Got my camera, now I need some tips on taking good pictures.

[Brandon1]

I finally got my camera, it is a Kodak C875 (Kodak - EasyShare 8.0MP Digital Camera - C875 )

I think I made the right choice on camera, but I still seem to take bad pics. Ya'lls pics look great and always look correct, mine always come out bad with wrong lighting, wrong background, etc. What would be some quick tips and suggestions on taking some good photos. I only use my camera for my cars, and now that I have one, I can start posting some pics of the 3-4 details I do a week.

Brandon

[PRB]

Congratulations on the purchase.

Keep in mind that people tend to post the good pictures, not the ones that don't look as good. You are seeing EVERY one of your pictures, good or bad. The beauty of digital is that you can delete the bad ones and not cost yourself a penny.

I own and have used many Kodaks and can say that a lot of them have a bit of difficulty with lower light situations. I do not know if this is an issue with the C875.

Have you done any digital photography before?

What mode are you using to take the pictures? Are you using the "auto" setting or something different?

Feel free to PM me if you want...I can offer a fair amount on working with the Kodaks.

[PRB]

Quick tips:

While you're learning your camera and its particular settings, take multiple shots of the same subject. Try one in "auto" mode, then take the exact same picture in one of the "scene" modes, then switch to aperature settings, etc.

Take pictures of random things around your house as tests. If you have appliances that are NOT white, these can be great test subjects since the color and reflectivity can be similar to taking a photo of a paint finish.

Outdoor light is usually the best for snapping pictures. If you're stuck inside a building and don't have a good, clear light for the photo, you might have to actually turn off some of those lights and use the "night" setting to get some better results.

If you are trying to capture a particular small area of defects, then being closer to the site is better than using zoom in most cases. Some cameras will overcompensate for defects and lessen their effect on a picture, so you have to fake it into focusing on an area close to the defect to actually capture the defect. Use a pointer or some marking object in your photo (piece of tape, a quarter, a finger) to draw the camera's attention to the exact spot.

[Grimm]

It just takes practice. I'm in the same boat. Just got my good camera a month ago, so I'm learning all the manual settings. One tip I found very helpful is to use the "burst" mode or whatever it's called on your camera. This is where the camera will take several pictures as you hold the shutter down. Often you end up with a blurry picture when you press the shutter, so if you use the burst and shoot 2-4 pictures, one of them will end up a keeper.

Also, I've been told that the book Understand Exposure by Brian Peterson is very good. I haven't had a chance to check it out yet. And I think someone on here mentioned a good website as well: PictureCorrect Photography - Digital Camera Reviews, Tips, and News