I don't claim to be an expert on all the ins and outs of photography, but here are some things that have worked for me in the past which I have learned along the way:

Before you go out to take pictures, decide on your subject matter. There is no point going out on a mission to take photos, ending up in a dark cloisters of a church with 200 speed film and no flash.

Once you've decided what it is that you'll be taking photos of, then you can choose your film.

Choose whether you want black and white or colour...if you're just starting out, then I would recommend using colour film. Kodak is always a good bet, or Fujicolour is also very good quality.

If you're going to be taking photos outdoors on a bright day, then you want to choose a film with a lower speed - 200, 100, 400 possibly.

The lower the speed, the more light there needs to be.

If you're taking photos indoors and can use a flash, then 400 will usually suffice.

If however you're taking photos of a live gig or something similar where people are moving in relatively poor lighting you want to get 800 or even 1600 speed (1200 if you can find it).
Taking gig photos is a lot harder than one might initially think. If you're standing behind people and are taking a photo over peoples heads, then it is not advisable to use the flash as you'll just get a picture of a lot of peoples heads lit up and nothing of the actual subject matter.

If you're up close then flash is fine, though you'll lose a lot of the colour of the lighting.

If you're not allowed a flash then you should ideally be using 1600 speed film.

Make sure you time the photo when there's the most light or at least when there's less movement by the band.
You're always going to get a lot of dud photos, so the key is to keep snapping away, and some of them will turn out well.

Post any q
uestions as comments and I'll try to answer them...

Ken


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I forgot to also mention that it's very important that if you're going to be taking photos where you may need to alter the exposure length, then you will need to get a half-decent camera.

You can buy good quality second hand cameras in most traditional camera stores, or you can buy a reasonably good new Canon or Pentax for £120ish. The camera makes all the difference. Ideally it would have auto-detect film speed, or even better that AND manual selection. You should be able to set it to full manual focus, but autofocus is also very handy. A built in flash is good, but make sure you can turn it off, or you'll often end up with irate bouncers in gigs and so on.

Look to spend up to £150 for a nice camera, and you'll be paid back with the results you get.