.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Learning-See-C...6507043&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-...6507043&sr=8-2

i know its not a replacement for practice and real training, but those two books helped me A GREAT deal.

and a DVD specific to what camera you buy also compliments those books.

:edit: i have a canon rebel xt.

finding a friend/relative that has an elaborate setup is both good and bad.

good because you can see everything first hand.

bad because you can see everything first hand.

haha because you'll realize that having nicer lenses/equipment makes it a LOT easier to have nicer pictures which means you'll be spending more money. BUT nice equipment only goes so far. theres still a lot to do with understanding of lighting, composition, etc etc. i'm by no means an expert like some of the other HAN members here, but i've learned a lot since i've owned my camera.

at first i was really discouraged because it was really difficult to get some good exposures, but after shooting with friends, talking with pros, and doing a lot of reading, its definitely a hobby that i want to get into further.

 

Those books are nice and all but honestly the only one I reccomend is the Magic Lantern series dealing specifically with your model of body.

The seeing of shapes, subjects and colours I feel is a natural thing and either you have it or you don't.

 

whew, i thought you were going to rape me a new one after my post. h:

coming from uber noob status, those books did open my eyes to how difficult it is to get a good picture.

i'll look into the magic lantern books for my camera. thanks!

 

Yeah, thats why we're leaning towards Nikon for Jenna. A lot of her glass is old though, so we might end up replacing anyway. I'm NOT looking forward to buying a new telephoto!

 

why replace it? just because it's old??

 

From what i hear / read, the older telephoto lenses have speed and light issues that drastically reduce quality on digital.

 

Someone is feeding you full of shit.

I used and still do use some of my older AF lenses on my DSLR, not a problem as long as they are AF and compatible with your lens mounts on the body.

 

Thats good to hear. Hers is similar to this but was a gift f/ her uncle about 8-10 years ago:
http://www.photographyreview.com/cat...2_3111crx.aspx

edit:
By similar I mean, i think its a 300mm, it has a slide zoom on it, and it looks like this.

 

i still rock my old AF lenses as well. speaking of new cameras and lenses i just ordered my batt grip for my xti