The 8th Commandment.
ALWAYS Do It For Yourself - Don’t take pictures that you think other people will like. If you like them, that’s all that counts.
I do agree. We need not be intimidated by other people’s photos or by their opinions. We will never get to enjoy doing things, as in this case taking pictures, if our main concern is pleasing other people.
I saw this on The Ten Commandments of Photography while I was browsing through my feeds at Bloglines. Read the rest of the commandments here.
Tips, Anyone?
I am no photographer. I haven’t taken any photography classes {yet}, but I thought I’ll share a few things I know. I try to read photography tips once in a while but I find it more fun browsing pictures than reading stuff about it. 
First off, I really appreciate all the wonderful comments on my pictures. I really do.
Just so you know, my pictures don’t always come out as nice. And it’s very rare that I come up with a picture that doesn’t need editing. Here’s what I usually do with my pictures to make it post-worthy.
I edit it in Photoshop. I usually just adjust the levels then add a pop of color. I don’t want to do much editing as I just want to improve my shot and not transform it. And yes, I find actions so very helpful.
When resizing my pictures for web, I manually change the resolution to 72dpi in the Image Size option, rather that using the Save For Web option. I also set the Resample Image option to Bicubic Sharper (best for reduction) to make the picture sharper even after resizing. Though I don’t resize my pictures anymore now as I can upload high-res pics in Flickr. This can also be done in our scrap layouts so they will appear sharp when we post them in our galleries and blogs. I learned this tip in one of the blogs I read long time ago.
I am trigger-happy. I take a lot of pictures especially when it’s the little boy I’m shooting. I want to make sure that I get at least a few decent shots of him, out of a hundred. Hahaha!
I rarely use flash. I try as much as possible to make use of the available light. I usually shoot the little boy beside our window. I tried using an external flash once and what I did was to point the flash towards the ceiling or the wall so the light would bounce, thereby making the shadow less harsh. If you don’t have an external flash, I read somewhere that you can cover the flash with a tissue to lessen harsh shadows.
I am not so technical. That’s why when people ask me what my settings were, I kinda feel stupid for actually not knowing what my setting were. You see I don’t really check much on my settings. All I know is when I’m indoors or when it’s not as bright, I raise the ISO setting. Though I try as much as possible to not go beyond 300 to avoid grains. Then I adjust the aperture (lower) as I shoot until I get the my desired output. When I’m out and it’s sunny, the ISO stays at 100 and I raise the aperture. I shoot in Manual, btw. So you see, that’s all I know. And I bet those who are in the know will laugh at my explanation here. I just shoot and adjust until I get the picture that pleases me. But I know it still is important to learn the technical side, to maximize yours and your camera’s potential. I just hope I will have the energy to focus on the technical stuff.
And lastly of course, enjoy!
So my secret is out. Hahaha! I hope you did get something from my feeling-photographer tips.
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