# Practice Assignments for Beginner



## BaJillian (Aug 30, 2011)

Hi there!  I am a super beginner (meaning I have had my first SLR for about two months).  

I have been reading a lot and shooting a lot, but I find myself shooting aimlessly most of the time and I still find that "auto" gives better results than when I try to mess with the settings. 

I would like to give myself some assignments to work on to practice specific skills, but I don't know where to start (or even what "specific skills" I am looking for). 

Does anybody have any suggestions for beginner assignments that I can work on? 

Thanks!


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## DiskoJoe (Aug 30, 2011)

1. go take some portraits. do a close up, a half body shot, and a full body shot. 
2. take a picture of a flower, a tree and a building/house
3. go find a reflection: water, glass, cement

once you find all of theses post them back and ill give you some feed back.

try using Aperture mode (A-mode) in the AF settings.


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## bazooka (Aug 30, 2011)

Specifically, what are the results when you 'try to mess with the settings'?


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## BaJillian (Aug 30, 2011)

Thanks DiskoJoe!  I have some of flowers from this weekend that I will post.  The rest I will work on this weekend   Thanks again for the help!


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## BaJillian (Aug 30, 2011)

Hi bazooka.....I am not trying to mess with specific settings, so I can't tell you much.  So far, I have tried to take a picture of something in auto-mode and then use the manual settings to replicate that picture.  (trial and error).  My theory was that by trying different things, I would learn how the different settings work.  But I am beginning to think I was a little ambitious and should go back and learn some basics first.


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## DiskoJoe (Aug 30, 2011)

Baby steps. 

looking forward to the pics.


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## AgentDrex (Aug 30, 2011)

What About Bob?


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## MTVision (Aug 30, 2011)

There are 6 correct exposures for every picture. Set your camera on manual mode. Put it on a tripod if you have one. Put ISO @ 200.  Set your aperture (f #) as low as it goes then adjust the shutter speed until it shows a correct exposure then take the picture.  Then raise the aperture up one whole stop (look up f stops to determine what a full stop is) then adjust shutter speed again until correct exposure shows and take the picture. Keep doing this until you get to your highest f #. The subject should be stationary (a person or object). 

Send me a message with your camera type and the lens you have and I can tell you what your aperture (f #'s) will be. You will want to jot down the information from this. Manual mode is the only way to go!

Another thing you can do is:  take a stationary subject and keep your lens on one focal length like 35 or 55. Step back until the subject is centered and there is alot of space above under and on the sides. Select a correct exposure with shutter speed and aperture. Take the picture. Then walk 5 steps forward and take a picture. Keep doing this until you are so close your lens won't focus. Then repeat this on your knees and on your belly. It helps you see creatively!

Like I said if you need more info send me a msg and I will go into more detail if you'd like. I just did both of these and they really helped!


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## willis_927 (Aug 30, 2011)

Try finding a row of trees (or a bunch of any object in a sort of line for that matter...  fence posts), put the camera on Av, and adjust the aperature. The camera will automatically adjust the shutter speed for you to properly expose the photo. Now compare the results. Notice how the photo using F4 has only 1 tree perfectly in focus, and that the rest of the trees begin to go out of focus? Look at the picture at F22, notice how mostly all of the trees are in focus? 

Find a rotating object, such as a windmill, or ceiling fan etc. Put the camera in Tv, start with a slower shutter speed, notice the blades are blurred? Now with a fast shutter speed. Notice the blades are no longer blurred? 

I would recommend doing these in a well lit area or you may run into exposure issues, if you are limited by you max aperature of your lens for example. 

Realize this is not the only thing that the aperature and shutter speed will do for you, but it will be a good chance to get started. Once you realise how these can help you, you will want to shoot in Manual mode, so you can controle both as once!


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## bazooka (Aug 30, 2011)

BaJillian said:


> Hi bazooka.....I am not trying to mess with specific settings, so I can't tell you much. So far, I have tried to take a picture of something in auto-mode and then use the manual settings to replicate that picture. (trial and error). My theory was that by trying different things, I would learn how the different settings work. But I am beginning to think I was a little ambitious and should go back and learn some basics first.



No no, this is good!  Nothing overly ambitious about it.  It's more simple than you're making out to be.

Your camera has three settings which determine how much light gets to the sensor... shutter speed, aperture, and ISO.  These are the only 3 things that affect how much light gets to the sensor (white balance and scene processing is added after the fact, but can be changed if you shoot in RAW, but don't worry about this for now).  Shutter speed is how much time any given pixel on the sensor is exposed to the scene.  Aperture is how large the opening in the lens is when you trigger the shutter (aperture doesn't change until the shutter fires, which is why the viewfinder doesn't get lighter or darker as you adjust aperture).  ISO is how sensitive the sensor is to light.

Each of these three things have 'side-effects' in addition to controlling the amount of light.

Shutter speed introduces action stopping speed (1/1000th of a second), or can blur even the slowest moving celestial bodies (2 minutes).  Physically moving the camera while the shutter is open also causes motion blur of the entire scene, but this is almost always unwanted unless your going for something abstract.

A large, wide open (f/1.4) aperture can give you a very thin area inside your image that is in focus while the rest is out of focus.  A small aperture (f/16) can make that area (known as depth of field, or DoF) much deeper, bringing more of the scene into focus from front to back.

A high ISO makes the sensor more sensitive to light, requiring 'slower' shutter speed or smaller aperture, but it also generates noise in the image, which is usually undesirable.

These three attributes form the exposure triangle and they are all measured in 'f-stops' or just 'stops'.  Each stop is a relative measure of light.  One stop of ISO, is the same as one stop of aperture, which is the same as one stop of shutter speed.

Common ISO stops:
100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200

100 to 200 is one stop faster.  200 to 100 is one stop slower.  800 to 100 is 3 stops slower.  etc....

Shutter speed works the same way but is measured in seconds:
1/250", 1/120", 1/60", 1/30", 1/15", 1/4" etc....

Aperture:
f/1, f/1.4, f/2, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16, f/22, f/32 etc...

So again, f/2 is one stop slower than f/1.4.

Now, go back to your experiment where you were trying to recreate your settings in manual.  Put your camera on auto and halfway hold down the trigger.  Take note of the Aperture, shutter speed, and ISO.  Now, change the camera dial to "M" and set each of the settings to what auto had chosen for you.  This will result in the exact same exposure.

Knowing this, you can now start making changes if you need a faster shutter speed or a deep depth of field... you know if you make a change to aperture to affect your depth of field, you have to make an equal combined change to shutter speed and/or ISO to compensate for that aperture change.

Probably clear as mud now, but just spend a few minutes looking through teh view finder and metering things in Aperture Priority mode and see how changing the aperture, makes and equal change to shutter speed.  It will soon become second hand.


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## RebeccaAPhotography (Aug 30, 2011)

MTVision said:
			
		

> There are 6 correct exposures for every picture. Set your camera on manual mode. Put it on a tripod if you have one. Put ISO @ 200.  Set your aperture (f #) as low as it goes then adjust the shutter speed until it shows a correct exposure then take the picture.  Then raise the aperture up one whole stop (look up f stops to determine what a full stop is) then adjust shutter speed again until correct exposure shows and take the picture. Keep doing this until you get to your highest f #. The subject should be stationary (a person or object).
> 
> Send me a message with your camera type and the lens you have and I can tell you what your aperture (f #'s) will be. You will want to jot down the information from this. Manual mode is the only way to go!
> 
> ...



Hmmmm sounds like the paragraph I just finished reading in........ Understanding exposure  

That's a great book I'm starting with. Def a recommended read


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## MTVision (Aug 30, 2011)

RebeccaAPhotography said:
			
		

> Hmmmm sounds like the paragraph I just finished reading in........ Understanding exposure
> 
> That's a great book I'm starting with. Def a recommended read



I'm glad it sounded familiar. I was sitting in the car writing it but I didn't have the book. I was hoping I had it right!


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## Hoodat Whatzit (Aug 30, 2011)

DiskoJoe said:


> 1. go take some portraits. do a close up, a half body shot, and a full body shot.
> 2. take a picture of a flower, a tree and a building/house
> 3. go find a reflection: water, glass, cement
> 
> once you find all of theses post them back and ill give you some feed back.



Okay... so I've been reading a lot on this forum and I know there are many opportunities for members to respond to photo challenges, contests, etc.

However, I haven't noticed (at least not yet) any assignment threads for us "noobs" that is umm... less... intimidating (would that be a fair word?). I'd be interested in getting some weekly (or perhaps bi-weekly) "homework" assignments from our more knowledgeable members that would help me focus on practicing some of the basics of composition and exposure and perhaps such a thread would make feedback slightly easier since all the photos posted in the thread would be aiming for control of a specific technique (ie: controlling DOF or demonstrating rule of thirds).

Yes, I can set these types of assignments for myself and then post for C&C all by my lonesome but I know how I am...  Sometimes I need that extra push for motivation. Plus, maybe it would be easier to post what are truly truly beginner photos while in the company of others in the same situation. 

Have I just missed such a thread? If nobody feels like holding our hands... can anyone recommend a website or a book that offers suggestions for photo assignments that will walk someone just learning through some of the "basic" shots that everyone should practice?

~ Hoodat Whatzit


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## MTVision (Aug 30, 2011)

Hoodat Whatzit said:
			
		

> Okay... so I've been reading a lot on this forum and I know there are many opportunities for members to respond to photo challenges, contests, etc.
> 
> However, I haven't noticed (at least not yet) any assignment threads for us "noobs" that is umm... less... intimidating (would that be a fair word?). I'd be interested in getting some weekly (or perhaps bi-weekly) "homework" assignments from our more knowledgeable members that would help me focus on practicing some of the basics of composition and exposure and perhaps such a thread would make feedback slightly easier since all the photos posted in the thread would be aiming for control of a specific technique (ie: controlling DOF or demonstrating rule of thirds).
> 
> ...



Do you a google search and you will find some websites with photo assignments. Bryan Petersons books have so good exercises in them for beginners


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## MTVision (Aug 30, 2011)

Hoodat Whatzit said:
			
		

> Okay... so I've been reading a lot on this forum and I know there are many opportunities for members to respond to photo challenges, contests, etc.
> 
> However, I haven't noticed (at least not yet) any assignment threads for us "noobs" that is umm... less... intimidating (would that be a fair word?). I'd be interested in getting some weekly (or perhaps bi-weekly) "homework" assignments from our more knowledgeable members that would help me focus on practicing some of the basics of composition and exposure and perhaps such a thread would make feedback slightly easier since all the photos posted in the thread would be aiming for control of a specific technique (ie: controlling DOF or demonstrating rule of thirds).
> 
> ...



I agree that a thread like that would be helpful!


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## scorpion_tyr (Aug 31, 2011)

Here's your first assignment from me:

Freeze something. Find out what shutter speed you need to freeze water droplets splashing out after you drop ice in a bucket of water. Shoot in shutter priority and stop the motion of the water while maintaining a correct exposure.


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## Hoodat Whatzit (Aug 31, 2011)

MTVision said:


> Do you a google search and you will find some websites with photo assignments. Bryan Petersons books have so good exercises in them for beginners



Yes, I know about Google... I can even use that wacky advanced search feature thingymadoodle... or is that thingymagoogle? 

For the record, a search on the phrase "photo assignments for beginners" returns around 76,000 results. The first is another photo forum, the second is TPF, and the third offers tips like "capture the personality of your pet" but fails to make any mention of f-stop, shutter speed, or any other technical term and has a forum that nobody has posted in since 2010.

I also already have Bryan Peterson's books, have watched countless web videos, and routinely dig through the forum archives and the Tutorial sticky. Oh... and I've read my camera's manual from cover to cover.

Like the OP however, I think I would enjoy having a sense of direction from more knowledgeable others at this point. Bi-weekly assignments with a specific objective would channel much of that noob energy that seems to so annoy some of the regular members. Members that want to rub virtual elbows with us photography "toddlers" can do so and those members that don't have either the time, patience, or energy can keep their seats at the "big folks" table.

I do enjoy (mostly) visiting this forum. It's becoming a habit and a way to unwind after a long day (or start a long day in this post's case). 

~ Hoodat Whatzit


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## Hoodat Whatzit (Aug 31, 2011)

Thanks for the assignment.  I'll give it a try. Hopefully today won't be another 10 hour day at my school... plus we're off on Monday.. yay! (Yes, even assistant principals get excited about holidays.)

~ Hoodat Whatzit


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## bazooka (Aug 31, 2011)

Sent you a PM.


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## Stradawhovious (Aug 31, 2011)

You could always go for the obligatory water drop/smoke photos.  They are a great way to get a basic understanding of the exposure triangle, how shutter speed relates to action and light.

There are also 2,567,842 threads about it right here on the forum for guidance!


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## Nightstr (Aug 31, 2011)

im a noob as well and I've been searching on YouTube and IPhone apps to get a little more educated on the diff settings on the camera. If you search YouTube look for froknowsphoto, if you have an IPhone get the app PhotoCaddy. This Iphone app has great tips.


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## MTVision (Aug 31, 2011)

Hoodat Whatzit said:


> MTVision said:
> 
> 
> > Do you a google search and you will find some websites with photo assignments. Bryan Petersons books have so good exercises in them for beginners
> ...



Google (or any search engine) will return thousands of hit.  You have to put in the right words to get the right results. 

9 Self Assignments to Sharpen Your Photo Skills | Pro Photographer's Composition Secrets - thedigitalphotocoach.com


Assignments on #Photo--Assignment - deviantART - click on one of the topics then on the next page you have to click on the word link to get to the article




Beecher&#39;s Handouts > Instruction Manual Assignments > #1 - Flash


Above are the first 3 websites that came up in the search engine.


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## jterry85 (Aug 31, 2011)

I agree with the OP. I know that many self assignments can be found online and in books but I think the overall goal was to include an interactive environment for us noobs to learn. By getting assignments and challenges designed for us beginners we wouldn't feel out of place as we would with the general challenges for everyone and we could have that interaction with the more experienced people to help us along the way. I'm all for the idea and hope someone will take on this project.


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## DiskoJoe (Sep 1, 2011)

jterry85 said:


> I agree with the OP. I know that many self assignments can be found online and in books but I think the overall goal was to include an interactive environment for us noobs to learn. By getting assignments and challenges designed for us beginners we wouldn't feel out of place as we would with the general challenges for everyone and we could have that interaction with the more experienced people to help us along the way. I'm all for the idea and hope someone will take on this project.



I gave an assignment....

1. go take some portraits. do a close up, a half body shot, and a full body shot. 
2. take a picture of a flower, a tree and a building/house
3. go find a reflection: water, glass, cement

once you find all of theses post them back and ill give you some feed back.

Do one of each mentioned above. So thats nine things. Take one picture of each. If you want I could post examples.


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## bennielou (Sep 1, 2011)

BaJillian said:


> Hi there!  I am a super beginner (meaning I have had my first SLR for about two months).
> 
> I have been reading a lot and shooting a lot, but I find myself shooting aimlessly most of the time and I still find that "auto" gives better results than when I try to mess with the settings.
> 
> ...



Of course Auto is going to give you better results than spinning the manual dial and hoping for a miracle.
My advice would be to LEARN how to shoot manual.  WHY you set things the way they should be set. WHY and WHEN you use a certain lens, light, shutter speed, ISO, and apeture, and how they ALL work together.

If you are just starting out, learn to do it right.  Easy never got anyone anywhere.


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## bennielou (Sep 1, 2011)

Here is some good practice for you.  I want you to do it both ways:  Manual and Auto.  (But KNOW or at least have a loose idea of manual first).

Go outside.  At night.  Light a candle.  Set something by the candle.  Shoot it.

Have someone stand outside at high noon in the sunlight.  Shoot it.

Go into your home, and turn out the lights in one room, but keep all the rooms lit that are next to it.  Have people run around.  Shoot it.

Shoot a reflection in a pond or pool or lake.

Have someone stand outside and shoot directly into to sun.  Just shoot it.

The thing about lessons, is they have to come in small bits.  First you learn how to shoot in different light, and then you learn how to add light, and then you learn how to power crop, and then you learn to process, and then you learn how to use the various rules.  Or put them in any order you want to, but the first lesson is going to be "learn how to use your camera".


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