Certain people think that photography is just grabbing a camera and firing away. In this blog post I'm going to give you 10 tips on taking a great photo. Let's start with equipment. If you aren't using a real camera and only an iPhone, that's okay. You'll need to get close to your subject if you only have a phone with a camera in it as they don't really have a zoom. If you are using the iPhone 7 plus and greater make sure you switch to portrait mode so you can add bokeh to your background. Bokeh is the blurryness that you find in the background of your images. 

1) iPhone, don't zoom. Put it into portrait mode if you have the iPhone 7 plus 8 plus or iPhone x. (This is only if you are taking a picture of a person or an animal.) 

2) Buy a Digital SLR camera. A Canon, Nikon or Sony are all great brands. You can purchase one for around $500 with a lens. 

3) Know what you want to take pictures of first. If you want to take pictures of landscapes, an iPhone is a wide angle lens and might work perfect for that. For anything else I would suggest buying a DSLR.

4) For portraits, turn your camera sideways or vertical. This is how most portraits are shot. Only keep your camera horizontal if there is more than one person in your image.

5) Purchase a telephoto lens if you are looking to take candid photos of people. Photos of people laughing or crying without knowing that you are taking a picture of them. I use my Canon 70-200 when taking photos of guests at weddings in conversation.

6) Practice, practice practice and take lots of photos of the things you want to take photos of. 

7) Get close to your subject and if you are wanting to get into small photography, invest in a macro lens to take pictures of water drops, flowers, bees or bugs. 

8) If you are taken photos outside and it's sunny out, find a shaded around and face your subject towards the incoming light. This is called open shade. Don't ever put your subject facing the sun. Always put the sun behind your subject and take photos in the early morning hours and when the sun is setting.

9) Shoot your portrait with a lens that allows you to get to f/2.8 or f/2.0 and focus on their eyes. This will blur your background tremendously and make for a beautiful portrait.

10) Have fun. Take lots of images and have fun. Share those images often on Instagram and Facebook.