Some fun exercises and projects to get you going with your new camera

a)     Try the different modes on your camera

Try the modes you are likely to use on a day-to-day basis. Familiarise yourself with them and review the results. 

b)     Colour

Try taking photos at different times of day and see how the light affects colour. Have a session where you look for vibrant, soft, muted colours. Next, look at your composition. 

c)      Perspective/angle

Walk around the subject; think of different angles to make it more interesting. Think of perspective. Don't just take photographs straight on; if you look at your subject side-on, the photograph might be more interesting. 

d)     Abstract/patterns

Look for patterns, abstract images. Get closer, think differently, be creative and have some fun with what you see 

e)     Flowers/macro/close-up

Try photographing some flowers and leaves outdoors; do it with and without your camera's macro or close-up setting. Capture the texture and the detail 

f)        Indoor with and without flash

Try some indoor photography, taking pictures with and without the flash. You can get some good results without flash even without bright light. Try photographing every day objects such as shells, tools and baubles.

Storing, filing and printing your photographs

If you are copying photographs onto your computer, think of a filing system before you start. For example, you might wish to create folders such as people, holidays, still life, landscape, cityscape and miscellaneous. 

Some people file photographs by folders describing the occasion and date.

Also check that your camera doesn't re-use the same name and number for different photos (the manual will explain this), because you don't want to overwrite a favourite photograph.

People are often surprised at the quality of prints that you can get from an inexpensive inkjet printer. Even with a £100 printer, you can get bright and vibrant glossy photographs. The secret is to use photographic paper. The secret today when choosing a printer is to check out ink prices first.

If you don't have a computer, however, you can take your memory card to a shop and they will print the photographs on the card for you. They can also supply a CD if you require a backup. I sometimes put a set of 200 images on a CD and get them printed at Boots they cost as little as 5p each.

Alternatively, if you don't have a computer, you might prefer to print your own. The good news is that you can buy printers that read and print directly from a memory card

The important point to note is that you can get great quality prints from your home printer if you use photographic paper, but you can also get good quality prints from photographic shops.