I am far from a professional as I still learn new things all the time. But I've spent a few years now photographing events for RCU, and here as some of the things I've learned that have helped me
[*]You're going take A LOT of pictures - Like Mike said, you're going to take a lot of pictures to get just a few usable shots. I read an article on photography and they say that pros usually approach 20% usable pictures, meaning that only 20% of what they shoot is usable and the rest get thrown away. Amateurs and the rest of us are closer to 10%-15% usable pictures. The nice thing is that in the digital age it doesn't cost anything to throw away a picture. So do be afraid to shoot a lot of pictures.[*]Practice practice practice. The guys in my club are tired of seeing my camera at the field. that's where I go to practice shooting before I get to an event. One key to getting good pictures is to know your camera and how to make all of your adjustments on the fly, that comes with practice. Also, just like muscle memory helps atheletes it also helps in taking pictures as you track and shoot planes in motion.[*]The "Perfect" shot - I see a lot of guys always fitzing and futzing around trying to get that "perfect" shot. Forget it. You're wasting time and missing a lot of good shots. This goes exactly with what I said above. Remember, you're only getting 10%-15% of usable, so spending time trying to get that "one great shot" is usually a wild goose chase. Just shoot your pictures and you'll be suprised when you pull them off the camera in that you may have very well got that "one shot" you were looking for to start with[*]Histograms - learn to use these. I didn't have a clue what they were until a guy in my club who has been a professional photographer for 30 years explained what they were. Once you start using these your shot quality will improve 5 fold. Get your manual out and read on using the histograms and how to adjust your camera exposure accordingly.[*]Learn to use the apeture and exposure compensation adjustments on your camera. They will make your shooting a lot better once you stop trusting that little guy in the camera to make all the adjustments. For shooting planes I keep the camera on "sports" modes and then make my apeture or shutter adjustments accordingly.[*]Quit looking at the damn LCD - I see guys all the time press the button and then look at the LCD. This is a waste of time because while you are looking at the LCD there are 4 or 5 shots that you just missed. And what good is looking at it going to do anyway?? You either got the shot or you didn't, looking at it isn't going to change that. There are only 2 times I'll look at the LCD: 1) Checking the Histrogram 2) when I am trying to get a particular shot I'll look at the LCD to see if I got the shot I was trying for. Now I may scroll back through the pictures when I'm not doing anything else, but when I'm taking pictures I forget the LCD is there and concentrate on taking the pictures.[*]Never delete directly from the camera unless it's absolutely 100% positive it's a poor shot. Otherwise wait until you get the pictures downloaded to your PC. The LCD is the WORST place for viewing the quality of a picture. What looks good on the LCD may look horrible on the PC, and vice versa. There are a lot of shots that can be "saved" with a little photoshop work.[*]Forget about VR. A lot of guys buy lenses with VR as they think it takes good pictures. Well it might very well do that, but it slows down the camera shooting speed because the camera has to stop and lock in the lense. My "good" lenses don't even have VR on them. Develop and practice a good "stable platform" stance when holding your camera. If you learn to hold the camera steady you can get as good of results as the VR would get you, and you'll be able to shoot faster.[*]Ergonomics - this kind of goes with the above in your stance. You need to have a comfortabe steady stance in holding the camera. I wear a carpel tunnel wrist brace when I shoot pictures. Not because I have carpel tunnel but because it braces my wrist when I hold the camera. If I don't use it my wrist starts hurting, and when that happens I have a hard time getting good pictures because of the pain. you have ot be comfortable to be able to shoot good pictures.[*]keep your lenses clean. this goes without saying[*]get a good UV filter for your lense. While it does have a benefit in your pictures the value of this filter it more for protecting your lenses. It's a lot cheaper to scratch a $10 filter than a $1,000 lense. nuff said!!!!

Hope this helps

Ken</p>