Take your time to choose the subject
Take your time to choose the subject, then spend time
walking around the subject looking for the best angle and
lighting.
Take your time to set up the shot
Don't be afraid to take your time to set up your shot.
Although it can get a bit frustrating if you have your loved
ones tagging along and they're sitting and waiting
impatiently for 20 minutes for you to take a single shot of
a piece of driftwood on the beach!
Don't always choose brightly-coloured subjects
Subjects with muted colours can sometimes produce excellent
results. A field of wheat of similar yellow-brown colour can
produce striking results when accompanied by a low-sun and
long shadows.
Keep an eye on the weather
Weather conditions can play a big part in setting the mood
of your shot. Rather than waiting for the bright light of
the midday sun, a misty morning in a forest can be the
perfect time of day for that mood-shot.
Movement diffusion
If you have a camera that allows you to shoot with a manual
shutter speed - try slowing the speed and increasing the
F-stop. Then move your camera when taking the shot. Some
very effective arty-type images can be produced with blur
effects.
Overexpose your subject
Not too good to do all the time, but experiment with results
by over-exposing the subject.
Try macro photography
Grab a magnifying glass and see if you can focus your camera
through the glass onto a small subject. It just may work!
And may open up a whole new range of subjects for you!
Shoot through wet glass
Try spraying water onto a window, then take a shot through
the window to a subject outside. (wet the outside of the
window - not the inside of your home!)
Colour balance
Try balancing colour by having subject and the surrounding
detail in similar colours.
Silhouettes
Silhouettes usually have a small range of colours, but can
produce some of the most beautiful images. Shooting a
silhouette involves having the background brighter then the
subject in the foreground.
Experiment with patterns
We've all seen those amazing images of the red and orange
leaves of maple trees in the fall/autumn. Thousands of
leaves - all of a similar shape and colour - but very
awe-inspiring and beautiful.
Compliment colours
Two strikingly-different colours can be beautiful too.
Picture an image of your girlfriend or wife in a red dress
sitting on a field of green grass. Or your boyfriend or
husband in a red shirt walking through a field of waist-high
wheat stalks. Complimentary colours that will bring more
attention to the subject.
Use a colour filter
If your camera can be fitted with coloured filters - try
your hand. Although this effect can be made quite easily
these days with photo and image-editing software.
Sunrise is better than sunset
Wake up before sunrise one day and go on a photography
expedition. If you've not done it before you'll be
pleasantly-surprised by the contrasting light and shadows.
But remember you'll only have a very short window of time in
which to shoot (usually less than an hour) before the sun
rises too high and you lose the light.
Use a flash in daylight
Use your flash during the daytime to fill a close subject
with light. This will produce better results where the
background is brighter than your subject and the automatic
shutter speed on your camera shoots too fast to effectively
show the detail of your subject.
