total n00b to photography

[Catfish]

I have been taking digital pics of my wife for a while now but have not really worked to get pics better than my little 7.2 mp Casio camera.

Here are some of my favorite pics I have taken, keep in mind I do not have any real experience in photography.

 

[Big Mike]

Welcome to the forum.

You certainly have a lovely model to work with, so you are off to a good start.

The first tip I will offer up is this...try to avoid using the built-in flash on your camera. Sometimes, it is better than nothing, but it makes for very flat lighting. If you can utilize some off camera lighting, you can start to get some shots more worthy of your model.

 

[drflet]

Nice start. My tip? Start thinking a bit more about composition in your portrait shots. Your model is centered in the frame a lot of the time, which is generally a bad thing. Imagine a 3x3 grid overlaying the image. A good rule for composition is to place the subject on the intersection of any two of those lines - this is called the rule of thirds, and it's a great guide.

Also, the trend right now seems to be a tight zoom on the subject. Your photos have a lot of dead space around the woman - I think they'd be more impacting if you got a little closer. Good luck!