Photography Quick Tips: Five ways to immediately improve your photos

Here are a few things you can do to make expressing yourself with photos easier.:

1. Must you stand so close? It doesn’t matter if you are taking a photo of a person or a landscape, it is important that you get as close to the subject as you can. Our brain interprets distance and size differently than the camera does. In other words, be aware of how much of the frame is occupied by what you think is interesting. If the interesting part of your photo is a mountain in the distance, and it only takes up 5% of the frame, no one will ‘get it’ because they don’t know what to look at. The same thing goes when photographing people. Viewers will be distracted by all of the other things in the scene and wont see what you are trying to get across. The subject should take up most of the frame.
2. Hey pal, you got the time? A common mistake is trying to capture dramatic nature shots when the light is not right for the scene. Pay close attention to the time of day. Generally, the light 2 hours after sunrise and two hours before sunset has more color and warmer tones than mid day sunlight. If you are forced to shoot during the day, do your best to keep the sun behind you.
3. Nature wins. Deal with it. It is extremely frustrating to drive for hours to a location only to find conditions completely unsuitable. That isn’t to say that you cannot get good shots during bad weather, but the shot you came for simply isn’t going to happen. How does this tip help you take better photos? I will ask the questions around here, if you don’t mind. Since you asked, it’s not so much about taking better photos, it’s about not letting bad photos get out. If you present a shot that isn’t exactly like you want it, people will ONLY see that version in their minds from now on, regardless of how awesome subsequent shots are. Ask yourself, would your favorite musical artist release a song before it’s ready?
4. The low down. Everyone pretty much sees the same view of the world, between 5′ and 6′ above the ground. In order to take people out of the regular world mindset, it sometimes helps to lower your perspective. Literally. Don’t be afraid to bend, sit, lay, kneel, squat, jump, twist to get a different view. A different perspective on a common item is a very popular subject.
5. Courage. When I was first starting out, I would see great photos and be too intimidated by the conspicuousness of photography. People are curious about what you find so interesting and they will look at you. Don’t be like me, take the shots. One more note, be aware of photographing areas that might be sensitive, like bridges, important buildings, airports, you might attract more attention than you really want. Also, it is perfectly fine to ask someone if you can take their photo. Most people will agree (some will say no, just thank them and walk away), but have no idea what you see in them. Do not photograph people without permission, it is very rude.