The first tip is something that’s pretty common sense, but it’s also the foundation of photography: lighting.  If you boil photography down, it’s really just a study of light.  Everything you do as a photographer revolves around controlling and capturing light.  Being aware of your lighting is the really the first step towards capturing the best images possible.

Here’s an example:

In the image above, I snapped the picture from behind the object facing into my light source.  As you can tell, the image doesn’t look super yummy (that’s an actual photography term).

So, for picture two, I put myself between the window and the object I’m shooting:

Instantly a better picture.  By taking advantage of the natural light to illuminate the object, instead of shooting directly into it, my image comes out more crisp and natural.  I didn’t change any settings on my camera or move the object.  I just changed my position.

When I set up a shoot or prepare for a shot, I always think of my lighting first.  I want to make sure that my subject isn’t directly in sunlight (or you risk over-exposure and squinting with live subjects) but it well-lit by indirect sunlight.  I also want to make sure that I’m working with the light and not against it.

In addition, choosing an interesting angle can make or break a photograph. When I was first tinkering with photography, I constantly shot from the same angle, which was straight ahead, at eye level.  There’s nothing wrong with shooting from that perspective, but sometimes by changing things up, you can create a more interesting photo, which tells a story or spurs some thought.

Here’s an example:

Again, this image is of the same object in the same place – only my position has changed.  By moving to standing over the subject and looking down, and then choosing where to focus, the object becomes more interesting than an image shooting straight on would be.

By remembering to consider your light source and your angle, you can kick your images up quite a bit regardless of your skill level or camera.

(These images are straight out of the camera, other than sharpening for the web.)