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I am sure that all of you who are interested in photography and have been learning it for a while know these three steps. I am sure you’ve learned them in one way or another. You may have your own three basic steps that do not include any of mine or your steps may be just about the same. Anyway, a while ago a friend of a friend asked me about tips that would help her to improve her photography. First of all, I do not consider myself an expert at all; I am no expert, well except maybe an expert at making crepes (even than I am much better eater). The first thing I suggested is reading and researching and getting to know your camera. She replied that there are too many books, magazines, web sites, and articles out there and she doesn’t even know where to start, plus she is not very familiar with photography vocabulary. However, she is starting to learn about focus, focal length, ISO, aperture, shutter speed, etc. but she wanted to hear what I have to say.

Hmm…. what would be my tips that would help her improve her photography immediately? Here it is! Here’s what I would suggest to anyone who is interested in taking better shots of their pets, kids, family, or shoes.

Move Closer
Regardless of what your object is, always walk up a bit closer or zoom in. Moving closer will help you to get rid of everything that does not need to be in your shot: chairs, books, trees, people, bottles, cars, etc. You will get rid of all the clutter and therefore your object will stand out and have all the attention. If you cannot get close enough to fill the frame with your object, crop the image later. However, I avoid cropping and always strive to frame the shot well the first time and guess what? That would be my next tip!

Take a Moment to Frame the Shot Well
Composition is everything! Frame the shot well the first time. Be patient and take a moment or two (or three or five) to consider the composition. You want your image to be visually interesting, so make sure you place your object in the right spot. Move the frame around your object and try to find the most appealing position for it. You may use the rule of thirds or golden triangle or just go on and break every rule as long as you’re happy with the composition.

Correct Color and Sharpen Your Image
Some people will happily share their editing tricks and processes while others will hate you if you ask about it. Learn how to enhance the color and sharpen your images. As long as you don’t cross the fine line of post-editing, your images will benefit from some editing. Plus, if you are shooting in RAW (wondering what RAW is?), you will need to sharpen them a little bit before you post them online or print them. You don’t have to have an expensive editing software; there are quite a few good ones out there that are completely free. Also, Photoshop Elements 10 is on sale these days for under $50.

Now, tell me, what are you favorite tips to better photos?

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