photography goals

today, i'm considering my photography goals - specifically, what areas i want to grow in. the more i play and learn, the more excited i get about photography. there's something terribly satisfying about holding that beefy camera (ok, compared to my old camera, the rebel *is* beefy) in my hands and taking the care to get the settings right... not to mention, i've noticed that i have a whole new appreciation for images on television: i notice a frame or a scene that i like because it's especially well lit, or creatively lit. i notice that i appreciate composition more in staging and such, and i find myself thinking "how could i apply that to my photography?" when watching tv. funny huh? i guess i do this with tv because it's 2-D, and it has "borders"; much like a photograph. a moving photograph, if you will... (harry potter, anyone?) maybe sometime soon, i'll be able to apply these same observations to scenes in my everyday life.

so, that said, here are some of my current goals:

• to take better "straight-out-of-camera" (SOOC) photos. this means constantly remembering to set my white balance, ISO, shutter speed and aperture so that i don't have to review the capture on the screen and then re-take because i forgot a piece of the puzzle.
  
• to upgrade my computer system, so that i have better resources. this will require more memory; moving my CD burner from my current laptop to my new laptop; getting an external hard drive; moving to my "new" machine; upgrading to XP; and buying PhotoShop Elements.
  
• to improve at getting the shot right the first time. i suppose this is a little like my first goal above, but i'm treating it differently. the above is "technically speaking" and this is "artistically speaking". it seems that there are two methods among those who are at my level in photography and better: 1. shoot as many as you can, knowing that the more you shoot, the better your chances for a handful of good ones. 2. take your time and focus on getting it right the first time. for quite a while, i've been in the first group, because i'm still learning. but now that i've learned more and i really want to succeed, i'm moving on to the second group. as i proofed 190 shots from last weekend's photo shoot, and narrowed it down to 80 "decent" ones, i realized that i will save myself time (which is money) if i can learn to just get it right the first time (or at least the second time!)
  
• to master custom white balance setting. i don't think there's much to explain here - just something i need to work with because i haven't before.
  
• to switch from JPG to RAW, and learn to manipulate those files. again, not much to explain here, but i'll need PSE before i can do this, as my current software can't do RAW.
  
• to grow more adept with depth of field. one thing i noticed in all of my photos from last weekend is that, because i was using the largest aperture setting on my camera, i had a very small range of depth. in many photos where one child's eyes were crystal clear, the other child's eyes were a bit out-of-focus, even when one's eyes were only a couple of inches further from the camera than the other's. i need to be aware of how the settings i'm using will affect the overall composition of the photograph.
  
• to learn PSE and develop a list of a few favorite actions that give my photos the look i want. but obviously, i need PSE to do this too.

well, it's not every day that i come before you and list out my flaws, now is it? ;) happy friday.