On the forums, I notice a lot of people coming in and saying "I am new to photography" What tips would you give me.

I often reply, and I notice I have been repeating myself a lot, so the last time this happened, I copied and pasted what I said.

1. Set your camera to black and white for at least 1 month and don't ever take it out of Black and White. This forces you to realise how you rely on colour and find creative ways around making the shot interesting. One good general rule to follow (and this is general rule; there are many exceptions): most of the time if a shot works in Black and White it will probably work in colour; if it works in colour it won't necessarily work in Black and White.

2. The other big tip I would suggest is that you bite the bullet and print your work at a lab. This isn't as expensive as you might expect - I get prints done, very often for about 5p for a 6x4 or 10p for a 7x5.
Have at least 20 shots somewhere obvious, where you will see them often (around the house, on the wall by your bed). Printed images FEEL very different to when they're on a screen. You see different things in them.

Seeing prints of your own work often is great for starting a subconscious process of developing your ideas and your work. You start selecting and one shot you thought was "OK" a month ago has suddenly become your favourite, and your favourite shot has been taken down because you think it's rubbish.

I would also suggest printing as often as you shoot. It wouldn't be good if you make loads of prints today and then forget to do it for a year if you've taken lots of pictures in between.

3. My third big tip is this: Look at other photographers' work. I remember my photography tutor saying "At this stage, everyone thinks they are being all innovative and original - they would be much better off knowing who got their first." In photography (and music, and creative writing, and fine art, and theatre, and dance, and, and and...) it is very hard to be original but this is something we should embrace rather than deny. This bit is quite difficult without a teacher, I think. LOADS of people I absolutely love are people who I've discovered via Kristiane looking at my work and saying "That shot reminds me of [insert artist's name here]"

I discovered a lot of my work was influenced by Edward Weston - having never been consciously aware of Edward Weston existing. (A lot of photography we see and just absorb, without being aware of where it came from - we look at a book of photos and suddenly realise we recognise a lot more of them than we expected; this is one of the things that differentiates photography from other fine art disciplines; we normally approach those disciplines consciously - in this way it is similar to fashion design, we may be wearing something heavy influenced by [insert designer here] without being aware that designer's name).

However, there are some good documentaries and books on the history of photography. The Genius of Photography by the BBC is fantastic (the BBC website might be good place to start [link]).

Although it's history, don't treat this as an academic exercise - treat it as something that is going to inform, influence and inspire you as an artist.

As well as looking at where the artists who came before you, look at those who are working now. Go to exhibitions. Be critical when you're there. Don't just assume you should like everything. Try to say why you like or dislike something, but don't worry if you can't.

Again, don't approach this as a critical exercise, approach it as something that will inform, engage and inspire you as an artist.

I hope this is helpful!