By : Nikon School Blog | 20 Sep, 2014 |
How many times have you experienced situations when you are witnessing something really beautiful, and you want to frame that moment for the rest of your life? How many times have your near and dear ones made faces that you want to keep looking at forever? Or, you are on your routine evening walk. Suddenly you see a pair of feet hanging down a bridge and you know you might perhaps never get that shot again. But your camera is all packed up and resting in your wardrobe.
Many of us do not put in enough time to learn our cameras after buying them. Remember that a camera is not just a gadget that you take out only during parties or when you are out on a picnic. To shoot those amazing photographs that you want to, it is absolutely necessary to know your camera and lenses thoroughly. Consider it as getting used to your new car. The more you drive it, the easier it becomes to handle.
Now you might be thinking how do we carry a DSLR all the time. Instead, let's put it this way. You stand a lot more chance of grabbing a shot, with the camera than not having it with you at all. To make it easier for you, Nikon has DSLRs like the D3300 and D5300 that are convenient to carry with you all the time. And since we are talking about candid shooting, even the kit lenses with these cameras will suffice your needs.
Once you get used to using your camera fairly well, you can start snap shooting. This requires you to be highly observant and to respond fast to a frame that you see. For example, you are stuck in the rain taking shelter at a bus stop. You see a boy running into slush. I was lucky enough to grab the shot because I had my camera handy and ready to "fire the shot". If you are worried about the settings, most of the DX DSLRs in have preset modes like sports (to capture action), landscape, night landscapes, portraits etc. You can always join us at our Nikon School DSLR workshops to learn more about basics and manual settings. But for snap shooting, even these preset modes will work just fine.
Subjects to shoot can be anything depending on what each situation has to offer you. That is exactly the fun side of snap shooting. Most of the shots you get this way are completely unplanned. And this doubles up my excitement every time I get a good shot. In fact, don't go out looking for subjects because then you are narrowing down your options as well as vision. Shoot anything that catches your attention. It could be your family, friends, a stranger or a lot of strangers! Let's call it, "being camera ready." Gradually, as you progress, you will notice a change in the way you see things around you. But more importantly, you will notice that you are able to use your camera much more easily that how it used to be when you got it.
So, have an itchy shutter finger and happy shooting!