I remember buying my own P&S camera. It was a Canon Power Shot SD750. It was awesome because it was so accessible and convenient. But convenience also has a dark side! I never really thought out my shots. I just wanted to whip this baby out and document what was happening that very moment in the form of a snapshot. Although my photos perceived what I saw when I took the picture, they never really inspired me or lead me to interpret them because they were so blatantly obvious of what was going on.  Take this for an example. You take a snapshot of your friends gathered around. Cool, well how would you interpret this picture? Sure, you could reminisce about your past with them but it's not doing anything for the picture itself! Now, in the same location, you follow your friends around without directing them. They're being themselves in their natural environment. As one of them stares off into space, you take this opportunity to take a candid picture of them. By your surprise, you have not only taken a picture of them but you captured their raw expression. Instantly you think, "what is he/she thinking about?". You are interpreting the picture and not just looking at it, you have just told a story.

I could easily go into a technical spew of how to learn your camera, but you have your camera's manual for that. It's very important to know your camera inside and out. With that knowledge, you can set your camera according to the situation you're in which will allow you to anticipate each opportunity with less tinkering and cursing. Sport mode won't work when you're trying to capture the fireworks...etc. Get to know your tool and you'll be able to produce better pictures!

Learn the rule of thirds. The human eye follows the subject in a natural way, leaving space on either side of the subject more than the other.  It is an important part of a composition but not a necessity.

Macro mode is fun! Use it to your advantage and capture the details you would have missed. Don't focus entirely on the subject but give it some head room to allow the viewer to interpret the whole picture instead of, "okay...that's a bug. Cool."

We need more angles! Follow lines, practice vanishing points. Find ways to shoot the same subject but without actually being right in front of them! I want to see where they are, how they look in their environment and most of all, I want you to tell me a story. Don't be afraid to lay on your side and shoot up, force yourself to be creative! It pays off in the end.

Composition is very important. It separates snapshots from photos, digital files from fine art. Simply shooting a portrait of someone at mouth level will yield a position of power over someone who is looking up at you. You shoot with digital, if it sucks, delete it and try again!

In the end, someone who knows their camera, practices composition, angles and wants to create something more than a snapshot will succeed. It's easy. Point & Shoot cameras are accessible and the internet is filled tutorials at your disposal. You may have heard this a bunch, but the best camera is the one you have with you. Get to it!

Above is an outtake of our first shoot in the studio. Josh did a great job during the whole shoot. This guy laughed so much, not smiling was pretty difficult! It didn't help that I was cracking jokes every minute during the shoot. But hey, my awkward antics actually worked. Sweet. As mentioned before, this shoot was done the day we moved into the new studio location. We weren't prepared at all! There's always a work-around when it comes to photography, though. We could have used the ambient light from outside or controlled it via portable flashes. I had a feeling we'd need some traditional shots taken care of first before we went on to the good stuff, so I whipped out some extension cords and plugged them into the outlets in the park right next to us. How awesome is that? More awesome than licourice. We pulled off some fun stuff in studio and out at the park. I couldn't have asked for a better subject! It was like hanging out with a friend who's down for anything. If you're down for anything, give us a call. We'll be best friends forever.