1. When taking pictures of people, or just about anything, fill the frame with the subject image. This makes for a much more interesting composition as it allows the viewer to see more details of the subject.
2. When taking pictures of children, drop down to their eye level, and while you are at it, focus on their eyes. Always shooting from your own adult eye level will often distort how the children appear if you point the camera down.
3. When taking pictures of people pay attention to the background. You do not want a pole sticking out of your subjects head. Keep the background simple if possible and avoid distracting background artifacts that do not compliment your composition.
4. When taking scenic landscape shots, try to include something in the foreground like a clump of wild flowers, or a fence row, or a person. This will improve your overall composition. Also, shoot using a small aperture like f/11 or f/16 and focus some where roughly midway between in front of you and the far horizon.
5. When taking pictures of people, and the background is bright, use a little fill flash on your subject to bring out their features. A bright background will fool the camera exposure and cause your subject to be too dark.
6. When shooting landscapes remember to avoid placing the horizon line across the center of the image. Typically this is a less pleasing composition as it forces the viewer to wonder what the main subject is...The sky or the ground. Sometimes the sky is the most important element, as in a sunset, so drop the horizon low down on the frame. Sometimes the landscape is the most important, so raise the horizon higher on the frame.
7. Rotate your camera. Don't always shoot horizontally. Sometimes a vertical look can be the better composition.
8. Shoot candid photo's of children instead of posed pictures. Children rarely ever pose very well and usually look stiff and forced.
9. Give children something to do...to focus on...then take photos of them while they are distracted.
10. There is one button on your camera that can transform your images. It is called the Exposure Compensation +/- button. What it does is to allow you to tell the camera to shoot an image lighter or darker than it wants to. Learn how to use it...then use it often. It is a very powerful tool found on your camera.
11. Spend some time learning about the relationships between aperture, shutter, f/stop, and ISO. These are the ingredients used for every photograph you take. Simple manipulations of these ingredients can drastically alter the look of you images.
12. Do not always shoot in a Program Mode. Program modes include full auto, shutter priority, and aperture priority. These can be a useful place to start, however they will rarely give you a creative edge if you simply allow the camera to do what it wants to do.
13. Remember that there is no such thing as a Correct Exposure. There are only Starting Exposure Values. You the photographer must learn how and why your camera does what it does, then learn how to compensate for its decisions. (see #10)
14. Creative photography begins with experimentation. Don't always assume your camera will give you the so called correct exposure. Correct Exposure is relative to what you are trying to accomplish. Once you understand how your camera reacts to a given lighting situation, you can then begin to override the camera and create exposure values that fullfill your creative instincts.
15. Use a long focal length lens and a large aperture to create that blurred background look. This is a very effective way to isolate your subject, especially people, against a soft background.
16. In cold weather, keep your spare batteries in a pocket underneath your outer coat. Cold weather will zap battery life. Keeping them warm will help prevent a loss of power. Also, chekc your batteries before you head out and make sure they are fully charged.
17. When shooting in low light, use a tripod. It is almost impossible to get a sharp photo in low light even with a higher ISO. A light weight yet sturdy tripod will steady your camera for those long exposure shots.
18. When shooting a night scene like a building with lights, if possible shoot just after dusk while there is still some ambient light in the sky. This will provide a dramatic dark blue tint to the sky which is usually more pleasing than a black sky.
19. When shooting Fall colors, you can change your white balance setting to Shady or Overcast, even on sunlit days. This will create a bolder, richer look to your colors.
20. When shooting an action scene, try panning your camera with the action. What happens is that your moving subject will look sharper while the background becomes blurred by the movement.
21. When shooting groups of people, think in terms of triangles and avoid having your group stand in straight lines. Turn some of the group in one direction and others in another direction. Place shorter people in front of taller ones, but create a series of random triangle looks between the people. Some can be sitting, while others are standing, however, avoid any large gaps between the height of the people. Spacing is important and remember those in front and closer to the camera will appear larger than those further back.
22. Shoot some large groups from an elevated location if possible. This will often place everyone pretty much along the same plane and might avoid front positioned people from appearing much larger than those inthe back.
23. Don't be afraid to use an off camera flash or speed light. To truly take advantage of the powerful effects a flash can provide, you must be able to shoot them remotely away from your camera. It is amazingly simple to do once you understand the basics of the process and it also will offer a tremendous advantage to creative people photography. So take some time to study about how to do this.
24. When shooting waterfalls, it is best to shoot them on an overcast day. Bright sunlight creates to much contrast between the lights and the darks. Overcast days offer a soft even light making it much easier to capture the true nature of the moving water.
25. And finally....don't be afraid to try something new. Never allow yourself to get locked into shooting the same old things the same old way. Ask yourself questions like.."I wonder what will happen if I do....this?" Then, try it and see what happens. The best way to grow photographically is allow yourself opportunities to use your camera in different ways even if you are not comfortable doing it. Cross training like this helps to avoid growing stale and one dimentional. Always be willing to place yourself at that point of greatest potential.
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