You've worked your way past cutting off heads and you can avoid blurry, but you're still not getting the pictures you want.
Here are a few simple tips for taking great photos:
Push the button
You’ve got a digital camera right? So just keep pushing the button, there’s no limitations like the good old days of 36 exposures on a roll of film. Sometimes thinking slows you down. The more pictures you take, the luckier you get. If you ask professional photographers, they’ll tell you they take many pictures to get a single great one.
Keep it simple
Take time to look at your surroundings. Choose your angles carefully and keep the background clean and simple. Clutter takes away from what is the most important part of the shot - the people and the moment you're trying to capture.
Turn your flash off
Modern digital cameras can easily deal with low light conditions, and quite honestly, they’ll give you better images without the flash. In daylight hours, natural light is the key to beautiful photos. Try soft, natural side lighting from a window or doorway.
Don’t have the subject with their back to a external window or door, it won’t work!
Equipment
There are a variety of high-quality point-and-shoot cameras on the market that don’t cost a fortune and will increase the quality of your photos. But… knowing how to use what you have will increase the quality more than spending a few extra pounds on flashy equipment.
The best camera is always the one you have with you in the moment.
Capture action
Give people something to do. You'll be impressed with how professional your shots look when you capture people interacting with something or someone.
Get up close
Instead of standing several yards away from kids, get close and get down on their level. The photos will showcase your child's face so much better.
Don’t be a poser
Resist the temptation to ask the subject to smile at the camera. Sometimes a sombre expression or even that intense look of concentration while your child plays with a toy, is sweeter than saying cheese. Same for adults, try for candid shots, catch them unawares.
Learn
Read your camera manual, or Google your mobile phone model for instructions on how to use the camera.
Work out what those little pictures and buttons on your camera mean, then take a few pics using each setting. It's the easiest way to learn what they do.
Quality
Shoot at the highest quality setting your camera or phone has. You’ll find the details in your phone or camera settings, which probably has a symbol that looks like a cog.
Patience and fun
Have patience with your subjects. With children especially, take time to put the camera down, then interact, then when they are absorbed in their task, take the shot.
Don’t get bossy with people, chat to them and put them at ease. Take a series of shots, people tend to relax after a few shots.
If it's too much work, your subjects will know it. Have fun, tell a joke, and create a laugh. Go for genuine smiles, happiness shows in pictures.
The rule of thirds
This means positioning a subject 1/3 of the way into the frame for visual interest. Avoid putting your subject in the middle of the frame, our eyes like things off centre for interest. Think as though you’re making a scrapbook page, what looks visually interesting.
Don’t be a sun worshipper
Some people think that midday, when the sun is shining is the best time to take photos, but this isn’t so. This can be the worst time. Strong sunlight casts harsh, unflattering shadows, and washes out colours.
Take photos during the golden hour if you can, when the sun is rising or setting, for a golden glow.
A matter of perspective
Instead of taking all your photos from the same perspective, get down on the ground or shoot from overhead for a bird’s eye view.
Backup, backup, backup
Be sure to back up all your images in at least three places. It may take a bit of time, but you’ll be thanking yourself if you have a technical malfunction or lose your camera or memory cards.