How to Take Better Photos With Any Camera: 71 Useful Rules

Have you ever noticed that folks who are talented at photography can generally get a great shot with almost any piece of gear? The truth about how to take better photos with any camera is that it is actually very rarely, if ever, about the gear you are carrying. It has a lot more to do with your personal skills as a photographer.

Sure, gear does throw up some restrictions, but somebody who is talented at photography usually knows how to get the best possible shot with any given gear. And hopefully that's the type of photographer you are hoping to be yourself.

With that in mind, we have put together a selection of photography tips, ideas, and tactics that will lead you towards better outcomes for your own photography. Any single one of these tips will make you a better photographer if you take it seriously, but if you put handfuls of them together, you will probably see noticeable improvements in your own photographs.

Don't lose your bananas about us calling them “rules” – it's a word that seems to really get the heckles up of a lot of photographers. If it makes you feel better, consider them guidelines or tips. Jeesh.

1. There are no rules for photography, but there are laws of physics – things like “rules” in photography tend to rub photographers the wrong way. They are an independent bunch, and telling them they have to adhere to rules just isn't it. So the fact of the matter is that there are no set rules in terms of creativity; there are just guidelines that will get you towards generally stronger images. There are, however, laws of physics that none of us can break, and so we are all a little bit of a slave to those.

2. Ignore the likes, search for the light – one of the biggest things that we see a lot of people doing is trying to trace online clout with their photography. And while getting recognition for your work is great, working only for that recognition usually means it will take a lot of shortcuts. We all remember the HDR era, which produced some horrendous images that got a lot of likes. The truth is that the photographers who survived that era are the ones who concentrated on the fundamentals of their craft rather than the gimmicks of post-production or fads like HDR. Our advice here would be to dig into the fundamentals, which we will hopefully be covering in the rest of this list.

Aman Pal

3. Get closer – if there is one universal idea for getting a better composition, it is to get closer to your subject. Some people call this filling the frame. Other people will tell you to zoom with your feet. And the fact is that it is probably among the easier ways to get a strong composition.

4. F/8 and be there – if you have a manual camera that can set aperture, then there is an old saying in photography of F8 and be there. This basically means that this aperture setting will get you a reasonable shot in almost all conditions. You can use it for everything from portraits through to landscapes. That is not to say that it is the best setting for your particular condition (by a long shot), but it will stop you from messing things up in a lot of situations.

5. Learn the rule of thirds – probably the most fundamental composition rule of them all for the entirety of art history has been the rule of thirds. People love to love it and people love to hate it. But the fact is, if you put the interesting parts of your composition on the intersections of third lines, then you will probably come up with a reasonably balanced composition. It's a good rule of thumb to keep in the back of your mind, but it's not something that you should be restricted by.

6. Learn to ignore the rule of thirds – following on from understanding the rule of thirds is understanding how to ignore it. There are dozens of other formal and informal compositions that you should try at some point. Centering your subject is an obvious one. Using leading lines to get to your subject is another one. A slight variation is using the golden spiral or golden section. There are dozens and dozens of wonderful compositions that you can move to when you get sick of the rule of thirds.

7. Stand in front of more interesting stuff – this might be a little bit tongue-in-cheek for how to get better pictures, but it stands to reason. If you're a landscape photographer, then standing in front of beautiful landscapes in the golden hour is going to get you better pictures 90% of the time. If you stand in front of interesting people, then you will get interesting portraits. Don't just sit in your home with a camera and expect to get great shots as it rarely happens.

8. Stand in front of interesting stuff when the light is also interesting – as I alluded to in the previous tip, good light is going to be your friend, so you need to both stand in front of more interesting stuff and do it at a time when the light is interesting. For an outdoor photographer, that will probably be the golden hour or the blue hour. As a general rule of thumb, softer or dispersed lighting tends to look better in a photograph than harsh light.

9. Focus on the eyes – when you are taking photographs of people, in 99% of occasions you were going to want to get the sharpest focus on their eyes. And if you need to choose between the two eyes, then you should choose the closest eye to the camera. This will usually mean that the view of your photograph will straightaway look towards those eyes, and it is the main way that portrait photographers produce better images of people and animals.

10. Always consider the background – one of the most frustrating things in photography is when you get a perfect subject, but a really distracting background. The obvious way to avoid this is to always check your background before you click the shutter. If you're trying to isolate your subject, then look for a plain background. If you're trying to put your subject in context, then make sure the background objects meet that criterion. And if you are trying to shoot a busy shot, then look for a busy background.

11. Usually, consider the foreground – well, the foreground isn't necessary in all images. You will find that considering interesting foregrounds is a bit of a cheat code to getting good images. This goes for outdoor images. Foregrounds with interesting colour or leading lines can often make a plain landscape look like a masterpiece. In other types of images, a foreground can give context to the subject. Whatever you need, just choose it with intention.

12. Learn the exposure triangle – the three main controls on every camera are ISO, aperture, and shutter speed. You can control them manually yourself or leave it to auto mode on most cameras. A low ISO will give you a smooth shot, while a higher ISO will give you more grain or noise in the image. A faster shutter speed will freeze the motion, while a slower shutter speed will lead to motion blur. A wide aperture will generally lead to an in-focus subject with a soft foreground or background, while a closed or narrow aperture will get most of the image in focus. Learning how these three interact is the core skill involved with learning manual photography.

diagram — Exposure Triangle – shows how exposure, shutter speed and iso work together to get the right exposure

13. Learn to pan – a relatively easy technique that can get you some very interesting shots is called panning. This basically means leaving your shutter speed open for a little longer than you usually would, but moving your camera with the subject. You have probably seen some wonderful panning shots of cyclists or cars. But this can really be done with almost any moving subject – people walking, birds flying, trains going past. A little patience and you will be getting professional-looking shots in no time. Panning is part of the intentional camera blur family. A quick way to get into panning photography is to use the shutter priority setting on most cameras and set it slower than1/50th of a second.

14. Learn to freeze movement – at the other end of the spectrum, you are going to need to learn to freeze the action, which usually means faster shutter speeds. This is how a lot of sports photography and action photography is done. If your camera has a shutter priority setting, then it is an easy introduction to freezing the action for you. To freeze the action, your shutter speed will want to be faster than the inverse of your lens. For example, if you are shooting with an 50 mm lens, than your shutter speed to freeze the action should be at least 1/50 of a second but if possible, starting at 1/250s at least can be a great choice for very fast actions.

15. Avoid or manage midday light – well, you're not always going to be able to escape shooting in midday sun, and it is usually considered the most difficult condition to shoot in. And the truth is that most cameras don't handle it very well. If you're shooting people, then you will want to put them in the shade away from the direct sunlight. Most of the things you shoot, you will want to manage in a way that lets you get them out of that harsh sunlight and subsequent harsh shadows.

16. Learn the Sunny 16 rule if you cannot avoid midday light – of course, some days you're just not going to be able to avoid shooting in the midday sun. And for that, you are going to want to learn the Sunny 16 rule. Effectively, that means an aperture of F-16, an ISO of 100, and a shutter speed of 100 or faster. It's a good rule to remember, and as you get used to it, you can even use it for other lighting conditions as you begin to understand what the various settings do.

17. Don't center your subject every time – beginners have a tendency to put their main subject in the absolute center of every image. Repeatedly doing this will give you an extremely boring group of photographs – so be sure to explore other compositional techniques starting with the rule of thirds and going all the way through leading lines, foreground interest, rule of odds, etc.

18. Center your subject – this is more about mixing it up than anything. There is nothing wrong with the center composition, but it's just not something you should do every time. But sometimes it's just fine. Your subject directly in the center of the image is the beginning of a compelling photograph. Be sure to take care of your background and foreground.

19. Remove elements from your composition – A very strong habit when you are trying to compose an image is to make the scene less busy by removing superfluous elements from it. That usually means moving your feet or controlling the background of your image by moving your subject. You don't always need a completely plain background, but distracting elements such as bright objects or colourful things draw the users’ eye away from the main subject. Be aware of those elements and remove them where possible.

20. Add elements to your composition – converse to the above is that sometimes you will want to add elements into an image to enhance the composition. One obvious element that you might want to use in outdoor photography is leading lines in the foreground, such as a path or a fence line leading to the main subject. Alternatively, elements in other areas of the image that draw the eye towards the subject can also be used effectively. Imagine that every element is a finger pointing and you want all of the fingers pointing at your subject or at least as many as you practically can.

21. Get down low – the vast majority of photos are taken from the perspective of a standing photographer and that leaves a lot of room for improvement in composition techniques. One of the easiest ways to improve your composition in almost any photo is to simply get down and include a lot more of the foreground in your shot. This will give the viewers' eyes somewhere to travel from before they get to your main subject and will enhance a lot of the photos you take.

22. Get up high – the most exact converse of the above tip is to get up higher to shoot your images from a higher vantage point. Again, this is simply changing your perspective to enhance the composition. There are certain situations of which this is an almost guaranteed way to get a better image – for example, you will often see photographers who need to photograph groups at events like weddings, et cetera, tend to do it from a higher vantage point, and some even carry a step ladder to get up higher. It's a great idea and often results in a better composition.

23. Look for patterns – one of the most difficult things to do in composition is to find patterns in your subject. This is easier said than done, but when you do it, it can result in some stunning compositions. Patterns are everywhere in architecture and human-made objects, and while they are rare in nature, they can still be found. When you find one, consider taking a shot because, you will often get a keeper from it.

24. Try to break patterns – the only thing better than finding a pattern is finding an obvious way to break it. This could be with a logical element or an intrusive element. Think of a clear image of powerlines but broken by a single bird sitting on one. Or rows and rows of seating in a stadium broken only by a single person sitting in one.

25. Use negative space – this is one of the most powerful composition tools that photographers can use to get images that look quite strong. Negative space involves finding a composition that really isolates the main subject by keeping a lot of empty space around them. It's easier said than done, but when it's mastered, it can produce some of the best images you would've ever seen. Even bad images with negative space tend to be pretty good.

26. Fill up the frame – at the other end of the spectrum from negative space is filling the frame. Simply get closer to your subjects and make sure that they go very close to the edges of the frame so that the image is full of them. This alone usually produces a much stronger image than standing back a bit.

27. Move your feet instead of using your zoom – a very good habit to get into is literally moving your feet and walking to where you will get a better composition. While it's very tempting to just zoom with your zoom lens, it tends to produce slightly weaker images. Move your feet and move to where you get a better image at a reasonable magnification.

28. Look for interesting backgrounds and wait for something interesting to come in front of them – this is an old trick used by travel photographers almost forever. When you are going around new areas, you will find that you are drawn to certain scenes due to interest or colour or contrast. Experienced photographers will stay near those scenes and simply wait for somebody interesting passing in front of them (maybe even set up on a tripod and trigger the camera remotely). It's a very strong way to do it, and it almost feels like cheating but it almost always produces a very memorable image.

29. Look for interesting foregrounds and wait for something interesting to happen behind them – just like the trick of waiting for somebody to walk in front of an interesting background, also waiting for somebody to walk behind an interesting ground works quite well. The foreground might be made up of leading lines or other interesting features but when you can have the interesting subject walk behind them, then you will get a more interesting shot.

30. Capture emotion – there's a reason the old cliche is to say cheese. It emulates people smiling. But it's also the laziest way to get emotion. If you could learn to either anticipate people's emotion or prompt it, then you will tend to get more powerful images of people. Keeping a few jokes handy for kids is a classic way to get kids laughing, for example.

31. Look for complementary colours – complementary colours are colours that are opposite each other on a colour wheel. In terms of photography it tends to make objects stand out much more. A footballer in a red jersey on a green field for example, will stand out more than most other colours. If you can find these types of compositions, then you'll get a strong shot a lot of the time.

32. Use front light for clarity – light hitting from directly in front of your subject will put the face of the subject in higher clarity.

33. Use side light for texture – side light will highlight any imperfections or textures with shadows that fall across the image.

34. Use backlight for form – backlight is great for highlighting the form of a subject, such as in silhouettes.

35. Try to get it right in camera – when you are trying to learn how to take better photos, it can be tempting to rely on post-production to improve a photo, but this is a mistake. Do everything you possibly can to get your image as close to perfect while you were shooting it, so that you don't have to rely on software. That's not to say you should not use software, but it is a hell of a lot easier to enhance a great photograph out of camera than it is to fix a bad one.

36. If you can't get it right in camera, don't be afraid to edit in post – reality is that you will not get every shot right every time in camera. Don't be afraid to use software but don't make this a habit.

37. Don't rely on post to “fix” bad images – fixing a bad image in post production is folly. You might be lucky enough where it works, but it's certainly not something you should make a habit of. If you get good at shooting and good at post production, then you will be a complete photographer and we have the images to show.

38. Learn a post production tool – getting very good at one piece of post production software is much better than being average at a lot of them. Choose one. For most professional photographers that will be Adobe Lightroom but there are other great alternatives too. For open source photographers who don't want to pay for software, then you should investigate GIMP and Dark Table.

39. If you have the time, leave a day or two between your final edit and sharing the image – when you're doing post production, it's very easy to get wrapped up in the image and maybe push things a little too far. One of the best ways to mitigate this before you share your images is to simply walk away from the computer and come back a little later. I usually like to leave my images at least 24 hours before having a second look.

40. Leave space for things to move into – if you're taking photos of things that are moving then make sure there is an element of the photo for those things to move into. Keep a bit of space in front of walking people or a bit of road in front of moving cars or bicycles or in the direction of gaze. This will give you better compositions.

41. Always remember to look behind you for a better shot – one of the biggest lessons in being a landscape photographer when taking photographs of sunsets is that, the sky in the opposite half is often very, very powerful too, and it's amazing how often this lesson lends itself to other aspects of photography. When you are photographing any scene, make sure to make it a habit to simply look in the opposite direction.

42. Study the greats – Learning how to take better photos is a lot easier when you have reference material to work from. It's highly advisable to look at a lot of work and try to find the things that you love. For me that has always been leaning on the work of the great photographers. I have books from many of the greatest photographers who I personally love, such as Ansel Adams, Charlie Waite, Susan Sontag, Patricia Caulfield and a slew of others. This just gives me baselines to work from and lots of things to look out for and I recommend doing the same for yourself.

43. Imitate and then innovate – part of the learning journey is imitation. I have tried to take photos similar to the ones of the people I mentioned above. And then I iterated off that. These days I like to think that I take more original images but imitation followed by innovation is the path that I think I took and I think many people should take if they're looking to take better photographs.

44. Learn a couple of portrait poses – a lot of people are awkward when they are posing for a photograph. Take a look at a couple of classic poses for people and then show them where they should be putting their hands and looking. This will make your photographs better in a lot of situations when shooting people.

45. Know the law about photography – this isn't really about taking better photographs but it certainly makes things a lot more clear. Look up the laws for photography in your local area. In most western democracies you are free to take photographs of whatever you like. When you are standing in a public area, don't be a douchebag about that, but know what you can and cannot do.

46. But be polite about it – as part of not being a douchebag, just keep your manners about it. It will make your life easier.

47. Look for natural frames – looking for elements of a shot that can frame your main subject is a great way to draw the eye to that subject and compose an image. Things like tree branches or the other side of bridges or doorways are great things to use as frames when shooting through them.

48. Revisit the same subject often – it's tempting to go off adventuring and finding new things to photograph when you're excited about it. But returning to the same spot over and over again will always certainly lead to new opportunities and you have the added advantage of knowing the scene itself. I have several spots near where I live that I return to often and I always seem to get new types of images every time I go. I like to think they are also improving.

49. Window light for portraits is a cheat code – if you photograph people, then you really should learn how to shoot them in natural light, and window light for portraits is the king in that regard. It's a cheat code for soft lighting that looks just gorgeous on people.

50. Start an ongoing photography project – doing 365 projects or weekly projects, etc., is an extremely useful way to improve just like any practice. Getting public feedback on it makes it even more valuable. Consider joining our forum if you want to start your own regular project.

51. Join a community of people who have the same goals as you – as I said, our forum is open for business and we would love to have you there. And if you stick with it, it comes with the promise of a vast improvement.

52. Take a lot of photos – it should go without saying that a single frame of digital is very very cheap and you should absolutely use that advantage to its logical conclusion. Taking a lot of intentional photographs will improve your photography just like any practice.

53. Cull a lot of photos – when you take a lot of photos, you will have standouts and you will have a lot of average photos so don't be afraid to cull.

54. Look at a lot of other people's photos – part of creativity is keeping an eye on what's around and taking inspiration from the things you like, and avoiding the things you don't. Looking at lots of photos is just part of the creative process for a lot of photographers.

55. Immerse yourself in how to guides – depending where you are in learning how to take better photos, lots of guides on how to do specific types of photography are a good place to start. Our tutorials should give you some ideas. Don't forget to actually put them into practice.

56. Ignore the how to guides – and once you have the skills that a how to guide provides, you can safely make your own decisions on what parts you wish to keep and which parts you wish to ignore. That is your prerogative as an artist.

57. Learn colour grading – in post production, colour grading is the equivalent of choosing film. All of the old films had their quirks and most of them can be emulated to a degree in the colour grading panel of most post production software.

58. At least look at the image in black and white – it takes two seconds to reduce the saturation of an image to 0 when you're in a post production software, just to take a quick glimpse of what it might look like in black and white. At some point this will produce some of the most beautiful images you have ever seen – so it's a good idea to make it a habit.

59. Learn dodging and burning – the classic post production skill both in the film dark room and in modern software post production is dodging and burning. That means brightening some areas of your image and darkening others to draw the eye of the viewer to where you want it. It is probably the most important skill in post production.

60. Get a lens cloth – seriously carry one of these. And keep 20 others because you're gonna lose 19 of them.

61. RTFM – read the fricking manual. Honestly, in terms of learning your chosen camera, this is the very minimum. And it will almost always open up new ideas for you.

62. Join a camera club – camera clubs are a very underrated way to improve. You are almost always going to have veterans with decades of experience who can smooth your path through the early stages of learning photography. And you might even make a friend.

63. Submit your work for critique – it's nerve racking but submitting your work to people who are further along the learning curve than you is a great way to learn to improve your images. Ask them to be specific and give you actionable insights that you can change in your next shoot.

64. Enter a competition – this is also nerve racking but if you really want to see where you sit within a group of photographers who take the craft seriously, then there is no better way than to join a competition. Try to get one that gives detailed feedback.

65. Photograph something you love – there is an old saying that you can tell what a photographer loves by what they choose to shoot. Hopefully you will be familiar and comfortable with the subject here so you will get a very different type of photo.

66. Photograph something you hate – this one is a little more difficult and challenging but it can lead to incredible outcomes.

67. Always carry a camera – this one is a lot easier today with the advent of the phone camera, but if you remember, also take your other mirrorless or DSLR when you can. You never know when you will want to get out and shoot.

68. Practice! – this one goes without saying.

69. Shoot the same thing, many, many times – repetition often creates incremental but meaningful improvement over time so don't sleep on this one.

70. Restrict yourself to a single-shot photo session – it's very difficult in an age where you can take photographs so cheaply to restrict yourself to one photo. And that is why it's a great exercise. It makes you really think about every aspect that you know about from the lighting to the composition and everything in between. And this helps clarify things in your mind for taking better images.

71. Ask a stranger to shoot their portrait – this one takes some bravery because you don't want to mess up in front of a stranger. It will keep you on your toes and help cement the good habits that you hopefully already have.