The most important thing to remember about photography is that it should be fun, and if you are happy with the pictures that you take, it does not matter what other people think of them. If you would like to improve your photography however, there are some very simple things you can do to make that possible.
The single most effective thing you can do to improve your photography is joining one of the many photography related websites that are on the Internet. There are usually many experienced photographers on these sites who are very happy to help someone who wants to learn. Join one of the sites, post your pictures, and ask that they be critiqued by the other photographers on the website. Learn to accept criticism when it is given in a constructive way by people who sincerely wish to help, it seems like an easy thing to do, but many people have their feeling hurt when it happens.
Two photography websites that I would recommend are:
Fredmiranda.com is probably the best photography website on the Internet with many professional level photographers. The one drawback of the site is that it can be very intimidating sharing your pictures on a website with so many outstanding photographers, nonetheless you can learn a lot on the website just by viewing the pictures posted there, and reading the replies from other photographers. People from all over the world share their pictures on this site.
Photographyreview.com is a very good website for people who are new to photography, and those ranging all the way up to a semi professional level. The site is geared toward people who enjoy sports and or nature photography, but people share photos of landscapes, buildings, people, etc. as well. Photographyreview.com has many people who are very happy to help, and it is probably where I have learnt the most. Also, as the name suggest, they give reviews of photography equipment. Most of the people on the website are either from the U.S. or the U.K. By the way, this website is very good for having your photographs critiqued.
Moving on: If you are using a point and shoot camera (meaning that you cannot manually focus your lens or adjust your camera settings) it is important that you have a decent photo editing software. If you type “free photo editing downloads” into a search engine like Google, you can find many websites that will either offer free downloads, trials, or demos. The most important thing you are looking for with the download is the ability to crop and rotate an image, some photo webhosts such as Photobucket offer this ability to crop and rotate an image on their website after you have uploaded the original picture(s).
The single biggest mistake people make when taking pictures is placing the main object of the picture in the very center of the frame (the word “frame” meaning the area within the borders of an image), and this is one reason you will want to be able to crop a picture after it has been taken. You will want the ability to rotate an image so you can fix slanted horizons, which is another thing people do not give enough attention to.
When editing your pictures, you will want to use what is known as "The Rule of Thirds" when you make your crops. "The Rule of Thirds" is imagining a grid of nine equal rectangles covering your viewfinder or the screen on the back of your camera when taking a picture like in the image below. Your main subject should be located where two lines intersect in your imaginary grid.
I do not want this dragonfly in the center of the frame,..
The way to fix the image above is by either imagining a grid of nine equal rectangles, or with some editing programs using the rule of thirds crop option when cropping the image (some programs have the option to show the grid when cropping), like in the image below.
What you will end up with, is the image below. There are other things that help to compose the following image, which I will explain next. Obviously the rule of thirds cannot always be used, for instance when taking portraits or pictures of very large objects, but if you can remember to do this whenever possible, your pictures will look much better.
If you notice the lines in the background of the image, they were doing something to help compose the picture (poorly in this instance). If you realize it or not, the lines from the branches and leaves were leading your eyes around the picture. Lines help focus our attention to objects, be it a tree branch, or a horizon… try to remember that when composing your pictures and they will look better. Ideally, a leading line should start from one corner of an image, and end at or on your subject.
What is making you look at the spider? Even the different shades of the background are helping you focus your attention in this image.
In the image below which was taken in Sibiu, Romania, you see lines that come from all four corners of the picture and lead your attention to the arches and people under them.
Tutorial to be continued, please check back soon for an update.
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