Here are some pic I took yesterday and today. They are untouched. I didnt want to use PS. Please post your opinions on what I can do better. I am using a Nikon D40 with just a normal Lens on it. I know I will have to get a new one soon. Sorry so many pic. Thanks

 

Weird some of them are bigger than the others. Maybe its because of the zoom.

 

Since you have a DSLR, make sure that you learn the basics, about proper exposure. Some of your photos are under exposed and others are over exposed. Learn about aperature, shutter speed and iso. Learn about the different metering modes of your camera, matrix, center weighted, and spot metering. Try the different modes, Aperature and Shutter priority then progress to Manual.
Learn about composition, such as rule of thirds. Don't have your horizon centered like your 2nd photo. Fill your frame, shoot from different angles and perspectives, adjust your depth of field by varying your aperature. Always be concious about lighting, as photography is often refered to as capturing or painting with light. These are just a few things to start off with, there are many good tips at this site -> http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/

 

As for iso, I think I read that I most likely use 200-400. Is that true. When would I use a high iso and a lower one.

 

When possible set your iso to the lowest setting. Higher iso allows for higher light sensitivity but also introduces more noise in your image. When you would use it for example, you are shooting indoors or in low light. You don't want to use flash or are not able to use flash. The aperature is already set to wide open for your lens and set your shutter speed as slow as possible for hand holding and your light meter still shows are are under exposing, then bump up your ISO. Hopefully you can run noise reduction when you do your post processing to remove some of the noise. To experiment, take several photos of the same subject but each time bump the iso another setting. You can compare the amount of noise and see what is the max ISO setting that is acceptable to you.

 

use the lowest iso possible.

higher iso is used when light is scarce. the higher the iso, the more noise you will have.

 

Yes Lower ISO is better to use most of the time. There are times when you will have to set the ISO higher though. You are to use higher ISO settings in a low light situation. The only thing is be away the Higher the ISO settings the More Noise in the picture.

 

Sweet thanks guys. My dad offer me to take a class if I want to. I think I might just do that.

 

definitely take him up on that offer.

photography isn't an easy skill to acquire. i've got a lot to learn as well.

 

I just looked at my camera I guess the lowest iso is 200 unless there is a hidden way to make it lower.

 

unfortunately, iso 200 is the lowest the d40 can go.

 

Don't worry about the 200 ISO setting, the CCD sensor is optimized for 200. The images are clean and you have a slight bump in light sensitivity to boot. It is the same on my D50. Its all good.

 

whats the lowest ISO u can go on a rebel XT???

 

were these pics taken in full auto?

as far as the pics go, most are nice and sharp. there are a few underexposed ones, however.

try to shoot with the sun, not against it. this prevents glare and shadows.

 

Yeah I think I shot in auto. The ones with just the headlights is with Aperature. The two bottom ones I think I shot with an iso of 200. Next time, I will write them down. I looked at the pics in the camera and they all said 200 but one. So I am not sure.