you feel comfortable using the AUTO setting, if you want to, take the next step and have another look at the camera manual at the other dial settings and try some of the other semi automatic setting, these are usually little symbols on your camera... For example, you may have a flower, a persons head, or one that shows a person running... this is for taking photos of faster moving people or things like cars. This setting tells your camera that what you are photographing is moving so the camera will prioritise Shutter Speed and make it faster to try capture the object that's moving without blurring it. Now when your taking your photos, try to take a look at the numbers I said earlier to forget about, ISO - Shutter Speed - Aperture. Or take a look at them when you've downloaded your photos onto your computer.
They change all the time when using the auto setting depending on light, what you are trying to photograph, distance from camera to objects. This is the camera trying to get the best photo it can for you from the scene you are taking a photograph of. As you progress in your photography journey these become more important when you start to take the next step to start using the A / AV or S / SS settings, at which time you are then starting to take even more control over the settings from the camera. As you read about photography you'll see the Exposure Triangle mentioned often, this refers to the ISO - Aperture - Shutter Speed, but don't worry about these just now... enjoy the start of your photography journey. Read on for some early DSLR Camera User Typical Issues....
Having Issues...
No Memory Card warning.... Memory cards have a little slider switch which locks the card so you can't delete content or use the card, sometimes these get switched accidently. trying taking the card out and moving the switch in the other direction. Camera won't take photos.... This could be a couple of things, 1st make sure you have a memory card in the camera. 2nd make sure your lens is attached correctly and make sure you have extended your zoom lens at least half way. 3rd, Check the area you are photographing is not too dark for your camera to focus, if the camera can't see to focus, it sometimes won't take a photo. For instance if you are trying to take photos at a family party in an event room and it's quite dark compared to outside or if you are trying to take photos outside at dusk or at night. (Don't worry, there are ways to solve these issues and I'll cover that in another post).. Blurry Photo.... Make sure you've set the dial to auto and the items you are photographing are not moving. 2nd, Make sure you have half pressed the shutter button and given the autofocus chance to work, the red squares will need to turn black. 3rd, make sure you are keeping still when taking the photo. 4th, If the area you are photographing is fairly dark the shutter speed may slow down too much for you to keep the camera still whilst holding it and the photos will come out blurry. More Tips and Advice >>>
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