Anthony Pierpont, The Everyday Photographer: Will You Take Better Photos After Taking Photography Classes?

There are a number of opportunities to study photography online or in the classroom today. But do you need to take photography classes to take a better photo?

Photography is a popular hobby, and many enthusiasts dream of doing it professionally. Some people just want to learn more about how to take better photos. Whatever your reason, weigh your decision to take photography classes carefully.

When you study photography, there are a lot of different classes you can join to take a better photo.

• Study photography composition, placing subjects and creating scenes, to help you take better photos. You can learn a lot from taking a composition class. But some traditional composition photography classes focus so much on structure that they seem to forget that some of the best photos are less formal in their arrangement.
  
• Study photography online by subject, like landscape, glamour or portraits, to help you take better photos. Mostly, these photography classes provide a range of ideas that help open your eyes to new ways of taking photos. You can learn about lighting, stage layout and posing, but on-time inspiration is often your best guide.
  
• You can study photography online, focusing on the tools of the trade. Taking a class in how to get the most out of your digital camera can benefit anyone. With every new digital camera I break in, I find a whole new group of options for taking better photos. Look for classes on your camera manufacturer’s Web site, to get the most out of your digital camera.
  
  

Everyday Photographer Tip of the Day: Research schools in your area, classes at local colleges and community center classes, too. Go back to school on the Web, and you can choose from paid (in depth) classes and free (less comprehensive but still worthwhile) classes.

HP is my favorite site overall for classes on taking better pictures and online classes in digital photography.

Anthony Pierpont, The Everyday Photographer: Best Online Photo Albums and Photo Sharing Options

One of the best things about taking photos is sharing them with your friends and family. There are a number of free online photo album and digital photo sharing choices on the Web today.

And with online photo sharing more popular than ever, it’s really easy to share your photos with your loved ones.

Some of the best online photo albums for you to try today include:

• Snapfish lets you order prints of your online photo albums, and the first 20 prints are free. Snapfish has group rooms, one of the best picture sharing options online today. Your friends, family and coworkers can all help create online photo albums. You can buy personalized photo gifts on Snapfish, turning your online photo albums into calendars, t-shirts, mugs and posters. I like how easy it is to upload your cell phone photos, and using the Snapfish editing tools to clean them up for your online photo albums is a snap!
• With Shutterfly, you can create online photo albums, photo cards and gifts and DVD photo slideshows. The editing tools are easy to use and you can also rate and organize your free online photo album. It’s easy to start the Shutterfly digital photo sharing process, just select your free online photo album and e-mail it to your friends and family. Once you download the online photo albums software, you can share your albums for free and order prints of your online photo albums for a small fee.
  
  

Some of the best picture sharing options available online includes:

• Flickr has to be the best online photo sharing web site out there. Flickr lets you post photos and view other site member’s photos too. This picture sharing site lets you comment on your photos, comment on member photos and receive comments from other members too, which can be really helpful. When you participate in online photo sharing at Flickr, you’re really joining a community of amateur and professional photography buffs. Online picture sharing profiles tell you a little more about the photographer. Check out the work of one of my favorite online photographers, Tom Stone.
• When you think of Myspace, you’re probably not thinking about online photo albums or digital photo sharing. Myspace is generally thought of as the meet-and-greet for twenty-somethings. But Myspace gives you a really easy way to create online photo albums, with one of the best picture sharing options available today. You can’t edit your photos, turn them into picture mugs or do anything too fancy. But you can let others rate your best online photo albums, and you can easily point friends and family (especially the younger ones!) to your online photography site.
  
  

Everyday Photographer Tip of the Day: Go find a construction site and take some color photos of the workers and the site. Try different angles to find your best shot.