tips

While photography has a lot to do with inherent ability, and the development of skills over time, there are certain basic tips you can use to help you with composition when you are starting out.

Firstly, always try to tell a story in your photographs. Putting your subject within a context makes a picture far more interesting and compelling. Taking travel photographs is similar to writing a diary - you want to create a description that will evoke the most powerful and accurate memories of your experience - not just what it looked like, but also what it felt like.

Always try to get onto eye level or below with your subject when photographing people, unless you are trying to create a particular effect by taking the picture from above. Remember that taking pictures from a raised vantage point will make your subjects appear smaller, while taking from below will enlarge and accentuate them.

Look for texture to include in your pictures. Patterns created by natural forms or man-made structures can give life to your pictures and draw the eye around the photograph. Conversely, placing a subject dead in the centre of a photograph will 'trap' the eye there, instead of allowing it to wander and play around the images. For this reason, it is a good idea to place your subjects slightly off-centre.

The law of thirds can also help in improving the composition of photographs. When pictures are split into a 1/3 to 2/3 ratio, the image is more appealing to the eye.