The other day I was using Google to find digital photography tips, because I recently got a new digital camera and my photos just weren’t as good as I had hoped they would be. In my searching I stumbled across the HP Digital Photography Centre. This website from HP has a list of great tips on how to take better photos, but also how to edit and print them better.

A couple of the articles I found that were particularly helpful were Lighting basics for better photos and Choosing photo paper for inkjets.

I consider myself quite seasoned when it comes to photography but there were some tips in the lighting article that I had either forgotten or didn't know. It talks about how to shoot with different light sources and how best to set up your subject to get the most benefit from the available light. It also talks about turning off the flash and exploring low-light environments. Some pretty neat stuff that I will be trying out this holiday season for sure!

I thought the articles on choosing the right paper would be pretty one-track - I already know that printing my pictures on 8.5" x 11" isn't doing them justice, but the alternatives are expensive. I was really surprised at the variety in quality and cost of actual photo paper that will make a big difference to my printed pics. Considering my purpose and cost restrictions I read up on what photo paper would be right for me. I think I found the right one to use in my scrapbooks too, which is a big plus.

So if you are struggling to get the right photos from your camera, or are hoping for a new camera this holiday season, you might want to check out some cool photo taking and printing tips at the HP Digital Photography Centre.