Observe the rule of thirds

The most aesthetically pleasing images are those in which the subjects are aligned with the one third power points in every frame. Position horizons one third up or down the height of the image, and people one third in from the left or right. Likewise, if you re snapping a frame filling head shot, position the eyes so they re one third down from the top of the frame.

Some cameras give you the option of displaying an overlaid grid on the rear LCD to help you line up your subjects along these lines. If yours does, go one step further and put key elements on the points where the horizontal and vertical lines intersect.Here we ve added short red ticks to the top and the bottom of this frame to show how the man warming his drum is positioned one third of the way in from the right of the frame, and the flames of the fire are one third of the way in from the left.