Photography Tricks I've Learned

Many of you out there on the interwebs have some great photo tutorials from time to time. Life at Chateau Whitman, Our Life in a Click, and This Fresh Fossil, to name a few, have in recent days imparted some excellent points that even I can follow to make my pictures better, and therefor my blog more fun to follow.

For instance, the macro setting has in recent months come into play when I have a tight shot that begs for detail. I've enjoyed a marked improvement in the quality of my results, like in the Fairy Charm Tutorial. 

I'm still having a little trouble with things being either too dark or wayyyyyyyyy too light. Does this happen to you? It's a matter of existing lighting really as whether or not to turn off the flash. Here's an example:

Hopefully, I'm learning.
Okay, no, I have no great tips other than hire my daughter or go check out the three afore mentioned sites. They know what they're doing.
Me? Not so much.