The Viewfinder:

Always try to fill the frame. If something is a dot somwhere in the picture, zoom in to make the subject big. A great trick is to print the photo large and then cut (Crop) the picture to remove any unnecessary background.

Photo Numbers:

Take lots of photos and try different things as you do so. Don't rely on the one picture of "the gang" at a party, take three or four - that way you are a lot less likely to have one where your best friend is blinking! Remember, film is cheap and developing is now the same price, so snap away. Experiment with styles and see how they look - try to remember what you did to get a particular effect so you will be able to repeat it - make notes if you have to.

Where:

There is always a chance for a photo. The garden and especially the pond or a local lake or stream are great places to start. Keep your eye out for an old building, fill the frame with the stone or brick pattern. Look out for bright colors, long shadows, crowded streets. Try sports meetings, tennis clubs, events such as tennis, football games, visit wildlife sanctuaries, local parks and woods, always scan local papers for events - carnivals, displays. The more events you attend the better you'll get. Set up your own still life picture - play with ways to light it and see how creating shadows makes a difference.

Surroundings:

Always be aware of what is in the photo. Before pressing the shutter, see if anything distracting is in the frame. For example, a telephone pole, parked cars, litter, people - anything that distracts the viewers attention away from the subject. Try to spend a little time removing litter, wait for that person to move. If this is impractical take the picture somewhere else - or failing that, try to look for another angle / viewpiont to take the shot from. It is worth surveying a potential photo and even returning at a different time of day to see if it looks better ie: early norning or late evening or in the rain or fog.

The Rule of Thirds:

An object in the middle of a picture is not always aesthetically pleasing. Try to divide the viewfinder into thirds (9smaller rectangles) and place points of interest on the intersections - for example the horizon of a sunset scene.

Landscape:

In general these rules should be followed but as you learn more about why, you will stray to get an effect that is different. Use a wide angle lens (20-50mm). Follow the rule of thirds (above). Try to include something in the foreground (typically a matter of a few feet away), something in the middle ground and something in the distance. Use as small aperture and focus on something one third of the way into the picture - this will help to keep the whole photo in focus.

Keep the Camera Steady:

Make sure the camera is well supported. Form a solid support by keeping elbows tight against your body. Keep well balanced, feet apart and lean on something if possible. Tripods and monopods can be bought for literaly a few dollars, but can be bulky. The rule for hand holding is in general, use one over double the length of the lens - for example, a 50mm lens should not be hand held below 1/100th of a second shutter speed, or a 150mm lens should not be hand held below 1/300th of a second.

Portrait:

Try to use about an 80mm lens (50 -110mm)- this tends to be the most flattering lens - shorter or longer distorts the face a little - perhaps enough to put the subject off returning for another picture. Try to use natural light at all times. For us novices, natural light will improve upon artifical light 10x. Indoor lights tend to make the subject go yellow or green or worse depending on the bulb / striplight, and a flash will flatten out the subjects features due to the lack of shadow and often leads to very contrasty photos. Use the largest aperture possible - this will blurr the rest of the picture and will emphasise the subject (the point of focus on the subject=eyes) and not his or her surroundings. Try to use a backdrop of uniform inobtrusive color and pattern. This can be natural or artificial. This makes a massive difference to pictures (note: a white sheet tye-died with two or three pastle colors is cheap and looks very professional) Only never focus on the eyes - this is what everyone naturally looks at.

Lighting:

As I said above, use natural light whenever possible. If you have to use flash, try to diffuse it - this is best done by bouncing the light off a plain surface (a white ceiling) or by placing something like a thin tissue in front of the flash. You can also but slave flashes, these will detect the flash going off and instantly fire themselves. If they are positioned either side and in front of the subject, their features will be enhanced.

Fill in Flash:

This is a burst of flash, a little lower power than usual. This can be achieved by either reducing the power output of the flash, reducing the aperture size a notch or two or better still using the cameras fill in flash setting. This is best used when

• The subject is lit mainly from behind.
• There is a dark region at the front of the picture.
• To give the eyes (pupils) of the subject a glint.

Spot Metering:

If a picture has dark and bright areas, the camera can be fooled into over or under exposing the subject. To avoid this, spot meter on the subject and use that exposure setting. If there is no spot metering facility, you can zoom in on the subject, make a note of the shutter speed and aperture required and then zoom out again and use those settings. If you don't have a zoom, walk up to the subject and perform the same operation.

Macro:

This type of photograph is particularly prone to camera shake, mis focusing and lighting trouble. To avoid these problems try to use a tripod, a small aperture and a diffused light source (a cloudy day or wide beam of light or a diffused flash) areas of a picture can be emphasised by light and focus.

Slow V's Fast Shutter Speed:

A fast shutter speed 1/250th sec up to 1/4000th sec or more can be used to freeze action such as a moving car, a running / flying animal or even a bullet from a gun in extreme cases. It can also be used when the photographer is moving to avoid camera shake. A slow shutter speed can be used to blurr movement such as running water, wind in the trees or any of the above. It is a useful tool to emphasise movement.