First off… Our wedding pictures are up! I’ll post some on here on Wednesday! Cobalt and I have to figure out which 50 we like the best out of all of them for our wedding book. So many pictures to choose from!

Anyway, today’s post is about DSLR cameras. I have had a few people ask me if I have any advice on picking out DSLRS/getting into photography. So I thought I’d write a little post about it. Obviously if you have more questions, go ahead and ask and we can continue the discussion over a series of posts.

The bottom line
I think when you get your first DSLR, it’s good to just go with whatever used one that fits properly in your price range. You don’t know what you want in a DSLR yet but you need something to practice on. So if you can find a used (but not too used obviously) one that fits well in your price range, I say just go for it! As you play, you will notice features you do and don’t like in a camera and then when you are a more experienced photographer who can afford a brand new DSLR, you can get a really nice one with all the features you like.

Canon vs Nikon
As for the different brands, I have a Nikon because of just what I said above – my old boss’ husband was selling his old Nikon so he could buy a new one and I really wanted to try it out so I bought it. I haven’t looked back since. It has been so fun. The biggest differences I’ve seen between Nikon and Canon at least is that Canon products (the camera body, the lenses, etc) are usually bit cheaper (though experienced photographers will tell you that Nikon has better picture quality… I have no idea if this is true… I’ve seen professional photographers with both Canon and Nikon cameras). I like the Nikon cameras because you can change all the settings while looking through the view finder (as you’re taking a picture). As far as I can tell, Canon uses a series of menus that require you to use the viewing screen to change settings, but you’d have to ask a Canon person about that. It’s funny how hard it is to switch back and forth between them…

Learning how to use your DSLR
I actually took a class but it wasn’t as hands on as I would have liked. I learned a lot about photography in general – like lighting and composition, etc. It also got me started learning about how to use Photoshop to play with my pictures. A lot of camera stores offer more hands on classes that you can take. They generally have classes dedicated to either brand and any skill level. I learn the best by just trying things out so for me, the most helpful thing was to go out on photography adventures with friends and their DSLRS. We had a range of photography skills and were able to teach each other little things as we played. Some camera stores put on events like Mike’s Camera did with the zoo day where you can play with all sorts of cameras and they are there to help you. I would definitely recommend looking into what cameras stores you have around you. They usually have a list of fun photography events or classes in the community.

I think that’s all I can think of for now! Do you have any questions? Let’s hear them! I hope this was helpful…