The best way to keep improving is to practice often, make mistakes and be open to learning from others, whether they’re well-established photographers or newcomers to the craft.

Understand the rule of thirds

The rule of thirds is based on the idea that pictures are generally more interesting and well balanced when they aren’t centered. Imagine a grid placed over your images with two vertical lines and two horizontal lines that divide the picture into nine equal sections.

If you were following the rule of thirds, rather than positioning your subject or the important elements of a scene at the center of the photo, you’d place them along one of the four lines, or at the points where the lines intersect. Some cameras even have a grid option you can turn on, which can be useful if you’re still learning to compose your images.

Eyes should always be in focus

When shooting portraits, you’ll be focusing on a very small area so it will be more important than ever that you get a nice sharp image. The eyes in particular are an important facial feature, and they’re often the first thing people look at, especially when it comes to close-ups and headshots.

With this in mind, your subject’s eyes should be your main point of focus.

Pay attention to the background

Generally speaking, the background should be as simple and clutter free as possible so that it doesn’t pull the viewer’s attention away from the main subject of the photo. Muted colors and plain patterns tend to work well, because you don’t want viewers to end up being more interested in the colorful building or church tower in the background than your model.

Fixing a distracting background can be as simple as moving your subject or changing your angle, but if that doesn’t work, it may be possible to obscure it by using a wider aperture and getting in as close to your subject as possible. Whenever you can, though, try to keep the background neutral, especially if you’re placing your subject off to the side of the photograph and the background is very visible.

Understand the exposure triangle

The exposure triangle simply refers to the three most important elements of exposure; ISO, aperture and shutter speed.