Learning to Take Better Pictures

I’ve been working very hard to improve my pictures – not just the pictures that I take for Hobbies on a Budget, but also the ones I take of the people I love and enjoy spending time with. I have a long way to go but part of the fun of blogging and having kids is that each day I get a new subject or theme to inspire me to try for a better picture.

Today I’m sharing some of my progress in the hopes that maybe we can all keep learning to become better photographers. I’m working every day and learning to take better pictures.  What tips do you have for me?  I’m open to suggestions!

Learning to Take Better Pictures

I won this beautiful hand woven basket a few weeks ago from Tangled Basket Farm. I wanted to send her a picture of the basket being used to hold apples on my table. So I took this first shot. Even though I knew it had some problems, I sent it to some friends who take better photographs than I do and asked for advice. They immediately told me to tighten the shot and get rid of the chairs.

Take 2 was better but still didn’t really pop.  The suggestion from my photographer friends was to bring my camera down and try to blur the background for a stronger effect.  So I tried.

Beef Steak Stromboli before and after

Taking food pictures is a tough one for me. A few weeks ago I cooked stromboli and took this picture. The lighting was too bright and it just didn’t pop.

When I made the stromboli this past week, of course I took some more pictures. I think it’s definitely an improvement. But I still have a long way to go to make it really shine.

Stay tuned as I keep improving my skills! It’s definitely fun to learn more tips and strategies for taking better pictures!