Without getting into the nitty gritty technical terms of photography and all about using a camera, these few tips are intended to better your every day shooting, whether on a digital camera or even on an iPhone.
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1. Is a picture really worth a thousand words? Think of every photograph you take as a story. What does this picture have to say? What is the meaning to this image? Even though you are creating a still portrait, the better storyteller you can be through the picture, the better photographer you will be. Think about emotions. How can I capture this subject’s emotion in the right way to tell a story about it to another person? Take this picture of the group of teenage girls playing a game. Through the emotions, you can tell this was a happy time with a lot of fun, laughter, excitement and competition happening.
3. If you have ever taken an art class or played around with photography, you probably have heard of the Rule of Thirds. Truthfully, this is what will make photographs go from drab to fab with one small concept. This rule states that images are can be divided into 9 equal segments by 2 vertical lines and two horizontal lines, much like a tic-tac-toe board. The most important element of your photo should be placed along these lines or where the points intersect. This will create a much more interesting image instead of the subject right in the middle.
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2. Your background is as important as the subject. Much like writing a paper, the more depth and detail to the photograph, the better the picture will turn out. The background can either bring attention to the subject or the background can detract from the subject. If you are having a conversation with a friend, you would not want someone else’s voice distracting you from your own so why let your subject be distracted by the background? It is easy to tell the subject of this picture is on the boy closest to front, but what enhances the young boy more is all the other hands raised around him in the background.
4. Take a different perspective on the subject. Are you always shooting the same picture of your dog face-on while your furry friend is on the ground and you are standing, but you are not sure why it just looks mediocre? Try getting on the same level as your dog, moving your camera in a different angle or completely moving yourself to a different angle. Another idea is focus on one part of your dog such as the paw or the nose instead of the whole dog for a more unique photograph. How often do you see concert pictures being shot from the front of the stage? Pretty often. That’s probably why this picture of the guitar is so pleasing to the eyes: because it was taken from a different perspective that usually is not used.
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Josh Steen 
Grace Nealy 
Ethan Goonewardene