In this digital age that we are living in, almost everyone carries a digital camera around. Regardless of whether the camera is a technologically advanced SLR Camera or a simple point-and-shoot pocket camera, almost anyone is capable of taking decent (if not stunning) photographs.

In my opinion, even if you knew nothing about the technical aspects of photography (that’s me!) the quality of your photographs could be considerably improved, if you paid attention to a few visual points.  I am not a photographer and I don’t know much about photography. However, based on my experience ‘trying ‘, here are some points (mainly related to the aesthetics) that might help you improve the quality of your photos. This is only going to be helpful for people who basically know nothing about photography besides pointing and shooting.

1. Avoid getting your finger in the way of the photo.

2. Don’t use flash if there is sufficient light. In my opinion using flash usually (but not always) means, you lose the natural light and mood of the environment and the actual colours of the subject. Therefore it is better to take photos with no flash, in day light or well-lit environments.

3. Always pay attention to framing the subject. Before you take the photo, it is good to take a few seconds to frame the photo and look at the screen to see how you will actually see the photo, once taken. When you frame the photo pay attention to the following;
4. • Making the frame symmetric makes the photo visually pleasing

     Symmetry in this case definitely adds to the beauty

   • If the photo is of a group of people, having them lined up sideways facing the camera or standing and putting their heads together makes the framing better, rather than everyone standing around in their own buzz.
   • It helps if you avoid unwanted objects in the picture, especially halves and pieces of them captured on the side (of course you can always crop the photo later using a photo editing tool, on the computer to get rid of such objects)

   • If this photo was taken without the elbow of the person, a bit of the plate and glass on the side, it would have looked much better.

   • It is important to focus on the actual subject rather than just pointing in that direction and shooting. As most digital cameras have a focus pointer that you will see when you look through the view finder or look on the LCD screen, take a moment to get the focus pointer on the subject.
   • When you are taking photos of people, don’t position yourself too close to them, especially if you use flash. If you do people in the photo will end up looking like white ghosts with no real colour and quite possibly their eyes will be closed.
   • If you are taking a photo of someone at a beautiful scene, do not frame the person in a way that he/she fills the camera and leaves nothing of the scenery to be captured in the photo.

5. When taking photos of people, if there is a light source behind the person, it is better to use flash (unless you want a silhouette). Otherwise you will not see much of the person’s face as it will be dark and shadowed. Therefore it is always better for the person to stand where they will get the light on their face. For eg. If someone’s photo is being taken in a room with a window open, the photo will look better if he/she stands facing the window rather than with his/her back towards the window.

   This photo would have come out nicer, with the subjects face visible, if he was facing the sun rather than with his back to it.

6. If you are taking photos of a moving object or person, it is better to use flash. More professional cameras have ways and means to catch movement without blur which is irrelevant at this point. Therefore, if you are taking photos of someone dancing or a moving object it is better to use flash (unless there is excellent lighting).This will help you avoid blurring.

7. Another way to avoid blurring is for you (the camera) to be still. Regardless of whether the subject is a moving object or not, if the person who is taking the photo (i.e. the camera) is moving, the photo will come out blurry. If will help if you lean against something or rest the camera on something).

8. Don’t hesitate to take more than one shot. Remember that even great photographers don’t get their perfect photos in just one shot. It is always good to take a few shots rather than click once and putting the camera away. If a shot is bad, you can delete it immediately or later on the computer. It costs absolutely nothing to take a few more shots.

These tips may sound useless and mostly like common sense to many of us. However, in my opinion even these small adjustments in the way you approach taking photos, it will make a huge difference to the quality of the images you will treasure for years to come.