Let me amplify some comments I have already made. Photography is about capturing light. Pure and simple. Contest: A vs. B. A - great subject in average light. B - average subject in great light. B wins every single time! In general the best times to take pix, the best times to perhaps find some great light are: dawn, dusk, overcast days, storms, when it is raining. I do not care how wonderful your flower is, how beautiful that person is, your car, your house, that waterfall, if you take a pix of it in terrible light will get terrible results. At best a tourist snapshot. In the beginning of each photo class I teach I let the students know that I will be showing them lots of pictures as examples of all the things we are about to discuss. Would be a waste of time to show them bad pictures that did not turn out. I will be showing them great pictures. What does any collection of great pictures have in common? Great light. Probably the single biggest mistake I see on this site is people taking pictures of their flowers when the sun is shinning on them. Too much contrast, faded colors, harsh light. I can hear some whining already: But I don't want to get up at 5am, I want to take my picture right now and have it look beautiful. If you are forced to take a picture of a flower mid day, sun shining, have your friend stand so their shadow covers the flower and/or have them hold their coat up blocking the sunlight. Your results will be 5X times better, guaranteed. All digital cameras, in automatic are designed to take pictures of scenery mid day in the sun. They can do that automatically. Now that we have altered the light or are shooting at another time you may have to step in and take control, leave the automatic mode. It is worth learning how to do this if you are after nicer pictures. One cannot overemphasize the value of light in an image. Ask me questions, please. Gene
