Howard Moo Young, Contributor

CHOOSING THE viewpoint is a photographer's most important means of controlling the way the picture will look. A slight movement of the camera can transform the whole composition.

Whenever you find a subject, and you certainly don't have to look far to find a good one, learn to become aware of shape, form, colour, and light. Combine all of these to create the best composition, and try to make the best use of the lighting. If you're not satisfied with the lighting conditions and can return, please do, if you can't, try to be creative.

Why not vertical? A common mistake made by most beginners is to hold thecamera in a horizontal position continually, because it feels so comfortable that way.

Don't forget that you can use a vertical format if the subject calls for that composition.

Get Low - Most photographers stand up and shoot at eye level, and never consider changing the camera position to ground level. It's a matter of stooping down to try a low viewpoint, which can add dynamism to your composition. Once, I remember getting flat on my stomach between several go-carts (with permission) as they prepared to get into position for the start of the race. I rested my 35mm camera equipped with a 24mm wide-angle lens, using the tarmac as a tripod, the resulting image made those mini-machines look like Formula 1 racecars.

Get High - You can also use a higher viewpoint to give a totally different perspective, excluding the sky and giving the main emphasis tothe foreground detail. Try climbing up to the lifeguard's position at the beach and take a different viewpoint as you look down on bodies sunning on brightly coloured beach towels, and legs sticking out from under striped umbrellas.

Full Frame - Why not fill the frame to improve the impact of an image, all you have to do is to get closer to your subject or use a telephoto lens to accomplish this. If you have a macro lens, you can get really close to capture details that you would not normally be able to do with other lenses. Being really close completely changes the picture to a different dimension.

The placement of your subject is important to the composition. Often times, most beginning photographers tend to put them in the dead centre of the picture. This might be great for auto-focus cameras, but can also be rather dull. Composition can be improved by placing the main subject off-centre.

Follow the rules of the Thirds - Imagine that your picture area is divided horizontally and vertically into thirds by two equidistant lines. Any of the points where two of the lines intersect (four positions in all) would be a suitable position for your picture's main centre of interest.

Use of Foreground - Good use of foreground can give your image a sense of depth and distance. You can use complimentary foreground details to fill the frame if your main subject is small. You can also use frames within frames. Using the confines of an architectural detail such as a window, you can create well-balanced and striking compositions. Trees and other forms of vegetation can often serve as highly effective and colourful frames for your subject. Frames don't have to be hard-edged structures in the foreground, while subtle background framing may be more appropriate for some subjects.

Depth and Perspective - Use linear perspective to give your images a strong sense of depth. Similarly, repeating objects placed behind each other will appear to become smaller, creating the illusion of depth. A row of fenceposts will lead the eye into the horizon. Pathways, rivers, roads, and rows of trees, flowers, or vegetables are good subjects with the use of the wide-angle lens.

What makes a great photograph? - Responding to photographs is largely a matter of personal taste. The elements of a picture can combine and strike a chord for one person, while for another the image may mean little. Yet some pictures have a quality that everyone can recognise and appreciate. You can produce effective images by applying the principles of composition through close observation of the subject in the viewfinder. Before you take a photograph, look long and hard at the subject until you are aware of every single aspect and detail, analyse what you see, then decide before you press the shutter. These principles relate more to still subjects than to action pictures.

Practice Practice! Practice! - until you see the improvements.

Howard Moo Young is an advertising/graphic design/photography consultant with over 40 years of experience. Email: howardmooyoung@getcaughtmedia.com