Great article, Andre! You've listed some interesting and very helpful tips. Can't wait to get out again and try some of it.

:-)

Glad you liked it. Come back in a couple of weeks for more.

Wow, some interesting tips. I've never been much into photography, but it's going to be hard to avoid some of this advice the next time I snap some pictures.

All it takes is not to be static. Move around while you take photos. Change your POV (point of view) as much as possible. Crouch down, stand tall, move left, right, and forward and zoom into the picture, always scanning through the viewfinder.
Snap not one but multiple pictures of each scene and eventually you will figure out what works and what doesn't.
Don't just get out of the car and take the first picture. Take your time to evaluate the scene.
There is a nice saying in German:
"Es ist noch kein Meister vom Himmel gefallen."
roughly translated:
No man was born a master.
Translated directly: "No master craftsman ever just fell from the sky."

As a pretty well known photographer once said: "Rules don't matter a whit if the subject is truly interesting".

I guess some photographers need the rules. Artists, however, take pictures of interesting things.

I loved the article. It pointed out some things that I obviously do wrong(?) in my photography that I can keep in mind and hopefully use to take better pictures. I'm definitely going to keep an eye on your RSS feed and come back to read some more. Thanks!

I have just spent 4 years in university studying photography, (Fine Arts) bfa.... im not sure how great any of these pictures are.. theyre fine and all.. but i think the best advice anyone could ever have is, shoot alot, exparament, find YOUR STYLE of shooting, and as cappa said

"If your pictures aren’t good enough, it’s because you aren’t close enough."

i think thats often very true.

if anyone really wants to see some good photography, the shoudl get out of the flikr accounts and into galleries and fine book stores that sell art books, and photo books.

id highly recommend

ed Burtynsky
richard Misratch
chuck Close
sally Mann
duane Michals
james Nachtway
robert Frank
phil Burgerson
gregory Creudson
Phil De Corcis
andres sarronno.
renjak djkerstra
etc.

also.. www.magnuminmotion.com
great photo essays, animated!

(spelling is probably way off.. google will fix any of these)

its great to shoot a lot.. but you have to know what the best of the best are doing. that will help as well.

james

I'm going to precis this article for my young son who has recently taken an interest in beginning photography.

Dave Bradley

for somone like me who wants to learn this is a good resource

Nice Write Up, Very Useful

Some great tips thanks will bear them in mind next time I go out with my camera.

I think you've missed one important point:

1) Cut your picture with 2 imaginary lines vertically and horizontally to split your picture into 3 equal bands vertically and 3 equal bands horizontally.

2) The points where the lines crosses are the strong points. Subjects placed on this point will have more impact on the picture.

3) If you are taking a portrait, have the person or animal or whatever look through the picture and not look "outside" of the picture. This means if the person look right, the he should be placed on the left on the imaginary vertical line.

4) Colors are important. Red for instance will drastically attract attention while blue and green are less attractive to the attention. If you have a great subject you want to focus on, then remove that person with a red shirt behind, it will totally unbalance the picture.

5) Look for patterns in nature. Horizontal is calm, vertical is daring, diagonal is crazy. Cercles are peaceful. angular shapes are aggressives.

I am about a week away from buying my first digital camera, and this article will be bookmarked. Great writing, great article. I look forward to getting to know the rest of your site.

Very good resource, Thanks
http://www.ebooksbay.org

A good camera with a decent lens can make you a good cameraman regardless of your knowledge. Most modern cameras comes with automatic preset functions.

Ivan
http://www.spaml
Spaml free disposable email addresses

This is a great article

I am a musician myself, but find any art interesting.

If you think it deeper, I can apply these advice to my music development

for example: less is more
I often fill my music tracks with too much instruments and samples, instead of focusing in the most important sounds (what I am trying to say in the first place)

Thank you very much

You've been very helpful

I've not thought of zooming like that before. I've always tending to shoot for the web and so a higher DPI and "snap" I can crop it later. It's probably my strongest skill (cropping).

Idiots who say things like this:

"As a pretty well known photographer once said: "Rules don't matter a whit if the subject is truly interesting".

I guess some photographers need the rules. Artists, however, take pictures of interesting things."

Annoy me to death. I am a photographer. Yes, I work as one. Professionally. And let me tell you that saying this is so cliche, and often way fucking off.

A good photographer doesnt just find a intresting subject and just snap on, without thought to composition. Thats what a amateur would do.
In your definition, is a photographer someone who just finds intresting things to shoot, and then just snapshot it?

Do you find that a cheaper camera can't take better pictures? My roommate had a 600 dollar camera, and I sometimes envied him. Is it possible to do a lot of what you said with my shitty 250 dollar camera?

Though the mistakes that you have identified appear to be insignificant, but a photograph without them shows how importance.

Thanks for summarizing them.

I loved the article. It pointed out some things that I obviously do wrong(?) in my photography that I can keep in mind and hopefully use to take better pictures. I'm definitely going to keep an eye on your RSS feed and come back to read some more. Thanks!

Good article , but whats with the bashing I see this more as a way to help beginner photographers or just people who have other hobbies/jobs that do not involve photography to be able to have few nice pointers that may help them be able to take a better picture.Not some guide for the pros or enthusiasts.

This article is helpful for both amateurs and professionals.
Thanks for the sample images that you use to support your tips.

This article is helpful for both amateurs and professionals.
Thanks for the sample images that you use to support your tips.

there just photos..........

Good tips for anyone to remember. Thanks for sharing!

Some of your pictures are amazing, patience is something I find hard since you never really know if you're going to get that great an image especially for time sensitive shots.

These pictures really blow. If you're going to do tips on better photos, you should really consider good photos for examples. Makes someone lose all respect man, seriously.

Its a worthwhile suggestions for poeple having interests in photography.

BTW this page is on homepage of delecious

I know good techniques will help, but how much of this is also having a good camera? It seems like that would level the playing field a little.

Great work man! I will try these tips out this weekend. That zoom tip is new for me.

True artists hone their craft and learn what works before claiming to BE artists. Obviously the rules or more like guidelines. However, if you just run around taking photos without understanding WHY they look good, you will never be as good as you could be.

Photos are an acquired skill, practice lots and look critically at your work.

Look for the background that will fill the photo, look for the lines that will emphasise what you find interesting, look for colour/ light/ detail contrast that will frame your target, look for the human element that makes it interesting to you, concentrate on composing the photo when you take it, even if you take a bit more around the edges and crop later.

And work fast! Images pass very quickly.

Digital helps, as you can take lots of shots and correct many of them, but remember that a camera at hand taking a photo is better than no camera-no photo. You got to be there to take the shot and sometimes the best camera accessory is a warm jacket.

gumtree

I think you've got it backwards. Lazy 'artists' take pictures of interesting things. Artists can take something mundane and make it into something truly interesting.

I think I better quote is "You have to master a rule before you can get away with breaking it."

The rules of photography are great for people that are starting out and can't afford to use anything other than household objects and what's in their immediate area.

Great tips, thank you. The tip titled "No Patience" and the photo of the town in Peru spoke to me most - I always try to wait for the right conditions, or go to the perfect vantage point. However, the person/people I am on the trip with can sometimes get impatient with me, and I feel pressured to move on without getting that perfect shot, since hey, it's their vacation, too, and they have a right to not be bored.
Do you have any advice on this issue, other than just splitting up for a few hours?

Nicely Done !!

Do you have a regular spot where you give tutorials? You have a very nice style of writing and explanation.

I have shot photos all my life, and have taken many classes and still learned from your posting.

If you do have a site for this, here is a suggestion. Have readers send you some photos and you explain what is right and wrong using their photos instead of yours. I suggest this only because ALL of your examples are still very nice shots. Many times, I see peoples shots (often times they are shooting something for me), and I just wish I had taken the picture. And typically what I notice is simply because it is NOT my frame of reference. I am not judging their efforts, just simply noticing an element of the shot that I would have caught had I taken the shot. Even your worst shot is better...................

Just a thought for you. Very enjoyable article. Good job.

Bill

I don't think this article is about "rules" and adhering to them to make a great picture. It's more about some common pitfalls of boring photographs. It's all about what affect you're going for in a picture, and how to get the best image you can.
I've accomplished great things in life by breaking the rules, but if I didn't know the rules to begin with, I wouldn't have necessarily have broken them in the way that I did.

excellent tips
thanks

One tip i really disagree with is about cloudy sky. Well of course much depends on what you're shooting, but at least for me in most cases sky used to ruin everything. Most vulnerable are city scapes and landscapes where sky plays a major role. Try gray old-towns accross Europe and what do you get? A burned out sky or dark as hell buildings. Here "i'll photoshop it later" attitude works: take two pictures - one with long exposure, another with short one - and glue them together in the end. That's probably the only effective technique i know. In case of sunlight through clouds or some clouds in the blue sky - sure - it works, just wait till you have sun-lit object you're picturing and there you go. But the periods which are so common here where i live - a plain gray-white sky - are a killer.

In case anyone was looking for the correct names:

Edward Burtynsky
Richard Misrach
Chuck Close (Though, he isn't really known for photography.)
Sally Mann
Duane Michals
James Nachtwey
Robert Frank
Phil Burgerson
Gregory Crewdson
Phillip Lorca DiCorcia (P.L. DiCorcia)
Andres Serrano
Rineke Dijkstra

As he was saying though, if any of you really want to improve, start looking at photobooks, and not the piles of boring flickr DSLR crap on the internet. A lot of what people comment as "AMAZING, TRULY AMAZING" on the internet is absolutely nothing compared to what true fine art photographers are showing in galleries everywhere.

there are principles trained artists follow to create engaging art. as he said, rules are meant to be broken, but being aware of a few of them can really help. for instance, you may find a piece of trash on the floor that's really interesting, but if you don't shoot it from a good angle, you might not capture everything in the photo that you could see in 3 dimensions.

Philip Lorca DiCorcia
Rineke Dijkstra
Gregory Crewdson
Andreas Serrano
Richard Misrach
Duane Michaels

saying 'google will fix' is the same as saying 'i'll photoshop it later' you lazy git.

hugh o'malley
photographer
http://somaphotos.co.uk

The level of arrogance in this comment is appalling. What a condescending and horrible thing to say to someone who's just learning about photography and wants to be nice and share that knowledge with other novices.

I think this is a great article, especially for people who aren't sure what to focus on, or how to compose photos. I look forward to reading further articles in this series.

very good explanations.
I'll put a copy in my photobag.

Yeah, it really is a good resource for non-experts who want some ideas to help them get started.

I don't know if you can learn photography by simply reading a list of "mistakes", if that's what you want to call them.

Personally, I believe the most important thing is to figure out how to interpret photographs. As in, figure out how an average person would feel if they look at a certain photo. From there, you can figure out what kind of message you want to send, and what techniques will help you send that message.

Giving black and white tips like these will just guide even more people into believing that photography is made up of strict rules that everyone must follow. It will simply increase the size of the "You don't follow X rule" bandwagon.

Photographic techniques like the ones you discussed should solely be used to help you transform the image in your mind into the image the camera takes. That which is a "photographic mistake" could be something you wish to employ, depending on the photo and your message.

Practice makes perfect. With digital cameras it's easy to see the result and make adjustments and you don't have to wait for the film to develop like you had to do with traditional cameras. Also check out photo sharing sites like flickr for some great ideas and photos

Thank you for this very fine and well written article.
With full credit to you, of course, on my own blog, I copied one of your pictures, wrote about this article and created a link to your site.

Shirley Buxton
www.writenow.wordpress.com

Good article, lots of good points in a short format.

Just a couple points of clarification regarding: "For reasons of copyright, I usually only publish images of people whose face cannot be recognized or who agreed at least orally to being published." This is not a copyright issue, people do not own a copyright to their face. It is a privacy issue, and (like copyright) privacy laws vary from place to place and from situation to situation. Also, oral permission probably isn't going to mean anything in court, so if you're going to bother getting permission as a way to avoid legal troubles, you might as well take the extra step of getting it in writing. There are some simple model/subject releases (and property releases, since it's not just about people) available for free, a quick Web search should bring some up. They might not be "perfect" legally for the relevant jurisdiction, but they can at least demonstate the intent of the subject more than "well, she said I could..."

I love the pictures.

Thanks for the tips. disregard the comments from the snoots in the back row. I appreciate the advice.

These are great tips. I often use the getting down on the ground trick for road action shots; it completely changes the scene. I will add these two basic tips, however:
1: Take the shot. You can fuss around with the camera all you want, fuss around with the framing, or whatever. But nothing else matters if you don't get the shot. I've seen people miss once in a lifetime shots after they became too obsessed with the details, and when the moment that they'd been waiting for came, they weren't ready to click the shutter. Do your prepwork in advance, and Take The Shot!
2: This goes along with #4, The Digital Attitude - Shoot, shoot, and shoot pics some more. Don't save your pictures for only the perfect pictures. And, as Mr. Gunther posted, don't delete them! Maybe you're on your way to get a shot when you see something neat, but you're worried that it's not the right angle, that the framing isn't right, etc. Don't worry, just get the best shot you can and move on to what you were doing in the first place. If it doesn't come out right, you're not out anything. This is digital, this isn't film - you're not wasting precious and expensive film if the shot turns out not to be right! I've gotten some good shots that my friends have passed up because they figured they couldn't get the shot right. Again, it's not like they'd be wasting film. Do this and you'll likely be pleasantly surprised when you get home and download to the computer. Many favorite pictures are taken on a whim like this.

In regard to Anonymous and James' comments above, I would say that it's not so simple as that. While it is important to develop one's own photographic style and so forth, I firmly believe that one must have a basic grounding in what works in photography and (more importantly) why. Things like the rule of thirds, back up and zoom out, etc, give beginners basic tools to get off the ground and produce competent images.

When they've mastered these ideas (such as in Andre's article here) and start to move on into their own style, they do so with an understanding of the fundamentals, why they work, and under what circumstances to damn the torpedos and do something different. As an old serviceman told me in my USAF days, "First you learn the rules, then you know the rules, THEN you break the rules." (or, for you cooks in the room, you have to understand French Traditional before you can really understand Nouvelle).

To beginners here, take in the rules. Learn what does what to your image. Pick up as many tips as you can, and get them down pat. Then, when you hit a situation where you say "OK, I know the rule says 'this', but I think the image would look better like 'that'", GO FOR IT. Don't be afraid to experiment every which way. Look for the picture no-one else is taking. Keep at it, and your style *will* emerge.

Kelly

And if I could, I'd just like to add Philippe Halsman to the list above. An amazing portrait artist with a real knack, but I like 'em best because, working with Salvador Dali, he brought surrealism into Photography. His "Dali Atomicus" is one of my fave pix ever.

Great article, I'll have to keep those tips in mind in the future. Thanks!

is winding up with a good portion of finger over the lense. sometimes they look like a nice pair of legs, though.

"For reasons of copyright, I usually only publish images of people whose face cannot be recognized or who agreed at least orally to being published."

I don't quite understand this statement. Anyone in public can be photographed. You're missing a lot of good photographs if you're only taking pictures of the backs of people's heads.
No one has a copyright on their face.

I saw that you had some pictures from Santa Cruz Ca
I grew up there, and did live there untill I was 19,
I miss the area, and I wanted to say the pics you took
there are awsome, I've seen so many sunsets that
looked like one you had with a sail boat, but I didn't
take pictures back then, you do a great job.

Great article, after taking over 5000 pictures I still make some of the mistakes you have listed.

This was a great article to read. The whole "take now, photoshop later" attitude really annoys me - makes for lazy photographers!

Great example pics as well.

Thanks everyone for your kind comments.

Nico: That one was intended for a later post ;-)

Ivan: I completely disagree. A good camera doesn't make a good photographer. I have seen good photos being made with cheap cameras too.

Daycruz: It's not the camera that makes great photos, its the photographer. A good camera has many advantages (lower noise, shorter shutter lag ...) but a photo of an Alien taken with a Cellphone Camera will sell for a lot of money.

Whoever said my pictures are awful: Did you read the disclaimer below the article? It's all there.

Gumtree: I partially agree with your comment, however working fast is not always the solution. The photo of Vernal Fall took me hours, just waiting for the Rainbow to show up. Once it came up, I had to be fast though, as it didn't last long.

"You have to master a rule before you can get away with breaking it." - Excellent Quote, Thank you !!!!

Simas: Burned out skies are a common problem, but overcast days really bring out the color. Try not to include the sky in your photos. Often times the dynamic range is too high (thats why the sky is burned out) during a sunny day, but if you want to photograph objects (without the sky included) there is no better thing then overcast sky.

Jon: That is certainly the case. I am blessed with my partner who I could interest in photography as well, so often we spend the time together. I would advise that you split up for a couple of hours and meet again at a certain time and place. Especially during Sunset hours (1h before to 30 min after) I need to focus on my photos, even if that means I won't get dinner. Send your friends to dinner and grab something quick afterwards, explain to them how important that is to you and share your photos with them later, so they understand why (and are not offended).

Copyright on People: You are right, its not the copyright, but as far as I know, you simply cannot publish photos of people without their consent. It could land you a world of trouble (if they are recognizable).
All people I photographed in Peru gave their consent (for a small token of appreciation). The problem is to get them to look natural. After you negotiated a deal, they tend to pose (I guess most tourists want that), so I try to sneak a couple of pictures first and then show them that I appreciated it (not exactly the correct thing to do though).

I think that all your tips were great. I'd like to add a common mistake that my old photojournalism professor used to harp on and on about.

Pay attention to the background interfering with shots of people. Especially having things go through their heads, like power lines or lamp posts.

It happens a lot more than you'd think.

:)

So just by studying makes you an expert... BHAH!! such vanity!!!.... Ever heard of taste??? ... Art can not be learned stupid!

Especially important to get down on the floor when you are photographing kids.
The pics turn out much better and I think they also appreciate that you make the effort!

This was informative. I appreciate you putting this together and sharing this.

Shaq_Diesel: Funny that you mention the stick through the head thing. I was trying to find one exactly like that among my photos, but I couldn't (I am sure there is one somewhere), so I settled for the Polynesian Idols in #6 :-)

dmc: Some people actually DO like tips and there are entire faculties dedicated to art. I can also see from your comment that you didn't bother to read my disclaimer at the bottom of the article.

Cellular Demon: Nice tip, thanks !

Thanks Bill, its been my pleasure.

this is really egomanical. photography is about expression of the self, not adhering to someone else's set of rules. and for the record, zooming is probably the last thing you want to do. it flattens the image and pushes in on the individual pixels of a frame, creating an image with less information

@daycruz
You don't need a super-expensive camera to get decent photos. Although a better camera may help.

Anyway, great basic photography tips. Very easy to understand. They've been Dugg at Digg.com.

good points ...
thanks for sharing ...

Great stuff, incitful, interesting and you don't talk down to your audience, well
done, I really enjoyed my first stumble.

Since some of you suggested great artists (remember, I never claimed to be a great photographer, but even in grade school I used to learn a lot from my peers) you should put Art Wolfe on the list.
Some also wanted to see books, so I took the liberty to include 3 books of my favorite Artists. Those books are simply amazing.

I totally agree with you. I also am a pro photographer. To me a good photographer is a person who can see better.

Some very good examples. This article will sure help beginners to avoid some very common mistakes.

I don't understand how such an article gets even one rude comment. These are helpful tips. If these really are the ten most common mistakes, I am not sure about, but I have seen made all of them.

Thanks for the write-up. Keep on doing a great job.

Нихера не вкурил шо вы там пишите но вы гандоны! Привет из Крыма.

excellent article. ive been following a lot what yu have summarized, and learnt a few more tricks from you! i need this page because it is well translated from actions to words. thanks for analyzing things, and taking time to publish it free of cost. this is as good as it gets for free!

somebody as bragged about his degree and all.. sometimes degrees wont work common sense works.. i think andre put up some of a common knowledge needed for a starter so i am very much apparicated with his posting.. thank u andre

Man those are some sweet tips. Thanks

That's a great disclaimer.

Your suggestions are terrific. Thanks for posting them. Your photos are especially enlightening. Your "don't always shoot from eye level" is great- one suggestion for taking pics of kids is either to get down beneath them (which can give a sense of towering strength to the kid), or get above them for a unique shot.

I just wanted to add to your point on sunlight and overcast skies. The sun can create a lot of undesired shadows in your pictures, so on an overcast day the light will be much more balanced.

Thank you for such a great article, and for no minding the snobs who think they know everything.

I do mind every comment, also the negative ones. If they have constructive criticism I try to incorporate it into my next articles.
As I said above, nobody was born a master.
I also would like to point out (yet again) that the article is just meant to get people thinking. I am in no way trying to impose my style on anyone.

Anyways, I am reading all the comments (good and not so good).

Great article. Thanks for the ideas

So typical of something on the internet with comments. "Awesome!" "Awesome!" "CRAP!" "WORSE THAN CRAP!"

I think this is a very good example of some major pitfalls when trying to move from "I can push the shutter button" to "people may want to actually look at my photos". How do you go from there to "Fine Art"? I don't know. How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Ha ha ha....

I'm not an art critic, but your photos illustrate what you're trying to talk about pretty well. Are they as good as something in a museum? Probably not. That's why something's in a museum (or at least partly why it is...)

those are excellent advice and I thank andre for them. Im just a photographer wanabe and know more than to feel limited by your suggestions. Those who take your basic 10 as rules of restriction to the amatuer must think we are a bunch of dummies. dmc my dear, give me some credit. I can still think for myself. Please stick to constructive critism so that I can learn from you too. Don't breed hate, it is quite unappealing.

These are great tips, and I've made many of these mistakes myself. Thanks for the article! I look forward to the technique article very much.

A photographer I met in England made the good suggestion that you should explore your subject thoroughly with the camera. This means taking many pictures, but change something in every shot - camera angle, composition, zoom, focus, depth of field, exposure, close ups, long shots, abstractions, etc. When will you get to that location again? In the old days they used to say "Film is cheaper than shoe leather".

The guidelines you give are excellent.

you have just motivated me even more to actually go and do a intermediate course in photography. I have been sitting for too long taking lucky shots and not understanding the important things like the compositions and light. I have to start understanding these key aspects to taking the perfect picture. I have been taking too many chances for too long.