Ciao folks,
I figured I should start trying to add some value here in my posts as well as simply doing a LOT of reading and trying to be constructive with comments.
My wife & I quit our jobs just over 10 years ago and moved country, to a place where I didn't speak a word of the language, and setup a photography business - something which had been an amateur passion of ours for some years.
We did very, very well commercially and managed to buy a house and renovate it with the proceeds. I guess that what I'm saying is that we put our faith in our ability to be half-good at it - since we left pretty well paid jobs to 'give it a go.'
Anyway, payback time. I figured I'd offer a few tips which may help the odd person take better photos.
Also, to make a point about 'it's not the equipment that matters', I'll only post images which I took on an iPhone (mostly a 6S+.) We've all got phones with cameras after all ;)
Tip 1
Rain & rain showers can be a photographer's dream. Why? Water = Mirror! Puddles = great reflections.
One November afternoon, I was in Florence near the Cathedral, when there was suddenly a heavy shower. As the rain cleared away to a partly sunny, soft light - I was amused by hundreds of people all pointing their cameras & phones up at the cathedral - all taking the same photograph. I could also do that (I may well have done) but I was more interested in all of the puddles. You can't see the reflections particularly well until you get really low down. They gradually get stronger and stronger, therefore most people there were completely unaware of the beautiful opportunity it creates. This was the result
With an iPhone, it helps to actually turn the phone upside down as well, so you can get even lower to the floor. I'll often rest it on a finger rather than let it touch the wet floor but by placing the lens as close to the floor as possible, you get even stronger reflections. Sometimes you surprise yourself with what it can see - as you're hardly likely to get down there with your eyes :)
Next time you're out and it's been raining, have a look at the puddles. It's great watching other people start squatting down to try and see what you're up to ;)
Finally, if you want to try it, take a bottle of tap water out side and create your own puddle. Plenty of experienced photographers will do this to 'create' the shot, rather than wait for it to happen naturally.
Ciao - Andy