Newfag to SLR and photography in general

/p/ is not the best place to get such questions answered. I would suggest going through Youtube, there are plenty of channels for photography basics.

What you did with that pic you posted is you zoomed in all the way in with your lens, which ifs f3.5 when it's at its widest (18mm) and f5.6 when you zoomed it at 55mm. Basically the smaller the f-number the more open the lens is and more light gets to the sensor. When it's dark naturally you'd want more light to reach your sensor.

Photography can be summed up with: how much light (the f-number) reaches your sensor (ISO number) for how long (shutter speed). All you have to do to get your exposure the way you want it is to get these three factors in check.

>>2989006
Check out DigitalRev TV on youtube, that gook is entertaining as fuck and he teaches things well

Get ready for a comfy first day of Christmas

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQiUPbbjBn80FGY7X3lKkxbTTkbqhkx1Z

Also, your pic is probably down to holding technique. You can google how to hold a camera for max stability

Now get off /p/ and never return. It's bad for your photography and your sanity

it's pretty dark and you aren't going to hand-held 1/5 sec to good results, for something like this you should get a tripod or a very wide aperture lens

File: DSC_0096.jpg (2MB, 4342x2895px) Image search: [Google]

2MB, 4342x2895px

>>2989062
I went out and got myself a cheapo tripod since that's what I could afford. It's pretty shit and unstable. Also friend suggested to do some touchups since I shoot in both JPEG and RAW.

Righto. Time for maximum judge!

pic of 1/2

[EXIF data available. Click here to show/hide.]

Camera-Specific Properties:
Equipment Make	NIKON CORPORATION
Camera Model	NIKON D3300
Camera Software	Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 6.0 (Windows)
Maximum Lens Aperture	f/5.7
Sensing Method	One-Chip Color Area
Color Filter Array Pattern	802
Focal Length (35mm Equiv)	82 mm
Image-Specific Properties:
Image Orientation	Top, Left-Hand
Horizontal Resolution	240 dpi
Vertical Resolution	240 dpi
Image Created	2016:12:27 14:29:17
Exposure Time	15 sec
F-Number	f/16.0
Exposure Program	Shutter Priority
ISO Speed Rating	100
Lens Aperture	f/16.0
Exposure Bias	-3.3 EV
Metering Mode	Pattern
Light Source	Cool White Fluorescent
Flash	No Flash
Focal Length	55.00 mm
Rendering	Custom
Exposure Mode	Auto
White Balance	Manual
Scene Capture Type	Standard
Gain Control	None
Contrast	Normal
Saturation	Normal
Sharpness	Normal
Subject Distance Range	Unknown

File: DSC_0045_resized.jpg (522KB, 4000x2667px) Image search: [Google]

522KB, 4000x2667px

>>2990551
2/2

Also I think I should get either a 70mm prime lens or 23-70mm zoom lens due of bigger focal length/lower FoV on the 70mm lens

[EXIF data available. Click here to show/hide.]

Camera-Specific Properties:
Equipment Make	NIKON CORPORATION
Camera Model	NIKON D3300
Camera Software	Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 6.0 (Windows)
Maximum Lens Aperture	f/4.0
Sensing Method	One-Chip Color Area
Color Filter Array Pattern	802
Focal Length (35mm Equiv)	37 mm
Image-Specific Properties:
Image Orientation	Top, Left-Hand
Horizontal Resolution	72 dpi
Vertical Resolution	72 dpi
Image Created	2016:12:27 14:56:10
Exposure Time	0.4 sec
F-Number	f/13.0
Exposure Program	Aperture Priority
ISO Speed Rating	800
Lens Aperture	f/13.0
Exposure Bias	-1 EV
Metering Mode	Pattern
Light Source	Tungsten
Flash	No Flash
Focal Length	25.00 mm
Rendering	Normal
Exposure Mode	Auto
White Balance	Manual
Scene Capture Type	Standard
Gain Control	Low Gain Up
Contrast	Normal
Saturation	Normal
Sharpness	Normal
Subject Distance Range	Unknown

>>2989006
Get the 55-200 lens, OP. It's a good lens to have in your bag: it compliments the kit lens well and lets you do a lot more, more comfortably.

>takes photos at 1/5 with zero experience and without knowing how to hold a camera
>EUGGHHH VR IS SHIT

No, you're just a noob.
A camera is an artists tool, just like a paintbrush or guitar, the one thing all 3 have in common is that you need to learn a lot and practice a lot before it's not shit - as a general guideline your first 100k photos shot AND edited are practice. Imagine if you got your first guitar for Christmas, played with it the same amount you've played with your camera and then uploaded your "song" to /mu, there's no way that song isn't abysmal and people are definitely laughing at you, just because you CAN take a technically perfect photo with little more than a click, doesn't mean it has any merit, just like casio have a sick demo beat on their keyboards. The 35mm photographers handbook is a great starting point and readily available for pennies second hand.

Here's a good rule of thumb to get you started, shutter speed should be no slower than 1/2*fl, or 1/fl with vr/ibis/ois/etc if you want reliably sharp photos.

You don't need any new lenses yet, the kit will last you for a fair while, one of the big issues with the d3300 is that older/more affordable autofocus lenses do not work with it as it doesn't have a screw drive.

>>2990551
ISO 100 is for sunlit subjects. Next time you try long exposures; play around with higher ISO settings at 5/15/30 second exposures.
Ill make a suggestion for long exposures. Either go Mup or remote trigger. If you are unfamiliar with or don't have, you can use the self timer to avoid movement and blur in the exposure.
Another fun tip when shooing long exposures at night.. take a flashlight with fresh batteries with you and try whats called light painting and/or during a long exposure stay behind the lens and just ad extra spot illumination with the flashlight.

>>2989006
>>2991316
Hey OP. I found you an article that would explain alot of what I learned through trial and error.

digital-photography-school.com/light-painting-part-one-the-photography/

have fun!