my camera is a Sony cyber-shot DSC-S40 4.1 Mega Pixels, just woundering if there is any tips out there for taking better photos on it.

3x optical zoom

mmm so no tips for me yet

I can’t help at all, I have shaky hands so my photos are always blurry :)

if you ever get a chance to go digital slr…then you’ll get very nice pictures, with vivid colors…although you still have to learn the stuff. slr cameras have the right buttons at the right fingertips, so adjusting common settings on the go is easy. compact cameras usually have loads of menus to navigate instead.
in the meantime…i’ve already put some photo tips into october photos thread…i think
the main thing is i believe:
- get close to subject
- use the viewfinder instead of LCD for lining up the shot…as holding camera away from body to see LCD causes more shake.
- use lowest ISO that will give you required speed to take the shot without getting blur (approx 1/50 sec when not using zoom)
- anticipate the shot…applies to people/animal photos most. although the shutter lag on compact cameras makes this harder to execute.
- avoid flash if at all possible
- take photos mostly during golden hours = early morning or late afternoon. overcast days are ok to shoot midday also. full sun during the main part of the day produces very harsh shadows on subjects which are not pleasant to look at…and also most colors get washed out.
- use the rule of thirds if possible to compose picture and draw attention to the main object of interest. dead center or other arbitrary arrangement of subject matter does not produce as pleasing results as when using rule of thirds…most of the time.
- back to first point sort of…check what you’ve framed, and eliminate anything that isn’t required in the photo. things like errant powerlines or branches seemingly coming into the picture from nowhere. usually the answer is to get closer, and maybe also change angle.
hope that helps to stimulate some thought/photography.

aquarium said:

if you ever get a chance to go digital slr…then you’ll get very nice pictures, with vivid colors…although you still have to learn the stuff. slr cameras have the right buttons at the right fingertips, so adjusting common settings on the go is easy. compact cameras usually have loads of menus to navigate instead.
in the meantime…i’ve already put some photo tips into october photos thread…i think
the main thing is i believe:
- get close to subject
- use the viewfinder instead of LCD for lining up the shot…as holding camera away from body to see LCD causes more shake.
- use lowest ISO that will give you required speed to take the shot without getting blur (approx 1/50 sec when not using zoom)
- anticipate the shot…applies to people/animal photos most. although the shutter lag on compact cameras makes this harder to execute.
- avoid flash if at all possible
- take photos mostly during golden hours = early morning or late afternoon. overcast days are ok to shoot midday also. full sun during the main part of the day produces very harsh shadows on subjects which are not pleasant to look at…and also most colors get washed out.
- use the rule of thirds if possible to compose picture and draw attention to the main object of interest. dead center or other arbitrary arrangement of subject matter does not produce as pleasing results as when using rule of thirds…most of the time.
- back to first point sort of…check what you’ve framed, and eliminate anything that isn’t required in the photo. things like errant powerlines or branches seemingly coming into the picture from nowhere. usually the answer is to get closer, and maybe also change angle.
hope that helps to stimulate some thought/photography.

thanks

as for photography books. as usual one has to sort out the rubbish from the good ones. i’ve found “the betterphoto guiode to digital photography” pretty good.

Veggie, Aquarium is spot on. Try to get the subject and yourself to do all the hard work, then use the addition of the camera…. What I mean is get your position and the subject together, and then use the camera’s technology to improve.