How do I take better pictures?

[Indigo74]

I never take good pictures...they never turn out well. SOmething is always over-exposed or out of focus.

Our camera has an Auto feature as well as all the other settings. So it's supposed to pick the best one, I guess?

Our new camera is 9 megapixels and has 10x optical zoom. but i can never do good close ups of things or good pictures of little things. And the colour and stuff just always looks wonky compared to other people's pictures.

How do I learn??

[McMommaBear]

I have been using the trail and error methode. thou I know there is a class that runs through the spectrum.
I found that back light makes a huge difference as well as I push the button down half way to get it to focus on what I am looking at then push it down the rest of the way KWIM??

[eversoclever]

I think whirly should teach a class for LMs.

I'm just learning in a trial by error fashion. I've found with my point and shoot digital camera, a LOT relies on lighting. I generally don't use the flash because the pictures just look washed out and weird.

I also have practiced steadying my hand. If you can put the camera on a flat surface to take a picture, you might notice the difference. I think I'm just too shakey, lol.

The technical stuff? I'm still learning. Can't help ya there. Good luck! If you find a good resource that is user-friendly, lemme know.

Btw, I thought that pic of your DS was really cute.

[Hep Alien]

I thought your soup pic was great. I just commented on it.

I do trial and error. I usually shoot in manual then edit, but lately I have been playing with lighting and various setting.
Just snap away and see what you come up with. .

I just took some dinner shots for my blog ,not even sure the setting etc ( I was hungry, lol), they didn't turn out great, lol, but meh. ..

[Indigo74]

I thought your soup pic was great. I just commented on it.

I do trial and error. I usually shoot in manual then edit, but lately I have been playing with lighting and various setting.
Just snap away and see what you come up with. .

I just took some dinner shots for my blog ,not even sure the setting etc ( I was hungry, lol), they didn't turn out great, lol, but meh. ..

Oh, see, i just looked at your pics, hep and thought “wow, her food looks professional and the pictures of food look professional too!“



So far I've been doing trial and error....I've discovered that I dont' like flash very much either. DH tries to avoid the flash, but he has the shakiest hands of anyone I've ever met, LOL.

[SweetyPi]

Trial and error, google, my cousin and a whole lot of space on a SD card. LOL. Keep at it. Do you have a basic point & shoot or an SLR? I'll have to find some links I just got from a friend of mine. I've found that natural light tends to bring out the best pics. I will also second the pushing the shutter button down half way first before taking the pic to get the thing to auto focus. GL, and have fun!

[Reese'smom]

I am all about trial and error too. I read a little bit, but mostly all the jargon is confusing to me so I take what I can from it and play with my camera.

[Spots]

Choosing specific settings can make a huge difference. You know the one that looks like a tulip. That's for extreme close-ups. Without it pics are blurry. With it pics are crisp.

Kids and pets or sports is super fast for following action.

Night helps with night shots.

Auto works okay but takes longer because the camera has to figure out which setting is best. If you force a setting the camera can work faster.

Natural light always looks better than flash. Just watch for shadows. Sometimes using the flash in a sunny day is a good thing because it illuminates things like faces hidden in the shadow of a hat.

Get eye level with the thing you are photographing. Lay down on the floor to photograph a baby, on your bum to photograph a toddler (if you can get close to them), knees for a preschooler, etc.

Figure out how to crop photos. If you aren't printing them crop out all the excess background. It makes a HUGE difference. You can also play with the colour and exposure after you take the pictures.

[Hep Alien]

Oh, see, i just looked at your pics, hep and thought “wow, her food looks professional and the pictures of food look professional too!“

, that makes my night. I made the pork loin dinner in about 30 min, dying from a sinus cold and half asleep, lol. I was thinking to myself “ I cannot blog this, their all gunna think I can't really cook“ rofl. I am glad it looked good. In fact for a quick no thought meal it was damn tasty and I think that fact that I didn't play with the meat at all, just did everything quickly the pan searing went really well ( not my strong suit b/c I like to flip it too much).

I think your pictures are way better then you give yourself credit for and I bet the soup was delish .

[eversoclever]

Does your camera have a museum setting? I noticed this morning that you get shots with sharper lighting on that setting.

[Mamarazzi]

You can youtube photography tips, photoshop tips etc too for some good step by step instruction.

[SweetyPi]

Ohh, that's a great idea mamarazzi. Thanks!

[eversoclever]

You can youtube photography tips, photoshop tips etc too for some good step by step instruction.

Wanna post some links? No teasing!

[Mamarazzi]

LOL
Ok heres a search result for photography tips for beginners:

YouTube - photography tips and techniques for beginning photographers

And heres some photoshop results:
YouTube - photoshop tutorial

[eversoclever]

Thank you so much! I'm really loving this.