“HOW come my pictures look like a monkey took them?” The following article will help you quickly learn how to take great pictures by paying attention to composition. ..

As a family with four beautiful daughters, we spent a fortune on photographers, I mean a fortune! So one day I walked into a pawn shop and bought a professional film camera (that's all they had back

then) and a book on photography which I followed step by step.

My first pictures: So I got the camera stuff home, read a little in the book, then lined up my sweet little girls in the back yard to take some master­ pieces. Sweet smiles, cute antics, dressed just so,

these pictures have got to be winners. And they would have been, except whilst focusing on my girls, I never saw the basement cover laying on the ground and a toilet stored under the house beaming in the sun. Awwwful!

After more reading and shooting more pictures, I learned about composition, and how to really look through the camera and see what was going to be in the frame of the picture. As I practiced, the pictures got better and better.

Digital cameras are much easier because you don't have to worry so much about lighting and focus, and the results are instant However, no matter what you shoot with, the same principles apply. Composition Is King.

Composition Suggestions: The subject (what ever you want to take a picture of) should “EAT THE FRAME.” Fill the frame with what you are taking a picture of (the subject). If my tightly lined-up girls were framed head at the top, feet at the bottom: left arm of girl 1 to right arm of girl 4, there would be no room for covers and toilets. But whilst looking at your subject, look at the back­ ground too and remove item you don't want in the picture (if you can) OR move your subject to a different location.

Shoot what's important: Head to toe shots are great, but what may be important is their beautiful smile. In that case, framing the top' of the head and the left ear of girl number 1 to right ear of girl number 4 might yield better results also. Keep asking yourself, can I get closer? Can I get closer yet? You will be pleased with the results.

Add a little background: When vacationing, it's easy to get caught up in shooting pictures of where you are, like mountains, trees, and buildings. However, years later, those pics usually get passed over in favor of photos with friends and family. So when taking pictures of that magnificent tree, place your traveling companions in the shot, using the 75/25 rule. That is, make sure that people occupy at least 75 percent of the picture frame. That way when you view those' pictures of your vacation years from now, it will be like sharing the experience with those folks in the picture all over again.

Subject a little off center: Amazing results can be obtained by shooting your subject a little off-center of the frame. I like to mentally divide the frame vertically into three sections. Then I

place my subject in the center of the first two OR last two vertical sections, leaving the remainder of the frame for the background. Talk about making your pictures pop!

Orientation: Picture formats are usually rectangular. Therefore, some pictures, like one or two people, or trees, lend themselves to turning the camera into the portrait position, sideways, whilst a line of people, or a river, usually look better in the landscape position. If you experiment with orientation, you will soon see what works best for the type of pictures that you wish to take.

Shoot lots of pictures: While folks are lining up for that eventful portrait, take a few pictures before and after you say CHEEZE. You may find several winners or good pictures that way. Also, you can take a large picture, then crop specific parts of a picture to get smaller group shots and single portraits.

Picture taking is fun, and the memories they make are priceless. But paying attention to “composition” can easily turn your good pictures into WOW Pictures!