Professional photography tips you should know

Photography is an art, so there are no absolute rules. But keeping certain principles in mind will help you to get the best possible shot out of any situation. Here are some professional photography tips you should know.

1. Be camera-ready: Carry your camera with you at all times — there's nothing more frustrating than seeing something that would make a great picture, but not being able to capture it.
2. Be aware of the light: If the light is behind your subjects, they will be underexposed or silhouetted; if the light is in front of your subjects, they may come out overexposed or washed out (and sunlight tends to make people squint). It's best to have your light source coming in from the side.
3. Keep off-centre: Good composition makes the difference between a dull photograph and a memorable one. The most basic principle is: don't put the subject in the dead centre of the frame. The girl on the beach, the church tower, the leaping goalscorer — they will all look more interesting in the left or right-hand third of the frame.
4. Look past the subject: The background is always important. Avoid a cluttered backdrop; be sure that no electricity pylons are sprouting from your subject's head; make use of attractive or dramatic cloud formations.

The curse of red-eye is easy to avoid and, nowadays, not difficult to put right.Red-eye in photographs occurs when you use a flash, so take your pictures in natural light if possible.

• A camera with internal flash is more likely to lead to red-eye, because the source of the light is close to the lens — which is where the subject tends to be looking.
• Have your subjects look away from the camera if that suits your shot; if you need them to be looking directly at the camera, use an external flash.
• Some cameras have a red-eye reduction setting, which produces a small blink of light before the main flash. This causes the subjects' pupils to contract, and so restricts the amount of light reflecting off the retina (which is the cause of red-eye).

Red-eye removal pens can touch out the telltale red stare on photo prints, but with digital photographs it's an easy thing to put right using your computer. Import your pictures onto your PC (or scan the prints if your camera isn't digital).

• Open the images in the image-editing software that came with your camera or your PC. Many have a built-in red-eye function: it's simply a matter of highlighting the eyes in your image, and clicking on the button.

Remember these tips and start taking professional photos today!