22. Silhouette.

22. Silhouette. Sometimes less information is better. this is where you can tell a story with silhouettes. It lets the viewer guess what's happening and allows them to fill in the parts they cannot see. This can be a very powerful form of story telling, give it a try!

21. Negative space.

21. Negative space. Sometimes it's effective to leave some negative space, an area of your image left alone. It leads the eye back to the main subject. Try moving your subject off center and putting some negative space in your images. If you try this vertically, you may end up on the cover of a magazine!

20. Image surprises.

20. Image surprises. Keep shooting. Shoot lots. We are not restricted by 36 exposures anymore! In this image by Elsa Blake, a gull flies into her camera's viewfinder, as she presses the shutter release. It couldn't have been more well placed! It's hard to plan these types of images, but if you can anticipate the possible, keep shooting in case it does!

19. The Eyes have it.

19. The eyes have it. Always focus on your subjects eyes, their window to their souls! Even if the rest of the image is out of focus, keep the eyes sharp. It will grab the viewers attention and make them want to look at your image.

18. Soft Light.

18. Keep the light soft when shooting soft things. A soft light on the subject and the background helps the overall mood of the image. Hard light has it's place, but not when shooting your favorite soft objects.

17. Odd numbers.

17. Odd numbers. Generally speaking, when photographing several similar objects, odd numbers work better. Weather they are lined up or scattered, an odd number of people, flowers, babies or marshmallows works best. Don't know why . . . . it just does!

16. Reflections are our friends!

16. Reflections are your friends. Use reflections to help tell your story. Whether it's a canoe just out of the water with trees and your friend's reflection or a sunset mirrored in the lake, maybe a passer by looking at someone in a cafe's window. Reflections are often there for us to use, not to fear.