I have been studying Photography now for two years, and it has been a passion of mine for a while. Using these 3 steps will help you take the best shots you can, whether it's with your iPhone, or a professional camera.
STEP ONE : VISUAL ELEMENTS
Here are the main visual elements you need to focus on when taking photographs.
LINE
SHAPE
SYMMETRY
REFLECTION
COLOUR
PATTERN
TEXTURE
FORM
FRAMING
ANGLE OF VIEW
PERSPECTIVE
Always focus on trying to incorporate these elements into your photographs in order to make them more visually pleasing for the viewer.
In the picture below, you can see that this photo shows some of the visual elements such as form, pattern, line and angle of view.
There are many different ways to explain form, but they are not always very clear. I am currently studying form for my photography project and I am learning along the way what exactly form is. So here is my interpretation;
You can tell the structure, shape, and contours of a subject by what areas catch the light and which areas don't catch any light and therefore become shadows. For example, look at the area contained in the smallest circle. We can tell that this part of the stonework is curved, due to how the light hits the stone and then as it curves, forms a shadow. This shows us that this surface is rounded.
STEP TWO: RULE OF THIRDS
Instead of having your subject right in the center of the photograph, trying situating your subject on the vertical or horizontal lines of interest. This will make your photograph more visually pleasing.
STEP THREE: ZOOM IN AND FOCUS ON DETAILS!
Make sure to zoom in if you're focusing on details. a larger picture with more detail can be distracting and the viewer might not know where to look. So if you want to capture details, make sure you zoom in.
If you have any questions feel free to leave them down below! Let me know what your favourite tips are when taking pictures!
