teaching photography

I just gave a lesson to my mom's group on photography. I had fun doing it and I really hope the ladies learned a lot! Most had point-and-shoot cameras (purse cameras, not SLRs) and just want to take better pictures of their kids. Some do have SLRs and maybe they would be intrested in a beginner small group photography course I am thinking about doing (I am still working out the details).

I was thinking on the way home about a question one of the ladies had. Her camera's focus point was always centered, as many are, and if she wanted to create an off-center composition as we has discussed, it seemed she would have to do this with a crop. Then, on my way home, I remembered this: You can press your shutter release button (the button you push to take a picture) halfway down while your focus points are on your subject. Then recompose, moving your subject off-center while still pressing that button halfway down. Once you are happy with your composition, fully depress the button. I forgot about this because it's been so long since I've used a point and shoot and my SLR does it differently. I'm sure many people can use this tip to make more intresting compositions!