Subject Placement

There are a few good places to put the subject in a picture.  One is in the center, and the others use the rule of thirds.  The rule of thirds is that if you divided the picture into a grid of nine spaces with four lines, the subject would be on one of the corners of the line.
Photo ©Kalyana Duggal 2013

Background (San Jose, Costa Rica)

Sometimes in a picture, the background can stand on its own.  There is no clear subject in this picture, but it is still interesting to look at.
Photo ©Kalyana Duggal 2013

Perspective

This bridge looked boring from other angles, but when I went under it, I got a better picture.  If you can't get a good picture of a subject, try a different angle.

Photo ©Kalyana Duggal 2013

Sunlight

The amount of sunlight can completely change a scene.  For example, I took a picture exactly like this when it was cloudy, and it was boring.  I came back later and took this, and the amount of sunlight changed the color of the water so that it is a better picture.
Photo ©Kalyana Duggal 2013

Color Contrast

In a photograph, it is usually good to have color contrast.  For example, in this picture, the bird's legs, eyes, and beak stand out from the rest of the photo.
Photo ©Kalyana Duggal 2013

Time of the Day (Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica)

If you find a good subject, but can't get an interesting picture of it, try coming back at a different time of the day.  For example, I couldn't get an interesting picture of this volcano, but I came back when there were fewer clouds around it, so now it looks better.
Photo ©Kalyana Duggal 2013

Wildlife

When taking pictures of wildlife that moves around a lot, such as this monkey, set your camera to a fast shutter speed, then set your camera to drive mode (which takes many pictures quickly).  Look through the pictures later, and at least a few will be good.
Photo ©Kalyana Duggal 2013

Subjects

To get a good picture, you need something for the eye to focus on.  For example, this picture would be boring without the two people walking in the distance.
Photo ©Kalyana Duggal 2013

Apertures

If you want to focus the camera on one thing, and blur out everything else around it, you should use a larger aperture so that the camera only focuses on what you want.  For example, if your camera has a range of apertures from F3 to F9, using F9 will get the picture focused on something smaller.
Photo ©Kalyana Duggal 2013