Help with Nikon camera settings

First off, I want to say how impressed I am with many people photo skills around here. Not just the editing, but also the framing. Truly some artists here.

I have a Nikon 3200 with an 18-200 Nikon DX lens with UV and polarizer filters. I usually shoot in P so I can pick shutter speed and aperture but still have some auto features. I just got lightroom but haven't used it yet. Most of my photos are outdoor scenery shots.

I want to start doing more editing of my photos instead of just taking what the camera gives. In the past I have set my camera to vivid and tweaked the contrast and sharpening as well as set the white balance to be a bit warm. Exposure set to -0.3. It gave me a picture I liked better than the auto settings and I never did any editing except for crop and enlarge.

Now that I will be using lightroom more, what is the best way to shoot? I really don't want to shoot in RAW, even though I understand it gives me more to work with. I'm still just an amateur and don't have any allusions of becoming a pro. Is it OK to leave my camera settings as is, or should I have them set more neutral like the auto program has?

 

First off, let me commend you for using Nikon. Best (small format) camera there is

I shoot professionally for a living, (commercial fashion photography for a major clothing brand) and I use Lightroom daily. My first piece of advice is to always always always shoot in RAW format. Shooting in jpeg compresses your images and gives you less to work with (which it sounds like you already know), but you always want to have the full range of information in your photos to edit with when you start the process. You'll get the best results every time.

The best thing about Lightroom is how user friendly it is. The "industry standard" is to use Capture One, which is a great program but for most people, Lightroom does the job just as well. I recommend setting your camera to it's neutral settings; by selecting 'vivid' or other presets in-camera, you're allowing the camera to make adjustments for you, and in spite of how great the tech is in our cameras these days, it pales in comparison to what you can do in post. If you just wanted to take your photos straight from camera to print (or whatever media you choose), then making in-camera adjustments would be acceptable. But for anyone looking to better their skillsets and get the best out of their editing software, I recommend doing everything as manually in-camera as possible. You'll have a better foundation to start with when you begin post-processing this way, and it will help you to better familiarize yourself with your camera and understand the fundamentals of editing.

Even if you don't intend on becoming a pro, if you intend on using editing software like Lightroom or Photoshop it is always best to use a RAW image. I could go on and on lol, but if you have any other questions regarding Nikon cameras or Lightroom, let me know and I'll be sure to try and answer them.

 

Thanks. I do plan to try shooting in RAW just to see what I get verses what the camera gives me. I have never tried to edit my own pics and have always tweaked the camera to give me something better than the auto setting. Something about editing just seemed intimidating. I've only used simple programs to crop and enlarge, so lightroom will be a new experience.

I'm hoping to learn quite a bit over the next few months and then upgrade my camera. I have a trip to Tanzania this winter and really want to get the best pictures possible.

 

If I shoot in RAW, do I need anything other than lightroom to process the files?

 

We all start somewhere! In this day and age, with everyone just using their cell phones to snap quick photos, I respect wanting to use and understand an actual camera no matter what its settings are at. The more you understand your camera the more you appreciate whats in front of it, IMO. The best way to do that is through experience. Editing is a whole 'nother ball game when it comes to photography, I've worked with old school photographers that have never touched any software before, they were trained entirely on how to create the 'perfect' image in camera...so it's all relative But just like with understanding your camera, understanding editing and the software takes a lot of patience and experience as well.

Tanzania sounds like an amazing trip, I was in Nicaragua last year and it was on of the best experiences I've ever had. My only regret is that I didn't take enough pictures, lol.

 

Nope, you can import RAW files directly into Lightroom.

Before Lightroom (or programs like it), RAW files were first opened in Camera Raw before going into Photoshop. With Lightroom, you can edit your photos there or export them into Photoshop if you want to edit them even further.

 

I started taking pictures in the 80s with an FG and was very slow to give up film. I've always enjoyed photography and love composing pictures, I've just always been intimidated by the processing. I'm sure I'll have question as I start the process, but I'm looking forward to it.

 

Nice! Yeah the guys I worked for were all mostly film guys, and they were the most stubborn when it came to transitioning into digital lol. I don't blame them. The aesthetic of film just can't be replicated no matter how hard digital tries. I was fortunate that when I got into photography, film was still prevalent and I got to learn the discipline behind it. It's a lot different than digital, but in just as many ways it's the same. But that's a whole 'nother topic for another day lol.

Anyhow I'll chime in if you have any questions, good luck!

 

I've set my camera to RAW+JPEG, so I guess I'm making a leap with a safety net. After using lightroom for about an hour, all I can say is I should have been editing pictures a long time ago. I'm still trying to figure out what everything does and also figure out exactly what I want and what I like, but I think I'm going to like it.

Just to see what lightroom could do (or what I could do), I pulled out some old pictures from Venice that I was never happy with. We were there for 3 straight days of rain. The pictures were underwhelming to say the least. After just a few minutes in lightroom, I was able to get back the color that I remembered in person, but was missing from my pictures. Wet and dreary still, but that's how it was. Still pretty crude, but here is my first example. Should have done this a long time ago.

Original:





A few unskilled clicks:

 

This X 10!