What makes people better photographers?  Hint:  it’s not what kind of camera you have.  Everything from personality to training to interest to opportunity goes into making folks better photographers; but really it all comes down to two things…knowing what to do and what not to do.  This article will briefly cover a few of the what nots.

Don’t junk up your photos.  Keep your scenes clean.  Move the camera around until you get rid of unsightly stuff in the background.  Zoom in past trash on the ground.  Figure out exactly what is important and fill up the viewfinder with that.

Don’t always shoot at eye level.  Bend your knees, lay on the ground, climb a tree, look straight up or stand on a rock like this guy.  You’ll be amazed by how many different looks the same person, object or scene can have just by changing your angle.

Don’t get in a hurry.  Sometimes a little patience will reveal prettier light.  Sometimes something interesting will happen that adds to your shot.  And sometimes, if you take a breath and think a little, you’ll remember all the cool stuff you read in Photography Focus and apply it with breath taking results.

Don’t put the subject in the middle of the frame.  Your shots will be much more interesting if you put your main subject to one side and above or below half way from top to bottom.  This kind of composition will add movement and life to an image that could be static with the subject in the middle. 

Don’t be afraid to make mistakes.  Often, it is when we take the biggest chances, we make the most interesting images.  But, sometimes we look at the photos the next day and wonder what in the world we were thinking.  It happens to us all.  Don’t let the fear of making mistakes keep you from trying things.  Shoot from weird angles, tilt the horizon, take pictures of odd things.  Be brave and experiment.  After all it’s supposed to be fun right?

As always, past articles are at gregmayo.com and you can email questions to [email protected].