Photos...taking, editing, entering competitions

This post is dedicated to those of us who love taking pictures but often find that what we thought would be the best photo ever, doesn't quite make the grade.

One of our most popular courses at the school is photo-editing. We start off with PICASA, helpfully provided free by Google. For more advanced editing skills, we then move onto Photoshop Elements. And there is no doubt that with good editing, you can certainly make the most of an otherwise average photo.

However, it doesn't hurt to think a bit more about what you're doing when you are taking the original shot, or shots. So, here's some advice from the professionals...

Established in 1888, they should know what they're talking about....and yes, Kodak are still going strong.

Here are their Top 10 Tips for taking great pictures. I love the way they show you the 'before' and 'after' pics. Very clear, very user-friendly and the advice makes sense.

Once you get onto their website, there are also some great photos to get your inspiration from.

Another website that might interest you, and this one even offers online courses, is BetterPhoto.com. They have Another Top 10 tips, with some variations on the Kodak ones. This website has an interesting gallery and advice on cameras as well.

These are just a couple of websites. As you can imagine, there are plenty more if you spend the time googling or Asking Jeeves, or however it is that you like to surf.

However, once you've applied all the tips and learned a bit of editing, you might wonder what to do next. Well, you might decide to enter a competition. In that case, have a look at Photography Competitions. That should keep you busy for a while...

If you have children who are interested in photography, I would recommend having a look at Woodland Nature Detectives. They have some downloadable tips and, even better, their current photography competition for under-14s is still open. The deadline is September 30th.

So, that's it for now. Happy clicking.....