Title: A Grizzled Professional's Advice For Rookie Photographers Word Count: 565 Summary: Are you interested in photography? If it sounds like an interesting hobby or a possible source of income in the future, read on. This article is intended to explain a few things about the mechanics of photography. Some of this information will come in handy if you wish to join a forum or group discussion on the topic, which would be an excellent venue for coming up with new ideas and inspiration. Many people new to the hobby are concerned about their techniques for achievi... Keywords: Photography, Camera, Shutterfly Coupon, Sharper Image Coupon Article Body: Are you interested in photography? If it sounds like an interesting hobby or a possible source of income in the future, read on. This article is intended to explain a few things about the mechanics of photography. Some of this information will come in handy if you wish to join a forum or group discussion on the topic, which would be an excellent venue for coming up with new ideas and inspiration. Many people new to the hobby are concerned about their techniques for achieving quality photographs. It's not financially feasible to hire an expert to give a few tips, and taking a photography class requires an investment of more time than most of us can afford. The most practical way to enter the field of amateur photographers is to find a good quality camera and hope that the advertised magical features really work as claimed, helping to achieve good quality pictures without having any formal training or knowledge of specific photographic techniques. The fact is that these features really do work, but they're not enough to ensure professional quality photos. We've all taken pictures of family and friends on holidays, on vacation, and at special events. We've taken pictures of our children, our parents, our spouses, our siblings, our extended family, and our friends. We've recorded images for posterity, for the sole purpose of having a record of a particular person or place at a particular time in order to trigger fond memories at some point in the future. But some of us enjoy looking through the lens and want to use the camera on a more regular basis. Photography can be an engrossing hobby that doesn't require a large investment of money or time to get started. Reading a few short articles such as this will improve your shutter skills. If your ambition is to eventually handle the photography at more formal occasions, such as weddings or graduations, you'll need more than a cell phone, but today's technology has made quality equipment more affordable than ever before. If you enjoy taking pictures and would like to avoid the expense of hiring an expert, this article offers some tips that will lead you on the path to taking quality pictures. One common mistake of amateur photographers is the failure to make sure everyone is in the picture frame. When taking a group photo, it's imperative that everyone appears in the final print. You don't want to find out after the picture is developed that someone on the end is cut in half! A little extra care before snapping the shutter is all it takes to avoid this embarrassment. Another bugaboo of amateur photographers is gauging the angle of sunlight in an outdoor photograph. This can greatly affect the quality of the final picture. Shooting directly into the sun can cause dark shading on the picture, while having the sun behind you will have it shining directly into your subjects' eyes, causing them to squint. It's important to keep the sun to the side while shooting outdoors, especially if the subject is a person; photos of still life allow a little more leeway. These are just a couple of tips to get you started on your new hobby. There's obviously practical value in learning more about photography, even if you don't aspire to become a professional. The memories you're preserving will literally last a lifetime!