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Hi I’ve recently bought a Nikon D80 Camera.
I’m just wonder what settings do people use to take high quality professional looking photos?
I understand a lot of the professional photos we see on the interent or magazines are edited by photoshop, but how to do they take good photos for editing with SLR cameras?
Thanks in advance!
How Do You Take Professional Quality Photos With Slr Camera?
February 22nd, 2010 
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First, know thy camera. READ & STUDY the Owner’s Manual until you fully understand every setting and feature and when, how and why to use them.
Second, there are no universal “… settings that people use to tahe high quality professional looking photos…” Unless you are limiting yourself to studio photography where everything is completely controlled, every situation is different. Sure, you can leave the camera on Auto or Program and let it choose an f-stop and shutter speed but doing that means you’ve wasted the money you spent for your D80. You should have just bought a digicam.
Suppose I’m out hiking in the woods. I see a clump of wildflowers in a shaded area. On goes my 100mm macro lens and then my macro ring flash. Since I know my equipment, I’ll use 2 of the 4 flash tubes and f11. The result? A perfect exposure. An hour later I’m in bright sunlight looking at a bed of hybrid peonies. No need for the flash. Maybe a 50mm lens at f16 and let the camera choose a shutter speed. (I shoot in Aperture Preferred 99% of the time. I like lots of Depth of Field so I want to control the aperture). If the shutter speed drops below 1/125 sec. I open up to f11. Another perfect exposure. Now its night and I’m looking across the river at the city skyline. Mount the camera on a tripod, use ISO 200 and f8 for 15 seconds. One more perfect exposure.
I am in control of my camera. It does what I want it to do. Being in control of your camera must be your goal as well.
Third, learn to slow down. Look at a scene or subject from several perspectives. Standing up. Sitting down. Lying down. Learn to look at everything in your viewfinder, not just your subject. Your signifigant other won’t look too good with a tree or pole “growing” from their head or a powerline “running” through it. That empty bottle or can or fast food wrapper probably won’t add anything to your composition. Look at the background. If you think the sky may be blown out then work to eliminate as much of it as possible.
Slow down. All too often, people use what I call the “machine gunner” approach to their photography. Take 300 exposures and hope 10 are worth saving. (One person in here said that if they took 1,000 pictures and got 1 good one they were happy. IMO you’d get better results if you gave the camera to a chimpanzee). I prefer the “sniper approach” – 1 exposure, 1 photo worth keeping. Sure, even the most experienced sniper misses occasionally. You choose. Take 300 exposures and then sit at your computer searching for the few worth keeping or take 30 or 40 exposures and have 25 or 35 worth keeping – and spend quality time with your camera, not your computer. Visit http://www.shutterbug.com and Search for ‘Get it right… in the camera’ by Steve Bedell.
Learn about composition, f-stops, ISO, light, shutter speeds.
Visit your library and check out the books on beginning photography. Read all the photography magazines they subscribe to and if one especially appeals to you subscribe to it. Starting your own personal photography library is also worthwhile.
“How Digital Photography Works, 2nd. Edition” by Ron White
“Hands-On Digital Photography” by George Schaub.
Good luck and welcome to the fascinating, frustrating world of photography.
professional images are made by schooled or self taugh professionals, cameras are just tools
the “settings” to use depend on the light your using and the results you desire – study the craft
a
you read the manual over and over.
then you read articles online
start with cnet.com – digital camera section
There so many good books that covers all that you request, google and you will find what you are looking for.