Commercial | Portrait | Fashion | Fine Art | Weddings | Prices | Related Sites | Contact | Model Tips | Top Ten Tips

1. Rule of thirds
   Every artist through the centuries has known and used it and it will greatly help you compose your photograph. Looking through the viewfinder, the rectangle of the picture frame we are all familiar with, imagine two lines across and two vertical. Where they cross are powerful places to put your subject or point of interest in the photograph. The lines also provide a good guide as to where to place a persons eyes, even the horizon line as you'll see in the image below.
   
2. Get closer
   Be timid some other time and just get closer to the subject with everything you photograph and especially people.
3. Different angle
   Simple, even if you already have taken the picture, move to the side, kneel, stand on something and take it again. Angle is one aspect that creates interest in a photograph.
4. Time of day
   Morning and evening are your times for good photography of any subject. When the sun has almost set, it is soft, indirect light and perfect. And perfect also: an overcast day.
5. Practice
   You know that old saying that practice makes perfect? Very true still. Luckily for us, photography practice is fun and if you are shooting digitally, much less expensive.
6. Tips on flash
   • Bounce it.
     If you have a flash that tilts upward or to the side, by all means use this wonderful feature. If there is a fairly
     low ceiling pointing the flash at it will create a soft light for your subject as it bounces back. The camera will likely figure the correct exposure and if it doesn't, see the previous tip.
   • Daylight fill flash does just that and fills in the shadows made by the sun. It also warms up the blue tones that often come from shooting in the middle of the day.

7. Simple background
   We are trying to keep attention on the subject so try to keep the backround simple. Watch out for distracting poles or people. As you get better, watch out for distracting colors.

8. Side lighting
   For portraits, a simple idea to flatter your subject is to position them so that the light comes from the side. Again, like morning and evening light. It slims people down and adds character to a portrait.
9. Buying a camera
   You may be suprised that the most important thing to consider in buying a camera is whether or not you actually like it! Consider this first and you'll do fine. See if it is easy for you to use and you understand its controls, feels right in your hands. You will be ahead of others who often miss a shot because they couldn't get ready fast enough or weren't confident in the camera, familiar with it's creative controls, or just plain lose the images.
10. Experiment!

Often while traveling with a camera we arrive just as the sun slips over the horizon of a moment, too late to expose film, only time enough to expose our hearts. ~ Minor White

Sometimes I do get to places just when God's ready to have somebody click the shutter. ~ Ansel Adams

If I could tell the story in words, I wouldn't need to lug around a camera. ~ Lewis Hine

My favorite thing is to go where I’ve never been. ~ Diane Arbus

I really believe there are things nobody would see if I didn't photograph them. ~ Diane Arbus