[fletcher11]

i have no idea how to take a great picture i only have a 10.2mp digital cam so not special stuff. well i had a go at taking some pictures let me know how i can improve please. i know picture 4 is very dark but i posted it so i can get some advice for next time.

[denno75uk]

I can see what you've tried to do here and in BW it very nearly works. There's some nice textures there that deserve capture, especially in #1, #6 and #7. And the composition isn't bad which is a lrge part of the battle.
Unfortunately the focus seems a bit off, which takes the impact away as the fine detail is missed. It also seems that you've used flash, which makes me think the shutter speed may have been a bit slow for hand holding.
Is it a compact camera? Full auto? It may be that you just need to pay a bit more attention to where the camera is focussing as some cameras select the focus point on their own. #1 for example seems sharper on the extreme left of the shot.
Have a bit of a read on how things like low light and flash affect the way a camera will make choices, then try and impose your will on it by changing a few settings.
Keep trying though. You're on the right lines.

[fletcher11]

its a compact samsung p1000 camera im not after taking perfect shots all the time so i dont really want a bigger cam, yes i think in a couple of shots i forgot to turn the flash off, i will have a play with it and see what happens i had it on auto as i have no idea on the manual settings, i looked in the manual but it just says what they do rather then explain about each thing.

[denno75uk]

Ok, sorry if this is patronising.
Your camera uses a combination of things to take a photo. Aperture (the variable hole in the lens through which light passes, denoted as f number eg f2.8, f4, lower number=bigger/wider hole), shutter speed (how long the sensor is exposed to light, measured in seconds but as fractions usually as majority of exposures are only for a fraction of a second eg 1/125) and sensor sensitivity (ISO, higher ISO=higher sensitivity).
This is a nice demo of how aperture and shutter speed are related. Note how when the f number is small the background is more blurred than with a larger f number. This is called depth of field (DOF) and is to do with how much of a scene, near to far, is in focus.
So, taking #4 of your photos as an example. The camera has used its light meter and identified a dark scene. Likely it has set a fairly wide aperture to maximise the light it will receive. Since you had flash turned on, it has decided to use it to illuminate the scene. The focus system in the meantime has identified something close (the leaves) which it has prioritised for focus. That's fine (so long as that is what you want), and together with the DOF of the selected wide aperture has made the leaves sharp and the background blurred out of focus (again, fine so long as that was what you had in mind).
Problem is, when taking the shot, it's not been clever or discerning enough to realise that the leaves will be way more illuminated than the background causing those nasty refections on the right. If the flash had been turned off, it would have selected a longer shutter speed to compensate. Again, fine, but you then need to pay attention to how long, since speeds slower than say 1/90s may be too slow when holding the camera in your hand. Seemingly imperceptible movements will mean the shot may be blurred.
Fact is, it all gets quite long winded. I really would recommend a bit of reading around the subject (and practice) to really fix these principles in your mind. It may seem like overkill, but you've already decided you want to take good/better photos and your camera isn't always thinking like you are. Whilst in the beginning it may seem very confusing or complicated, once you've got the basics in your head and you get used to implementing them in the use of your camera, it all falls into place.

Hope this helps.

And to the rest of the forum, please correct my errors. Sure I've made some.

[fletcher11]

well that was a lot to take in lol, all i really want is to take a nice photo not a outstanding one if you know what i mean, even though that would be nice i know i wont get to that standard all this shutter speed etc just confuses me completly

[Mhoram]

Certainly helps me Denno, I've been reading all day and snapping in my garden when the rain finally stopped.

I've even joined Flickr


Oh and fletcher11 sorry I can't help you I'm on day 2 so probably know more than me.

[stevegreen]

Originally Posted by fletcher11

i have no idea how to take a great picture i only have a 10.2mp digital cam so not special stuff. well i had a go at taking some pictures let me know how i can improve please. i know picture 4 is very dark but i posted it so i can get some advice for next time.

I think the one thing missing from all of these pictures is a point of interest, putting aside the technical aspects of the photographs for a moment To make a nice/interesting photograph there needs to be something to look at, something that the eye rests on or is immediately attracted to. Unfortunately none of these photographs has this.

My advice would be to read up on composition, particularly the rule of thirds and then go out and look for things that would make an interesting photograph. Leave the mono conversions and any major post processing alone for the time being and concentrate on getting to know your camera

Keep posting stuff here too as there are plenty here to help you along the way