A few tips for better snapshots

I was going to talk about how to hang your photo but changed my mind..I'll do that later.. instead I started thinking, after seeing hundreds or maybe thousands( or did it just seem like that many) of photos with the same problems, I'd give a couple hints for better snapshots..You may not care about taking the artsy fartsy stuff but most everyone wants to take a better shot of little Hershel with great-grandma Bertha..So even if you don't know an f stop from a short stop, read on...

Tip 1...READ YOUR MANUAL...today's cameras are marvels of simplicity, turn a dial, push a button and instant gratification, you can see the moment you wanted to capture. Another touch of a button makes it a print for all to share. So then why are so many snapshots, well, not particularly anything you want to put in a time capsule for future generations? Could it be the camera's operator never read his manual? For shame! For instance, did he even know he had a place on his camera for "night mode" that set the right aperture, exposure and flash for a night shot that would let him make out not only the family he posed but the background as well? Instead he got either a totally black photo( just what was that supposed to be a shot of ?????) , a photo with a weirdly shiny, oddly complected family standing in front of a black hole or photo with a weirdly lit background with some dark humps in front. Too bad, had he read his manual he would have had a keeper.
So sit down with camera in hand( put a battery and memory card in it as well) pull out your manual ( hoping you did not throw it away) and just see what great photos your camera can practically take for you. You'll be glad you did.

Tip 2: Hooray, now you and your camera are on a first name basis! So you can now start thinking about things like composition before you take that shot. Take your time, think which setting will work best for you and then look around you, how should you compose your shot? Well you have 3 kids you want in the picture so plant them flush up against the nearest wall and fire away? NO! How bout moving them out a little bit from that wall, (maybe 10 ft or so, you might need to experiment a little here) so the background in the photo is a nice blurry background...you aren't really hoping to get a nice sharp photo of a brick wall, you are hoping for a nice sharp photos of the kids...the slightly blurry background will make the subjects stand out much better. And while you are at it, scout around for a fairly plain background, not tons of color that will drag your eye away from your subject, unless you want a photo of that stop sign for your stop sign photo collection as well, then whatever, go right ahead. If you have a nice pretty background that won't detract, place your subject in the middle and the tree, bush , whatever slightly to the side of them and behind them, ie not a bush snapdab in the center with a person snapdab in it's center...try to make it interesting. Try to teach your eye to really look, if it looks good before you take it, it will look good afterwards to. And line them up in an interesting fashion if more than one subject is involved...a natural looking pose, slightly different for each one, making sure all their faces are visible, not in shadow, or hidden behind someone else. And while you are looking, make sure you are not going to inadvertantly take a self portrait...that glass, mirror, highly polished building, water is going to reflect you when you least expect it to!

Lots more tips but I'm tired of typing and you are tired of reading!