BaconCheddar
Respected User

Come to SC.

where you been dawg

FUCK DA POLICE!a

Oh not at all hahaha, it's all good. Yeah just get out there and have some fun

Good quote I found

"Think about what you're shooting and why. If something captures your attention try to figure out what it is that caught your eye."

Also! Don't forget to have fun! Every time you go out and shoot, you should be pumped and be stoked to get home and look through your shots. Even if you didn't get exactly what you were thinking or anything super amazing, the process and anticipation should be fun! Everyone has their slumps of course, but just remember to have fun.

/rant

NOTE: stuff in bold is followed by a link that's an example of what's in bold

Scenery and landscapes are also a good place to start. Often sunsets and things like that can be considered cliche, but they're somewhat easy to photograph and make them look somewhat aesthetically pleasing. Candid shots, people, and street photography are unfathomably difficult in comparison haha.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/passdap...in/photostream

Sunsets may be cliche, but they're still fun to shoot here and there. If you can find interesting subject matter that you can photograph with the sunset that's even better. (http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6057/...2e332d2a_z.jpg)

Sorry if I'm rambling, but another thing to look out for is nice lighting. Not really sure how to explain it, but like usually mornings and evenings light is soft and nice compared to the middle of the day when the sun is high (so therefore the lighting is usually harsh). Light coming through clouds, trees etc. can have a nice effect.

Also don't just limit yourself to the rule of thirds! Sometimes subjects are better centered.

example of rule of thirds - http://www.flickr.com/photos/passdap...in/photostream

see how your eyes are drawn to the person? that's the rule of thirds at work. the contrast of him against the blue sky also makes him pop and makes him more apparent. when you're taking pictures you of course want to pay attention to your subject, but also pay attention to the surroundings as well. watch out for unwanted distractions like: tree branches, telephone wires, etc. Again these things can add to the photo, but more often than not they're just hanging in the corners and distract.

example where rule of thirds isn't used - http://www.flickr.com/photos/passdap...in/photostream

Sounds awesome, yeah link me to em. And for the tight comps thing I mean like your photos seem to focus on one object, and it takes up the entire frame. (http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/8072/macro1w.jpg) This can work at times, but it's nice when there's different factors to a photo and mix together well. There are a lot of different types of comps and there's different factors like balance (having each side of the frame being balances by having somewhat the same amount of "used space" (opposite of "dead space" where there's nothing). Not to say that those things are bad, you just gotta know when to use it and when it looks good. Different things can give off different vibes.