The "digital revolution" has brought photography into the mainstream, and these days almost everyone has a digital camera. This article presents a few tips that will help you improve the photos you shoot through yours.Of course the first rule is that there are no rules, and, fortunately, digital makes experimenting free. You've probably already noticed how things that work in one type of photography don't always work in another style. So an early guideline is to figure out what genres you enjoy or most want to shoot.
For example, portrait photography is an area where you want to zoom in on your subject, or walk closer. We've all seen too many photos, supposedly of a person, that show the neighbor's lawn. When photographing a child or pet, it helps to get down on their level. Instead of looking down on your subject with a bird's eye view, kneel and look them in the eye; your photos will be much more engaging because of it. Try to stand at least eight feet away from your subject, because as you get closer, the perspective will look exaggerated, the nose will seem bigger than it really is.
On the other hand, if you prefer scenic landscape photos, the guidelines are entirely different. The sense of perspective suddenly becomes a good thing; if you place the camera just in front of a tree stump, the foreground will lead the viewer's eye into the photograph, and the background will seem more dramatic because of it. To capture a broad scene, you tend to zoom out or walk backward.
For most types of photography, ones that aren't defined by a unique place or moment in time, lighting has more power than anything else to make or break a photo. If it's at all possible, turn off the flash and use natural light. On that note, shoot closer to sunset than high noon.
With a feel for what you like and what you don't, a very broad set of guidelines, and some practice, anybody can shoot great photos.
