Did you receive an awesome new camera as a holiday gift?  Want to learn how to take better pictures?  Here are a few tips to get you excited about your new tool.  Enjoy!

First, take the time to read through your camera manual with your camera in hand.  When you come across a new button or tool, try it out.  You’re much more likely to remember how features work when you’ve tested them, and you may find a new tool (or a use for that tool) that you didn’t know about before!  If your camera didn’t come packaged with a printed manual, check out this website:   http://camera.manualsonline.com/

Canon and Nikon both offer free apps where you can read your camera’s manual (Canon Camera Handbooks, Nikon Manual Viewer) on your iPhone and iPad (great for using “in the field”).

Spend some time simply looking through your viewfinder or at the digital display, thinking about how framing affects what you see before you shoot.  The act of framing or cropping involves one of the first decisions every photographer must learn to make effectively.  Each photograph is a slice of reality taken or selectively isolated from the world.  We know that something beyond the edges of the picture existed, but it was left out by the photographer – so everything that’s contained in the picture must have some significance.  Seen in the real world, several objects or people might not be related in either real or visual terms, but when the photographer chooses to put objects or people together in the same frame, we (the viewers) can’t help but associate or assign some sort of relationship to them.

How does distance (between the camera and the subject) affect the objects’ importance in the picture?  Move the camera slightly to the left, then to the right, move in closer, then further back…does the picture change?  Think too, how every object within the frame takes on new importance once you choose to include it in a picture.  This act of isolating objects has its graphic as well as emotional and intellectual implications.  Choosing, framing and isolating forces the viewer to look at the edges of the picture and the shapes created by the objects and edges. Ask yourself where the subject lies within the frame.

By following some of the “rules” of composition, you can create more dynamic and compelling images.  Consider the following:

• Have a unifying thought to your photograph.  Use a single, dominant center of interest or subject.

• Try placing your subject slightly off-center.  Imagine your display has two vertical and two horizontal lines drawn through it, breaking the frame into thirds.  Place your center of interest at one of the four intersection points, for a more dynamic composition

• Keep it simple.  If something isn’t relevant to the photograph or distracts from the center of interest, remove it from the scene, change your viewpoint, or crop it out.

• Keep the horizon level.  Tilted horizons can be used for artistic effect, but should be dramatic and intentional.  Horizons tilted by only a few degrees can make the viewer seasick!  Horizons should not cut the picture in half either.  Include more ground if the sky is dull or washed out.  Don’t allow important tones and textures in your main subject to merge with the background.  Think contrast and use manual settings to control your camera.

• Fill the frame.  Get close to your subjects and keep extraneous details out of the picture.

• Don’t amputate parts of your main subject at awkward places (keep hands, heads, feet in picture; don’t crop off the end of a sign, etc).

• Avoid distracting shapes at the very edge of the photograph.

• Concentrate attention with leading lines, such as convergence and S curves.

• Employ strong diagonal lines to imply action, conflict or falling.

• Use strong vertical lines to imply height, dignity, stability and strength.

• If you’re accustomed to always shooting your photographs with a horizontal composition, try turning your camera 90 degrees and compose vertically (or visa versa).

• Remember that the viewer’s eye is drawn to areas of high contrast, areas that are bright or white in tone, areas of sharpness and the eyes of a subject.  Use this to your advantage.

• Be patient for the best light or the best conditions before taking the picture.  If you’ve been focused on one area for a long time, make sure you turn around to check out what’s happening behind you and your camera.

• Remember all your camera’s controls: shutter speed, depth of field, focal length of your lens, as well as the viewpoint you are employing.  Make creative decisions regarding which settings you use to come up with your best shot!