I was wondering if I could have some advice about photography :)

I've taken cute shots for years and some of them turned out nice but I'm very interested now and I want to improve..I was hoping some of you could help me with that.

I'd like any tips on how to improve and what to learn about!
My overall plan is to practice as much as possible and improve as I very slowly save for a ncie camera, so that by the time I get one I can utilize it properly.
How do I really go about learning about lighting for example? And what else is truly important?

Thanks for any tips and help :)

Play with torches, lamps, floodlights etc. Just look around the home to see what lights you can use to experiment with. The tricky bit with them is getting the colour balance right. Can your camera do a custom white balance?

You can also use all kinds of things as reflectors. I often use pie trays to bounce a little light onto something and newspaper is good for reflecting gentle light in to soften shadows. They don’t affect the white balance much if at all.

I had to just look up what White balance is. Hehe.
Yes it does AWB.

Thanks for the tips :)

You’re welcome. Knowing about white balance is one step towards becoming a better photographer :-)

Hi Bonnie..my biggest thing when I began shooting for the site was composition! I still tend to shoot not level or clip the very bottom off of my subject. I have taught myself to be critical of what is in my lens and to shoot more than one shot! Often times, it is the last shot that turns out.
I love reflections. They fascinate me and I find them challenging to incorporate into my work....
Feel free to PM me with any other question you might have.
My first image ever posted here was shot with hubby's discarded 2.1 MP P&S camera. It still stands as my best!! ;=)
Good luck and happy shooting!

I have to recommend that you look through the Discussion Boards here on Caedes. I have found an amazing amount of great, useful info here, just by nosing around... ~Mary~

You might want to take a look at the composition tutorial. With photography composition plays a major role. Good composition can mean the difference between a good and a great shot.

There's tons of ways to improve...just remember the most important rules!!

1. Have fun
2. Have fun
3. Have fun

The first three seem easy enough, but, so many people lose sight of that. Do what you like because you like it, not what someone else thinks or maybe thinks what you should do. Then read and absorb from comments 'n' feedback and go from there.

There are rulz to photography, yes!! Rulz are meant to be broken...how fun is it if everyone does the same thing?? Keep posting, keep reading!! You'll know what works and what doesn't soon enough!! The discussions boards are great, you don't have to become involved, just sift through and read'em.

G'day Bonnie,
Like all art there is an inevitable tension between "the established standards and rules" and "the creative perspective of each artist". That same kind of tension is inherent in any photo you take which you like and others don't. Over time some of what you like will shift as you realize how it could be better but others of your images will continue to work for you regardless of how many rules they break and what anyone else thinks. In photography as in all arts, both doing and consuming is necessary for development of your skills and judgement. So being here at Caedes and looking at all the amazing captures is part of getting better at your own art, as is reading other people's ideas on photography and boning up on the technical stuff as much as you want to. Then take thousands of photos and keep sifting thru them. I have my screen saver set to browse all my photo folders, one effect of this is that images I've not looked at for ages, that I've left in the doldrums, pop up on screen and I see it a new way and see possibilities in it that I never saw before and then I go back to work on that photo with new eyes.
I've been taking pics for twenty five years but only recently started applying some discipline to my process, working at learning and being more critical of my own photos. BUT, at the same time I hold fiercely to the wisdom of Hottrockin - if I ain't enjoyin' it, wats the point?
Jeez I love this website. :)
Mikel.

When shooting hand held try to use a reciprocal shutter speed of the focal length of your lens for clear shots. For example, if your lens is 100mm use a 1/100th shutter speed. Learn how to hold your camera as to reduce camera shake.

I see a lot of people holding their camera at arms length while viewing the LCD...wrong. Hold it as close to your face as possible, with your arms at your side.

Take your camera off full auto and learn trial and error what each setting does to image quality. This is the joy of digital;-)