The principle reason to upgrade to a DSLR is so you can use higher ISO speeds like 400-1600 with much less grain… also, you can get faster lenses. If you’re at a play or concert you can’t take good photos without a DSLR, generally speaking. The flash is useless because the performers are so far away. You need a lens that goes down to a low F-stop (large aperture like F1.8) and a camera that can go up to a high ISO speed (high light sensitivity).

I looked at your page; nice JavaScript with the rotating photos of signs. You should try getting further away from the signs and zooming in. It doesn’t reduce the image quality because the zooming process it entirely analog involving glass elements in the lens. In fact, most lenses are sharper in the mid-range… my 28-135mm lens is pretty good around 50 or 70mm, for example. At 28mm you have barrel distortion which makes everything appear wider. It’s very unflattering for portraits. Going all the way to 100mm or 135mm is good for portraits, which means you have to back way up and use no flash. Then you have pincushion distortion (compression) which looks much nicer for portraits.

It’s hard to take good photos of large furniture items indoors because you have to get far away or use a wide-angle lens. A wide-angle lens gives unflattering barrel distortion. Getting far back and using the medium or telephoto range requires a big room. You should keep doing what you’re doing now… your photos are good.

I’ve had to learn as much as I can about photography with a backdrop and artificial light. In fact, I’ve not succeeded with artificial light since I don’t have the equipment. So, we take all of our pictures outside on cloudy days. Here’s an example of a Pennsylvania German paint decorated blanket chest. It’s gorgeous, but I could only do this outside. What tips do you have for achieving this on a budget with indoor lighting?