"Here are some snaps I’ve taken recently with my good ‘ol, store bought Canon PowerShot S110 compact camera." – Mark McKnight

Hey fellow Amateur Snappers, Mark McKnight here. Getting your first camera is a great feeling. You have dreams of wonderful snaps that look amazing and inspire awe in everyone who sees them, and you just can’t wait to start taking some awesome photos… Then, as you start playing around taking shots of everything you see, you realize that this is harder than it looks and instead of great pictures of your family, friends or pets, you end up with something like this:

I know how it is. Not too long ago, I was exactly where you’re now. My father was crazy about photography, so I practically grew up with a camera either in my hand or pointing at my face. At first, he would hold it for me and I’d press the shutter button, and then when I got older he’d let me run around on my own, taking pictures of anything interesting I could find. Every vacation we took, we must have gone through at least 5 rolls of film, and my dad made a point of always developing every one of them. It was expensive, but well worth it, as we were always able to find some gems. The one thing I didn’t like was the fact that although I was trying, it was him who usually took the best pictures. I am very competitive by nature, so it kinda bugged me. Finally as I got older and ready to learn, I asked him for some tips. I wanted him to teach me how to get these great shots myself, but I’m sure you know how fathers are… … "Just keep trying Son, you’ll be fine." OK, thanks dad…