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Help with my beginners photography please?

I am a beginner to photography and have just purchased a film SLR on which to learn the basics and build up a portfolio. I want to concentrate on dark, brooding, gothic scenes such as castles and cathedral ruins at dusk, storm clouds, raging seas, deep shadows (both in a rural and urban setting) and thunder and lightning. Is ther anything specific I need to get to grips with bearing in mind my subject material? Also, as blacks and greys will be predominant, is it worth me buying colour film? Note how I changing between interior and exterior environments with this gothic, shadowy feel being the only common factor. As an aside, what else can I include in a portfolio that stays with this character, but adds perhaps a little more vivacity in case the album is seen as being too glum or monotone? Thanks! Oh and I forgot forests if this is important; woods in winter time, as well as under the lightless canopy! Thanks

Public Comments

1. To start with it sounds like most of the pictures you will be taking feature in a dark environment. Therefore you will need to make sure you are using a fast lens. By fast I'm mean that it has a large aperture, or small 'f' number. f1.8 or better, f1.4 will allow you to capture usable images in a dull environment but if you are shooting anything at night or in very dark situations then you must us a tripod. remember if you are using a fast lens you will need to be aware that you will have a shallow depth of field so the subject of the image will be the only thing in focus. It sounds to me that the work you want to be doing will involve allot of experimentation. Perhaps film is not the best route for you to be going down? I know this is not what you are used to hearing, normally it would be get a film SLR for you to learn the ropes with. But i think we have finally got to the stage where it is justifiable to purchase an old Digital SLR allowing you to see the pictures you are taking instantly. you can pick up say a Canon D30 which is around 7 years old, for under £100 and the final picture, although only 3.1 MP is comparable to that of film. good luck
2. O.K. As a beginner you seem to know exactly what you want. That's great but you might find yourself disappointed as it is harder than you think. Get a photo of the kind of thing that you want to reproduce and make sure it is a good example by a really good photographer and try to copy it. This is not sneaky or wrong. It's how we learn. And keep practising. Write down every exposure so you can learn from what you are doing. Read really good photography magazines and you should be fine! Good luck!
3. as the first guy said, the main thing you'll need is a good tripod. for outside work, get a good sized uni-loc one, it will give you loads more positioning options over a traditional design. i wouldn't worry about getting a particularly fast lens as long as you have a good tripod. you'll be using long exposures however fast the lens is. more importantly, you'll probably want a good wide angle 20 - 28 mm and a good long lens 100 - 150 mm. fixed length lens are best as they are usually sharper which you'll need. personally, i'd only shoot black and white for you're subject matter, and it won't be long before colour film starts being harder to get hold of, whereas black and white will remain in demand for a niche market. and you can process and print yourself if you need to. lastly, for the time being, forget about building up your portfolio - just start taking pictures. i've been professional for 14 years, and still look at images i took last year and think they're rubbish sometimes. you'll know when you've got a good image to keep back for your book, but it won't happen immediately. and buy some waterproofs and jumpers - you're going to have to spend alot of time outside in the rain to get the images you're after! good luck
4. You're going to have so much fun with your SLR. You'll wonder why anyone goes digital. The trick is light! Always be aware of the light source and its strength. If the light is too weak, you'll get blank black images. The feedback from SLRs is great so really read your users manual to get the most from your camera. As for the black and white i would always buy good quality black and white film. If you photograph colour and covert to black and white at a later stage the quality and definition is never the same. It loses alot of its charm in the transfer over. A big thing with the black and white is where the images are printed. If you're printing your own you'll be ok. But if your planning on sending them away or in a pharmacy be carefull that they have black and white printing capability. Often its a colour printer which warps the contrast between the greys of the black and white. If this happens its like you shot in colour and just digitally changed them. Again it loses its charm.
5. Great that your off to use the SLR get to know every dial and use the lens aperture preview (usually found as a push in button or slide on either the lenses or sometimes the camera body).......... Dont take this the wrong way but get yourself several books on b/w and colour photography and pick up one aimed at kids along with the proffesional ones youll see a lot of those!!.(Simple language about fstops and depth of field and the one stop equating to film speeds are far easier to comprehend).Remember you can "push" film and "burn in or hold back areas when developing and printing)B/w is far easier to print at home than colour and you can pick up equip fairly cheap.If developing in a cold area for a fair while(likely?) then a dish/tray warmer is handy! .I have some very goth like images from graveyards,stones,statues,monuments,even my brothers Gibson les paul guitar on a tomb of a person called Gibson from 1800s..Cemetarys,castles,even run down housing and barns,chuch steeples,gargoyles,towers,follies,old trees,woodland paths,dont miss out on rain and puddles too,you will see many things through your lenses if you have a few,say,28,50,110,210mm,telephoto ,zooms,there are also lens filters to darken,sparkle,tone,etc etc.I hope your prepared for one "hell" of an exciting time..Colour film can be developed as c41 process and comes back as "mock sepia" prints. There are chemicals that can colour tone your B/w prints after printing,but i would always print up a few B/w the same and just experiment if you want to use these..As for a portfolio then just be strict with yourself and only show the "Cream of the crop" ,try not to talk yourself into including the might pass type or good enough,have a spare or second album,look at your images often and keep notes on exposure,time of day,month,year etc,time goes by and you will forget.. Its all about light and how you percieve that light,the camera can lie and in your hands can make even something as dull as a brick seem stunning ! .Read experiment,reread,experiment,keep reading,keep experimenting,go talk to any and all photographers,go to gallerys too,join your local camera club,but do not let anyone talk down to you or put you off,constructive criticism is great but some people try to destroy,your style,art is yours,so go get your stunning/dynamic photos and above all enjoy all the processes of Photography. Spell checker locked up so if any of this is lexic dick then sorry.