I agree with all your advice—flashes are serious no-nos unless it is unavoidable, and candids almost always improve on posed pictures.

The other, most important piece of photographic advice I ever got, which the digital age has finally made practical for most people: You know how to take one good picture?  Shoot a dozen lousy ones.

Cartier-Bresson believed that what went on beneath the surface was nobody’s business but his own. He did recall that he once confided his innermost secrets to a Paris taxi driver, certain that he would never meet the man again.

That’s pretty cool. He could have trolled the blogs for a similar fix.

Of course, these days the Taxicab Confessions would have outed his tawdry secrets, but I suppose that taxicab confessions have been a cultural staple since taxicabs existed.

Not so with the digitals. I press the button, and it does its series of checks that sometime take too long; it’s unpredictable between the press and shutter action. Sure, I can still get some good pictures, but with it, the policy is to take pictures by the 100s because not all will work.

With the A-1, it just about always worked.

Meh—that’s the trade off you get for instant gratification and progress.

Yes, there are annoying aspects to having your picture taken, and some family members can be real pests about it.  But nobody’s perfect, so try to forgive them and just relax.  Pretend they aren’t there and just try to enjoy yourself.  In the long run, it becomes a meaningful gift that no one realizes unless it isn’t there.

That was very beautifully stated. This post in general brought up a flurry of memories of family occasions. Thank you.