One way you can help take better pictures is to use a simple background.
A. When shooting people the background can take away from the subject of your picture.
B. Get around this by moving the subject or repositioning yourself around the subject.
C. If it isn’t possible try and fill the screen with as much of the subject as you can.
II. Kodak’s website has a great article about taking better pictures. According to them another important thing to remember when taking pictures is where the lighting is coming from.
A. Shooting out in bright light can be very dangerous.
1. Make sure you use the flash.
2. Make sure the background is not reflective or very bright.
3. Try and put the light at an angle to the subject.
B. Indoors you usually want to use a flash
1. Turn on lots of lights if you can to get a more natural skin color.
2. Use a plain background that isn’t bright or reflective.
3. Be careful of the flash’s range (3-14 ft).
III. Thirdly, according to Julie King, writer of Digital Photography for Dummies, when taking pictures you should divide up the screen into thirds.
A. Imagine there is a tic-tac-toe board drawn over your picture.
B. This also allows for some more unique looking shots to be taken.
1. Place subject near bottom is you want to show more of the area around the subject.
2. Place the subject near the top if you want to emphasize the size and things in front of the subject.
C. Centered pictures look boring.
IV. Next, when you take pictures, remember that when you want to have the camera positioned vertical for taller things.
A. Cameras can take pictures vertically or horizontally. (Doesn’t harm the camera)
B. Taller subjects like people and buildings generally look better in a vertical position.
C. Horizons, groups of people, and pictures of hot dogs you can leave the camera in the normal position.
V. Finally, probably the most important thing to remember when taking pictures is fill the picture with your subject.
A. Move in...