Many people think they’ll improve their photography by buying a spiffy new
camera. The truth is, in photography, technique is much more important
than equipment. And taking good pictures is something anyone can do with
any camera, if you practice enough and avoid some common mistakes, especially before printing large on canvas at a printing service like FinerWorks.

Steps

1. Read the camera’s manual, and learn what each control, switch, button, and menu item does. At the very least you should know how to turn the flash on, off, and auto, how to zoom in and out, and how to use the shutter button.
2. Set the camera’s resolution to take high quality photos at the highest
   resolution possible – this is especially important if you plan to make large
   prints. Low-resolution images are more difficult to digitally alter later
   on; it also means that you can’t crop as enthusiastically as you could with a higher-resolution version (and still end up with something printable). If you have a small memory card, get a bigger one; if you don’t want to or can’t afford to buy a new one, then use the “fine” quality setting, if your camera has one, with a smaller resolution.
3. Start off with setting your camera to one of its automatic modes, if
   you have a choice. Most useful is “Program” or “P” mode on digital SLRs.
   Ignore advice to the contrary which suggests that you operate your camera
   fully manually; the advances in the last fifty years in automatic focusing
   and metering have not happened for nothing. If your photos come out poorly
   focused or poorly exposed, then start operating certain functions
   manually. With that said, most people don’t look at large
   prints close up so a little out of focus is okay but do not be too lax
   here since out of focus shots are magnified
   when you enlarge the image
4. Take your camera everywhere. When you have your camera with
   you all the time, you will start to see the world differently; you will look
   for and find opportunities to take great photographs. And, of course, you
   will end up taking more photographs; and the more you take, the better
   a photographer you will become. Furthermore,
   if you’re taking photographs of your friends and family, they will get used
   to you having your camera with you all the time. Thus, they will feel less
   awkward or intimidated when you get your camera out; this will lead to more
   natural-looking, less “posed” photographs.
   And you will be amazed at the response from your friends and family when you
   start to decorate your home of office with
   prints of those shots.
5. Get outside. Motivate yourself to get out and take photographs in
   natural light. Take several normal ‘point and shoot’ pictures to get a feel
   for the lighting at different times of the day and night. Go outside at all
   times of day, especially those times when anybody with any sense is sleeping,
   eating, or watching television; lighting at these times is often dramatic and unusual to many people precisely because they never get to see it!
6. Keep the lens clear of caps, thumbs, straps and other obstructions. It’s
   basic, yes, but it can ruin a photograph completely. This is less of a
   problem with modern live-preview digital cameras, and even less of a problem
   with an SLR camera. But people still make these mistakes from time to time.
   You might be able to correct some of these issues in Photoshop but again, when
   you start to enlarge your images for printing imperfections will become
   more visible.
7. Set your white balance. Put simply, the human eye automatically compensates for different kinds of lighting; white looks white to us in almost any kind of lighting. A digital camera compensates for this by shifting the colors certain ways. For example, under tungsten (incandescent) lighting, it will shift the colours towards blue to compensate for the redness of this kind of lighting. The white balance is one of the most critical, and most underused, settings on modern cameras. Learn how to set it, and what the various settings mean. If you’re not under artificial light, the “Shade” (or “Cloudy”) setting is a good bet in most circumstances; it makes for very warm-looking colors. If it comes out too red,
   it’s very easy to correct it in software later on. “Auto”, the default for most cameras, sometimes does a good job, but also sometimes results in colours which are a little too cold.
8. Set a slower ISO speed, if circumstances permit. This is less of an issue with digital SLR cameras, but especially important for point-and-shoot digital cameras (which, usually, have tiny sensors which are more prone to noise). A slower ISO speed (lower number) makes for less noisy photographs; however, it forces you to use slower shutter speeds as well, which restricts your ability to photograph moving subjects, for example. For still subjects in good light (or still subjects in low light, too, if you’re using a tripod and remote release), use the very slowest ISO speed that you have.
9. Compose your shot thoughtfully. Frame the photo in your mind before framing it in the viewfinder. Consider the following rules, but especially the last one:
   • Use the Rule of Thirds, where the primary point of interest in your scene sits along “third” lines. Try not to let any horizon or other lines “cut the picture in half.”
   • Get rid of distracting backgrounds and clutter. If this means
     you and your friend have to move a little so that a tree does not appear to
     be growing out of her head, then do so. If glare is coming off the windows
     of the house across the street, change your angle a bit to avoid it. If you’re
     taking vacation photographs, take a moment to get your family to put down all
     the junk they may be carrying around with them and to remove backpacks or hip
     packs as well. Keep that mess well out of the frame of the picture, and you
     will end up with much nicer, less cluttered photos. If you can blur the background
     in a portrait, then do so. And so on.
   • Fill the frame with your subject. Don’t be afraid to get closer to your subject. On the other hand, if you’re using a digital camera with plenty of megapixels to spare, you can crop it later in software.
   • Try an interesting angle. Instead of shooting the object straight on, try looking down to the object, or crouching and looking up. Pick an angle that shows maximum color and minimum shadow. To make things appear longer or taller, a low angle can help. If you want a bold photo, it is best to be even with the object. You may also want to make the object look smaller or make it look like you’re hovering over; to get the effect you should put the camera above the object. An uncommon angle makes for a more interesting shot.
   • Ignore the advice above. Regard the above as laws, which work much of the time but are always subject to judicious interpretation — and not as absolute rules. Too close an adherence to them will lead to boring photographs. For example, clutter and sharply focused backgrounds can add context, contrast and colour; perfect symmetry in a shot can be dramatic, and so on. Every rule can and should be broken for artistic effect, from time to time. This is how many stunning photographs are made.
10. Focus. Poor focusing is one of the most common ways that photographs are ruined. Use
    the automatic focus of your camera, if you have it; usually, this is done by
    half-pressing the shutter button. Use the “macro” mode of your camera for very close-up shots. Don’t focus manually unless your auto-focus is having issues; as with metering, automatic focus usually does a far better job of focusing than you can.
11. Keep still. A lot of people are surprised at how blurry their pictures come out when going for a close-up, or taking the shot from a distance. To minimize blurring: If you’re using a full-sized camera with a zoom lens, hold the camera body (finger on the shutter button) with one hand, and steady the lens by cupping your other hand under it. Keep your elbows close to your body, and use this position to brace yourself firmly. If your camera or lens has image stabilisation features, use them (this is called IS on Canon gear, and VR, for Vibration Reduction, on Nikon equipment).
    • Consider using a tripod. If your hands are naturally shaky, or
      if you’re using very large (and slow) telephoto lenses, or if you’re trying
      to take photographs in low light, or if you need to take several identical
      shots in a row (such as with HDR photography),
      or if you’re taking panoramic photos, then using a tripod is probably a good idea. For very long exposures (more than a second or so), a cable release (for older film cameras) or a remote control is a good idea; you can use the self-timer feature of your camera if you don’t have one of these.
    • Consider not using a tripod, especially if you don’t already
      have one. A tripod infringes on your ability to move around, and to rapidly
      change the framing of your shot. It’s also more weight to carry around, which
      is a disincentive to getting out and taking photographs in the first place. As a general rule, you only need a tripod if your shutter speed is equal to or slower than the reciprocal of your focal length. If you can avoid using a tripod by using faster ISO speeds (and, consequently, faster shutter speeds), or by using image stabilisation features of your camera, or by simply moving to somewhere with better lighting, then do that.
12. Relax when you push the shutter button. Also, try not to hold the camera up for too long; this will cause your hands and arms to be shakier. Practice bringing the camera up to your eye, focusing and metering, and taking the shot in one swift, smooth action.
13. Avoid red eye. Red-eye is caused when your eyes dilate in lower lighting. When your pupils are big, the flash actually lights up the blood vessels on the back wall of your eyeball, which is why it looks red. If you must use a flash in poor light, try to get the person to not look directly at the camera, or consider using a “bounce flash”. Aiming your flash above the heads of your subjects, especially if the walls surrounding are light, will keep red-eye out. If you don’t have a separate flash gun which is adjustable in this way, use the red-eye reduction feature of your camera if available – it flashes a couple of times before opening the shutter, which causes your subject’s pupils to contract, thus minimizing red-eye. Better yet, don’t take photographs which require a flash to be used; find somewhere with better lighting.
14. Use your flash judiciously, and don’t use it when you don’t have to. A flash in poor light can often cause ugly-looking reflections, or make the subject of your photo appear “washed out”; the latter is especially true of people photos. On the other hand, a flash is very useful for filling in shadows; to eliminate the “raccoon eye” effect in bright midday light, for example (if you have a flash sync speedfast enough). If you can avoid using a flash by going outside, or steadying the camera (allowing you to use a slower shutter speed without blur), or setting a faster ISO speed (allowing faster shutter speeds), then do that.
15. Go through your photos and look for the best ones. Look for what makes the best photos and continue using the methods that got the best shots. Don’t be afraid to throw away or delete photos, either. Be brutal about it; if it doesn’t strike you as a particularly pleasing shot, then ditch it. If you, like most people, are shooting on a digital camera, then it would not have cost you anything but your time.
16. Practice, practice, and practice. Take lots and lots of photos — aim to fill your memory card, or to use up as much film as you can afford to have developed. The more pictures you take, the better you’ll get, and the more you (and everyone) will like your pictures. Shoot from new or different angles, and find new subjects to take pictures of, and keep at it; you can make even the most boring, everyday thing look amazing if you’re creative enough about photographing it. Get to know your camera’s limitations, too; how well it performs in different kinds of lighting, how well auto-focus performs at various distances, how well it handles moving subjects, and so on.