Cropping images

One of the easiest ways to improve your photography is with careful attention to framing of your images. Try looking into the corners of the viewfinder to see what there is. Does the image need all that background? Perhaps you can you get closer to your subject or zoom? Does the picture look better as an upright or landscape setting?

One of the most common mistakes people make when taking pictures is not filling the frame with the subject matter. For example, if it's a photo of someone waving from the doorstep, let's just see that person and the door, not half the houses in the street with a small person-shaped blob in the middle.

The culprit for this phenomenon is the focusing aid in the centre of the viewfinder of the camera. All cameras have some sort of circle or rectagle etched onto the glass and we are inclined to think, in our less thoughtful moments, that this is the whole image. Glance around the viewfinder to see what you have got at the edges and especially in the corner areas. Look out for clutter in the background, and that lampost growing out of granny's face. Ensure that everything in the viewfinder is there because you want it to be there.

Landscape or Portrait? Many people never, ever turn their camera on its side and shoot an upright image. It can be a little awkward to hold until you get used to it but, what a difference it can make to the image. When you are taking a picture of one person then it is essential to shoot it upright, you waste so much of the picture area at the sides if you don't do so.

A typical snapshot is miles of coastline with a pink blob in the middle of it (the girl being photographed). By turning the camera on its side and moving in a little closer, this gives us a much better picture and we can still see enough background to get the message that we are by the sea. If you can imagine the original dimensions, the girl is ten times bigger in the second photo.

When you are shooting landscapes, you will find that, sometimes, the picture will look more dynamic with an upright image. With every picture you take, ask - should this be an upright or a horizontal shot? The answer is obvious and dictated by the shape of the composition but sometimes, for instance when the composition is square, the best choice is not forthcoming. Then take two pictures, one of each type.

Whenprinting your own pictures then you get a second chance to get the cropping right but, don't rely on this to make up for sloppy camera method. When you crop your pictures afterwards in the computer or in the darkroom, you are throwing away quality of the image. This will be wasting some of those precious pixels that you paid so much for in the first place. Now what's the point in having a camera with ten million pixels if you are only going to use five million of them?

Good composition

Use the S Curve - it goes further than just a plain curved line. This is called the Line Of Beauty in photography. It's elastic, variable and combines charm and strength values. The S Curve has perfect grace. The S Curve is senn hundreds of times in drawings and paintings.

As an example, the double curve of a river makes an S curve. Also, a path, row of trees or bushes that curve one way and then the other way create the S curve shape. Have a look for this type of design and use it in your photos to add interest.

The Leading Line leads your eye in to the picture area easily like a road or fence, a shoreline or river, or a row of trees. Successful Leading Lines will lead your eye in to the picture and take it right to the main subject.

An unsuccessful Leading Line will take the eye into the picture but will lead the eye right out of the picture if there is no stopper to hold the eye in the picture frame; such as a tree, house or other large object. A centre of interest will act as a stopper and hold the eye in the image.

Good Leading Lines will start at the Lower Left area of the picture frame but not in the exact corner position. The eye likes to enter a picture frame at this point and the Leading Line will help it get in to the picture easily.

Implied Forms are a combination of Implied Lines and they help to hold a picture together at times. Now, the eye enjoys these interesting forms and will stay in the picture area to examine each one of them, if they are present in the image.

A circle is made up of a continuous curve and its circular movement keeps the eye in the picture. Many circles are found in nature and man-made objects and if you find them in an image before you, be sure to make good use of them in your image. An example - circles can be made up of children playing or a small pond or lake is usually in the form of a circle and of course many race tracks circular in shape.

A triangle or pyramid has a solid base and will show stability values. Triangles can show up in your viewfinder as three points in the scene, such as two trees on the grounds pointing to a cloud in the skyline. A fence in combination with a stream and a farm house can form the triangular composition in the image.

Holiday photo composition

Try to be very careful with the composition and subject matter. Note that one thing you can do to improve your photography is good composition and layout ideas. Older manuals used to say that you should place your subject in the middle of the photo image. Note that this was because viewfinders showed more than would end up in your picture, but it usually looks poor.

Try to imagine three equally-spaced lines running across your image both horizontally and vertically lined up. Note that where the lines meet are the strongest areas to place your object. Of course, you don't need to draw lines on your viewfinder to do this, however, just practice putting your subjects off-centre. Now try taking a few shots from different angles, you'll get the hang of it quite quickly.

Always shoot slightly more than you want in the picture, because when you get prints, your images may end up getting cropped to fit the print. Now, if you have photo editing software, you can crop it yourself to the right size so that it looks the best possible. Try not to go over board with the extra space, though, because printing a small portion of a larger image will result in poor quality results.

Photographing landscapes will help capture the feeling of a place, but too often they are boring. Placing something in the foreground will jazz up your landscape scenes. For example, a lone fisherman on the lake in front of majestic mountains not only adds interest to the shot, it shows just how huge the mountains actually were. Try leading lines, which are good in any image, and even more so in landscape shots. Leading lines are things like roads, fences, or a line of trees which begin in the foreground and lead the viewer's eye to the background of the scene.

When you're traveling you also want to see people in the scenes. Of course, there's nothing wrong with photographing your companions by a famous landmark, but remember to use creative layout. Avoid the "people standing in a line in front of a monument" snapshot by taking candid shots. Note that you'll also get more genuine expressions.

The more your subject fills the frame, the better the photo will be. This is especially true for people and animal shots. Now, you probably don't care about your companion's vacation wardrobe; what's important is their face in the photo. Your camera may not have a zoom lens, and you'll be more limited in how tight a shot you can achieve. Look at what's going on in the background of the scene. Avoid a sign sticking out of someone's head or face.

Try photographing local people, this can help tell a story about the place you're visiting, especially if you're in an exotic location. Many people find it rude to be photographed without permission, however. If someone looks upset about you pointing your camera at them, ask if it's okay to take their photo. Flattery may be helpful, and some may even ask for payment.

Interesting photo opportunities are everywhere around you. For example, a bustling market, a cityscape, details of an object or building, a roadside food shack, or a lizard sunning himself can all make great photos. While everyone prefers to remember their travels as pleasant experiences, few places are completely stunning, so do your best!