Photography Tips (from a Mediocre Hobbyist) #2

I'm back and I have more advice! This isn't so much a photography tip as a life tip but it involves cameras and can improve your skills, so bear with me. It's one I've adhered to for years now and my friends and family know it:

Always carry a camera with you. Any camera. I tend to compromise a bit with this by always having my point and shoot with me (rather than my DSLR; if my camera phone were better, I could live with just that) but I don't want to miss a moment. It might be something aesthetically beautiful (a rose just starting to bloom, for example), it might be a set-up to a shot you want to get later (but that you want to stake out now), or it might be your friends or family having a special time that you want to be able to have later on.

Years ago, before I followed this, I was driving somewhere and there was a fawn about two feet from the edge of the road. I stopped to see it, of course, but I would have loved to have captured that moment. I was incredibly disappointed. That was when I started sticking to this.

Since then, I've been grateful for it many times (and so have others). I've captured smiles of family and friends so I could remember and share moments. I've gotten award winning shots on a walk to the store. I've taken pictures of signs with websites to remember. I've taken pictures a friend or family member wanted. I've even taken pictures for strangers that I subsequently emailed to them so they could remember a fun time they had had.

Just think about it and try it for a week. You might find yourself grabbing moments you'll be glad to remember later. And you'll probably take more pictures, which is a great way to improve your skills in general.