Hi Everyone.
I just got my SLR in November 09. I got interested in photography after influence from my friend. Its been awhile since i started, yet i feel that my pictures have not been improving at all. I also think that my pictures are horrible. Is this normal when you start? Will you improve? I really dont know.
it's ok..
after a while, you will think you have improved
then 6 months, 1 year down the road, whatever you thought was bloody good would be really sucky again. i think up till date i only really like <20 of my shots. that's what, 3-4 years.
my advice is, use the fact that you are not meeting up to your standards positively. look at more pictures. feel the drive to improve, take more, get the right people to criticise them, get the wrong people to criticise them, learn. understand. assimilate. improve.
if the attitude is right, maybe you might not have a knack for it like some of the more talented people.. but if the attitude is right, the only way is up. for sure.
just remember, don't beat yourself up until you feel sick of photography. that is the worst way to go about doing things. also, don't give yourself so much slack that you start thinking that "oh, i shoot xmm, my friends say WA CHIO means i am improving".
make sure you always, always think before you take a shot. that is what differentiates a photographer's thought process from snap-shot takers, there is thought behind it. conceptualise, ask yourself : what do i want to show? what do i want to see? what do i want to remember?
keep shooting, and remember, always enjoy yourself.
photography is not a lifetime hobby, and it teaches you a lot of things. one important thing is that it tells you a lot about life - what you put in, might not necessarily be what you get out of it. but the faithful always get rewarded.
cheers!