Here you will find some TIPS which will definetly help you in understanding photography better than ever.

GENERAL PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS

Tip #1: Get To Know Your Digital Camera

Does this sound familiar? You buy the latest digital camera out there, come home, rip off the box, then proceed to fiddle with the device. You briefly flick through the hundred page camera manual and then never look at it again. Not a good idea! If you buy a digital camera, you owe it to yourself to understand its ins and outs.

The first thing I do when I get a new camera is to play around with its exposure controls. If all you do is use auto mode, there's not much you'll learn. Switch to the manual, aperture priority or shutter priority modes (if your camera supports them) and read up on how they work.

One of the best techniques to understand your camera's exposure controls is to use different settings for the same picture.

Select a scene for your photo, then shoot using Auto mode. Note down the settings, switch to Manual mode, and use slightly different settings than the one used in Auto mode.

For example, you may compensate the exposure by +1/3 EV, and take a second picture. Next, take a third picture with exposure compensation of -1/3 EV. Use the same approach and play with the aperture, shutter speed, white balance, and so on.

Review the pictures you've taken. Which picture is the best one? Note down the settings you used. The next time you want to take a picture of this particular scene, you will know the exact settings to use.

You can easily repeat this exercise with other situations: indoors, action pictures, macro photography, sunny skies, cloudy skies, portrait, etc. At the end of these photo exercises, you will know what your camera is capable of doing well and what it does not do wll.
Just applying the simple tip above will vastly improve the quality of your photos. Good luck!

Tip #2: How To Compose Your Photo

Have you ever wondered how the professionals come up with such interesting perspectives of our world using their photos? The truth is, learning to compose pictures properly is an important skill to pick up.

One of the most important rules in photography, as most professionals will tell you, is the Rule of Thirds. Most of us rarely plan our shots - we simply whip out our cameras and start shooting. The professionals will say ‘Apply the Rule of Thirds’.

The Rule of Thirds says that we should divide each photo frame into nine sections, much like a tic-tac-toe board. The subject or points of interest in the photo should then coincide with any of the four points of intersection on the tic-tac-toe board.

Another way of composing the photo is to lay the subject on the lines of the tic-tac-toe board, which gives a different and often interesting perspective.
Try out the above tip in your next photo shoot and see if you can get better looking results. Happy shooting!

Tip #3: Learn To Control the Flash

One of the most important things you need to know about digital photography is to control the flash. Personally, I hate to rely on the automatic flash that comes with the digital camera. Depending on the situation, you need to switch off or switch on the flash.

For example, when taking outdoor photos, it is sometimes good to turn on the flash to illuminate the subject, especially if he or she is in the shade. On the other hand, you can also choose to turn off the flash when taking indoor shots. Sometimes, using the flash indoors will result in unnatural skin color and harsh glare in your photos.

Remember that the quality of the light is as important as the quantity. If you're using electronic flash, you want to avoid the harsh illumination that flash typically provides. I often drape a handkerchief over my camera's flash. This reduces the flash illumination to a more reasonable level while softening the light.

Apply the above tip when shooting your photos and I'm sure you'll better results. Good luck!

Tip #4: Hold the Camera Steady

When you press the shutter release button and take a photo, a lot of things can happen. One quite likely but unfortunate event is that you press the shutter release button too hard, jar the camera during exposure, and produce a blurry picture.

There are a few ways to avoid this. One method is to use your camera’s self-timer to trip the shutter after a few seconds rather than using your finger.

The other way is to use a tripod for the shot, but this works only if you have the luxury of spending time to set it up. It's probably not recommended for quick and dirty snapshots.

A third suggestion is to use a remote shutter-release control to trip your camera’s shutter without touching it. There are different remote releases for different cameras - it can be a cable that attaches to your camera or an infrared remote control. These devices let you take the photo at the exact instant you want.

Learn to apply the above tip in all your subsequent photo shoots and let me know if you get better quality shots. Happy shooting!

Tip #5: Play With the ISO Setting

I find the ISO setting in digital cameras very useful. The ISO setting of a camera, controls its sensitivity to light.

If you're taking a photo of a still object, like a flower, then always use a low ISO setting. It allows for a longer shutter speed and produces a cleaner image.

If you are shooting a moving object, like a baby playing with a toy, then a higher ISO setting of say 400 would be better. Do take note, however, that a higher ISO setting gives a faster shutter speed and requires less light. This will produce noisier photos.

Just applying the above tip in will allow you to get much nicer looking shots. Feel free to share with me your results. Good luck!