Light is your best friend!
Early morning or late-day sunshine is your ideal light for great snapshots.

Remember to pay attention to where the main source of light is coming from, and avoid "top" light, which creates deep shadows under the eyes. When photographing outdoors, use your camera's "fill flash" function to help reduce shadows and even out lighting across faces and surrounding details. When utilizing "backlight", which can be tricky, make sure your camera is registering its exposure from the subject and not from the light source.

 Don't underestimate the importance of framing.
Your subject is the focal point of the picture, but pay close attention to everything in the frame.

Check the background (especially near your subject's head) for distractions such as a pole, tree, trash or sign. Try Shutterfly's cropping tools on your pictures to help reframe your subject and to improve the shot.

 Look for interesting angles and viewpoints.
Try putting your subject off to one side of the picture to make the shot more appealing.

This also allows you to show off the surrounding environment or to feature other people and activities in the picture which can add interest.

 Keep your camera handy and shoot heaps of pictures.
Be sure you have plenty of batteries or film close by.

Sometimes it takes lots of shooting to end up with a few awesome pictures, but it's worth it. And remember with digital images, you only need to print your best shots.

 After the shoot create a professional look.
Turn your color digital pictures into black-and-white, sepia or color-enhanced masterpieces.

Have fun with your pictures on Shutterfly by cropping, enlarging or adding artistic borders and effects to your shots.

Read more about Bill Foley.

Get Bill Foley's tips for photographing kids and pets.

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