First Christmas Light Pics

dont think i like them but hey all practise

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Great subject, lingham, but here are some pointers to getting them even better

1.) Rule of Thirds! Don't have your subject/object dead-centre. #1 isn't so bad, but #2 is pretty much in the middle.

2.) Background. There's a bit going on in the background, especially in #2. Perhaps you can rotate yourself so the background is actually that of the tree the bauble is hanging from? To get a nice bokeh (background blur), open up that lens (I'm going to assume you were using the kit lens, so open it up to f/3.5 if you can). If you're afraid shooting wide-open will decrease the sharpness, sharpen it later in Photoshop (if you have it) or do it in-camera.

3.) White-balance. Try setting WB to 'Tungsten'; those shots are a little on the warm side.

4.) Focus! These don't seem to be quite in focus; are you using a specific AF point? If not, try that - or manual focus.

Lots of potential. I'll be interested to see these re-shot!

Merry Christmas

Don't let you "fool" into the rule of third believer movment! Of course it can come as a good help. It's a rule, it's ONE way of composing, but it's not a law and it's a myth that it makes most shots better. Such a static thing as these bowls might look very nice when composed dead centered. But then, I would think about a square crop for example.

But Paul gave you some really good ideas on how to give that subject matter another try.

One more point that I would like to add: simplify! Think about what needs to be on the shot, and try to include that, and only that. Re-compose the frame until unwanted, unnecessary things are gone.

cheers
®

Totally agreed about the 'Rule' of Thirds, habakuk!

What's creativity if you follow all of the rules, anyway?