The number one thing you can do to improve your photography is good composition. Usually, the camera manuals will teach you to place your subject in the middle. This was because viewfinders showed more than would end up in your picture, but it usually looks boring.

Imagine three equally-spaced lines running across your image both horizontally and vertically. Where the lines meet is the strongest area to place your subject. To do this, practice putting your subject’s off-center. Try taking a few shots from different angles. After a while you’ll get the hang of it.

Also try to shoot slightly more than you want in the picture, because when you get prints, your images may end up getting cropped to fit the print sizes. Or you can crop it yourself when you have photo editing software. Don’t go over board with the extra space, though, because printing a small portion of a larger image will result in poor quality.