PROBLEMS!!!!!

Ok, a few problems with my photos.....

cute, right?

WRONG!
A stupid piece of hair is stuck SOMEWHERE in my camera. 

No.  It ISN'T the outside of the camera, or I would have wiped it off ;-p


My Camera.  It is a Canon PowerShot A610.  Quite nice for a point & shoot.  Bit of a pita to change f stops & shutter speeds & white balance... but I can deal .... kinda.
But I can't change THIS:

What you ask?
GRAIN.  Look at how grainy this picture is!  This camera will only let me set up to ISO 800 and it looks AWFUL!  Generally, the lower light you are shooting in, the higher the ISO (which is the "film" sensitivity to light) you use so that you can get a proper exposure w/ proper shutter speeds.  Well. This. Looks. AWFUL!  But I am limited... this is the only camera I've got.  :-p  So bear with me!


So... lower light... use a flash, right?  We've been over this... you've seen what popup flashes can do (see my earlier posts).  So... I use a "diffuser" over my popup flash to help disburse that harsh light.  Well, here is what happens when the diffuser (here a burp rag) doesn't completely cover the popup flash....

Now... I would use a white/ opaque film canister to cover up my popup flash... but I can't find one... anywhere!!!  :-p

However... popup flashes have their uses... you know, when you don't care how artsy the photograph is... you just want to quick capture the moment.  It also looks neat in water ;-)

I must say THANK YOU!!!!! to Blogger for making photo uploads & formatting easier... that means you will see more posts from me :-)

Please... tell me... what camera PROBLEMS do you have????  What solutions have you found?