How to Make a Nice Picture
- 1). Compose your pictures using the "Rule of Thirds." Imagine a four-line (two vertical and two horizontal), nine-section grid laid over your photo.
Align your subject at the intersection points. Putting a subject at the center of a picture, or along the borders, creates an uneven picture that results in lower-quality photographs. - 2). Take pictures in the early morning and late afternoon, when the light is soft. Soft, natural light is better than harsh flash bulbs or indoor light bulbs for lighting your subject. When shooting indoors, position your subject near a window or open door to allow natural light into your picture.
- 3). Position your camera lens away from a bright light source when taking pictures. Aiming into a luminous lamp or bright sun allows too much light into your pictures and causes overexposure. Shooting with a lamp or the sun at your back adds dramatic light to your picture without reducing the quality.
- 4). Adjust your shutter speed to the subject your are shooting. If you are shooting fast-moving subjects, such as sports figures or moving animals, fast shutter speeds are recommended. For landscapes or portraits, where subjects are still or move slowly, slower shutter speeds are recommended.
- 5). Use focus to create "depth of field" by zeroing in on certain aspects of your picture. "Depth of field" refers to areas in front of and behind the exact point of focus also looking sharp and in focus. Shallow "depth of field" focuses in on one focal point and leaves the rest of the image out of focus. This technique is useful for portraits. Deep "depth of field" keeps most of the foreground and background of an image in focus and sharp. This technique is useful for scenic landscapes. "Depth of field" allows a photographer to create an illusion of depth and dimension while working in a two-dimensional space, which greatly improves photographs.