This has been a crazy year. Personally, professionally and in every other way. It's been a year of ups and downs and lots of life changes. One thing I really wanted for this year was to really learn how to use my camera. Well, I am in the midst of taking a photography class at my alma mater and am happy that I pushed myself to try it.
So far my subject material hasn't been too exciting, but I do feel that I've learned a lot. I'm a hands on person, so learning by doing has always been easier for me. There are a couple books I've picked up that have been helpful to me as a beginner as well.
One is the UnManual, which can be purchased here. It comes with a pdf download that you can look at right away, and a printed copy will be mailed. It's definitely an investment, but if you watch for sales, you can purchase it half off, as I did. A lot of photography instruction books are very dry and technical, but this one is so much more readable. Her blog has a lot of helpful info on it as well.
Most of the other books I've read have come from the library, which is a obviously a great resource too. There are so many online tutorials out there too - all it takes is a little google search for whatever it is you're trying to do.
I really like Scott Kelby's books. They can be a little on the cheesy side, but they are definitely not dry and technical either. Some of the info is geared more towards people who want to make a career out of photography, but the techniques are helpful to everyone. His website has a lot more information available too.
My next project is to find a camera bag for all my stuff. Lenses, filters, cords, batteries...lots and lots of stuff.
