Experiment, Experiment, Experiment (with your camera's settings)

Your point and shoot may be able to do more than you realize. Be sure to read the manual for help in figuring out all those little symbols. Explore your camera. Use each setting and see what it does (this goes back to my earlier post about learning your camera inside and out). If your camera offers a manual mode LEARN TO USE IT. Manual mode offers you the biggest flexibility. When shooting in manual, YOU are telling the camera what to do, not just the shutter clicker. Experiment with it and see what happens. Later when you've uploaded your pics to your computer and you're looking through them, if you see an image you really like, you can recall the setting you used by looking at the EXIF for that image (usually in the file info). Remember those settings and work forward from there. Now get out there and start experimenting!

       Don't go crazy and buy the most expensive equipment right away. I have seen tons of very nice images from good point and shoot cameras. So if you already have one, learn it inside and out until you feel like you've outgrown it and are ready to upgrade. Many folks who jump from a point and shoot to a DSLR too soon get frustrated by the quality of pics they produce. It's not the camera, guys, it's just that you haven't taken time to learn. Take your time. I started with a Sony DSC-H1.. point and shoot. It's a great little camera and I actually still have it and still use it. My daughter loves to use it when we go out. I used it until I felt like I had learned it inside and out and could not go any further with it. THEN I upgraded to my Nikon DSLR. So, just thought I would share a bit this morning.