Before we start....
Make landscape orientation your default for making pictures
Portrait vs landscape is used to refer to the page orientation of a photograph. For websites and most social media channels the landscape orientation is preferred.
For specific situations you may want to use portrait orientation, e.g. if you intend to post to Instagram Stories.
Composition
Rules of thirds
Use this grid to position your subject
Most cameras and phones let you show this grid on your screen to help you compose your picture; check out the settings.
An image should be imagined as divided into nine equal parts by two equally spaced horizontal lines and two equally spaced vertical lines, and that important compositional elements should be placed along these lines or on their intersections.
By doing so you will create a more pleasing composition.
Use 'leading lines'
Lines disappear, or seem to disappear in the corner of the photo. Next to the 'rule of thirds' you can use 'leading lines.' Lines of what you are photographing either really disappear in the corner of the photo, or just point to them.
Avoid distraction
The best is to avoid those distractions when making the photo. In this case the point and shoot was a matter of seconds, and the other photographer on the left can easily be cut off in the edit of the photo using the crop function of a photo editing program.
The big red car
Styling is an important part of your photography. Oftentimes you can do the styling (like in your rooms, making them neat and tidy), other times you may want to wait for the right moment and the red car to be gone.
Snapseed
A good way to start editing photos on your phone - for free. It is easy to use, will help to increase the quality of your photos using just some basic tools. And once you get the hang of it, your photos will look stunning!
Three simple actions to improve your photos
Show off your projects, features, or clients in this section.
Straighten and crop your picture
In (interior) photos you want the vertical lines in the middle of the photo to be really vertical. You can straighten your picture in the 'rotate' option of Snapseed. You can make a cut out if needed ('crop' option) to finalise the composition.
Use the auto-correct
This is the easiest way to make corrections. Just in one click. You find it in the 'tune image' option.' Highly recommended!
If you are still unhappy, play around with brightness, contrast, ambience etc. which is also under the 'tune image' option.
Apply HDR - High Dynamic Range
High Dynamic Range brightens the dark areas and darkens the light areas, and puts some more color and detail into your photos. In the example you see the shadows on the bed and couch have been reduced and the Zambezi river became more blue, more like you would see it with your own eyes.
As with all of the options, you can choose the level of HDR, however, when selecting too much, you will see a very 'unnatural' effect. But when used subtly, it can really help to put more 'spice' into your picture.
Desktop applications
On your Windows 10 and on Apple you will find pre-installed applications for photo editing, on both platforms the application is called Photos.
There's an application called PhotoScape X which allows basic photo editing and things like creating collages. Watching a couple YouTube how-to videos will get you on the way.
If you wish to get more sophisticated and are willing to go through a learning curve with your photo editing, there is a free application called GIMP which has similar features as Adobe Photoshop.
You will find loads of tutorials on YouTube to get you started and learn to master photo editing with GIMP.
