Learning to take good photos

[lou boutin]

I don't know if you remember a thread of mine asking for advice about a camera and accessories for my mum? Well she is happily playing with the camera, but would like to improve.  Has anyone got any tips for good photography, bearing in mind my mum is in her 70s and isn't very tech savvy.

Any advice will be kindly received.

Thanks, Lou

[mike]

ed's blog: http://www.danielcaddenphotographyblog.com/p/photography-lessons-help-and-advice.html (real name Dan, confusingly!)

Cambridge in colour tutorials: http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/

take more photos!  Beauty of digital is the instant feedback and zeroish-cost mistakes...

[Kim]

Probably the best piece of advice for a complete n00b is to think about creative ways to steady the camera.  That can be anything from tripods and associated gadgets to how you hold it (or what you're leaning against when you do), and will allow the tech to do its thing much more successfully without any specific skills.

Composition is a black art, but linked to the above: don't be over-enthusiastic with the zoom.  It's easy to crop photos later, but you can't un-shake them.

Think about lighting, even if you don't have any actual control over it.  Avoid shooting into the sun, for example.

Spot metering and exposure compensation are camera features that are well worth learning to use, for when the automagicness doesn't quite have the desired result.

But most important - and the bit I have the most trouble with - get the camera out and take photos as much as possible.

[hubner]

One of the most common faults I've seen is where the background is in focus but the subject is out of focus.

[Jaded]

Also, things that look huge in the viewfinder probably aren't. It's the way our brain processes stuff - you look at a bird in the sky and you can see detail, wings etc. You take a quick picture and you can hardly find the bird in the photo, it is so small.

That and checking what else is in the frame when you take the photo. The classic is the tree growing out of someone's head, but there are plenty more.

[rogerzilla]

Get so close you can see the whites of their eyes.  Squint, because contrast on the final photo will be much higher than your eyes see the subject (your eyes adjust their "film speed" across the retina for very light and very dark parts of the subject, but cameras can't do that yet).  The rule of thirds is good to get the hang of before you learn to compose instinctively; photos with the subject dead centre sometimes work, but not often.  Be aware of the background (trees growing out of people's heads, or just distracting) unless it's going to be thrown totally out of focus.  Try not to have people splitting the horizon in portraits.  Don't take portraits with the sun behind you as the subject will always squint (you can break this rule if the sun is hazy or setting).

[lou boutin]

Some great advice here. Thanks everyone.

[tonycollinet]

As far as composition is concerned - simplify simplify simplify. Try to keep as few elements in an image as possible. Get in close. Then try using rule of thirds (tis an easy one to remember, and it does work).