Some Ideas for Taking Better Photos

Here are a few ideas for taking better pictures with your XO or other camera.

Start with Easy Stuff

Plants are easiest to photograph. Flying insects and birds are toughest! So while we all want to see more good bird and insect photos, start with the easy stuff, until you get good at that.

If the light on your subject is too bright, your picture will look washed out, and details will disappear. If there is not enough light, things will be dark, and details will disappear. We want those details! So try more lighting (do you have a flashlight?) or less lighting to see if this will help.
Pictures taken indoors are often too dark, those taken outside are usually just right. Sometimes you can take a plant or captive outside, so that you get better lighting.
If the sun is shining on your subject, keep the sun to your back. Shooting into the sun usually washes out your picture with glare.

Practice might make perfect. It certainly makes better. The difference between you and a professional photographer is mostly one of experience: the professional has spent more hours taking pictures. You can take good pictures with any camera. It just takes practice!
Often the best shot is a lucky shot. If you use your digital camera to take a picture of a bird, you've got a good chance that your subject will have her eyes closed, or be in a silly position, or have an important marking hidden by a branch. But take 30 photos of this bird, and there is a very good chance that one of them will be just dandy. Fifty pictures are no more expensive than one with a digital camera. So shoot, shoot, shoot!