Shooting a picture is a wonderful time full of creativity and discovery, whatever tool you use, camera, mobile phone or even your iPod player. However it can also be a time of wrecked nerves, confusing advice from friends and frustration as you learn a new camera or you take an improvement-needed picture uploaded to your blog. So here are some basic ideas you can keep in mind when you take you first attempts at photography, which make the time more rewarding and less dull.

Subject

What do you want to show? If you are confused at this point, your viewers will be more confused. Your subject is what you want to express. It may be small or large or to tell a story through an image, your subject can be a flower or a cat, anything you can shoot. No matter what it is, make sure it will not be misunderstood in order to make your image work.

Composition

Key word is ARRANGEMENT, composition is to arrange several things into an united whole. Your subject, lighting, background, focus, etc. will all combine to create the composition. Just like an artist may spend a long time determining the exact locations of an apple and the gray pot before he begins to paint, similarly photographers should take the time to view the composition before pressing the shutter release button.

Lighting

Men were made from dust before when spirit of breath of God was breathed into could not live. Take an image as a person, lighting is the breath. Without light nothing can be captured onto a film or digital memory and photography is the art of capturing light reflected from subjects. Some general rules are: avoid harsh light right behind your subjects, aware of dark shadows and watch out for white area that impacts the whole lighting.