I would like to quote Mr. Ansel Adams who says: “you don’t take a photograph, you make it.” Yes photography is definitely an art as one can create some beautiful and meaning thing when you take up this exotic hobby. It is both an art as well as science as it involves creation of durable images by recording light or electromagnetic radiations. Photography is a passion for many people. Its limits are boundless and this hobby can very much become your profession if you really put your heart and soul into it. There has always been contradiction regarding photography. For many artists it’s a mere technical and mechanical production of images which lacks meaning and thus is devoid of any art. But we all know that anything which has the capability to invoke our senses, involves some degree of artistry. Gone are the days when taking photos was more of snapping pictures through a big box covered under a black sheet of cloth. Technological advancements have made it more and complex and advanced. A person could become an expert in taking pictures if he is given proper training but this is not the case with some other art forms like classical dances, folk songs and classical songs. These older arts require many years of hard labor and dedication. This is not the case with photography. One can easily learn the basic techniques with the help of which you can easily take beautiful pictures. This will hold true only when one can master all the techniques involved in it. A good knowledge of such techniques will enable a person to become a pro in taking pictures and getting money for it too! I would suggest all readers to learn some of the below mentioned techniques:

1. You have to add feelings and emotions to your photographs:
The foremost thing to consider while taking pictures is the emotions these pictures are carrying. People do not merely look at photos without any meaning. The pictures have to convey some degree of feelings and convey the same to its viewers. Emotions like happy mood, sadness, crying face, eyes with tears of joy, screaming images all contribute immensely to the success of taking those photos. There are many emotions in this world and we all go through some emotion or the other in our lives. Images are not only technical productions but are emotive as well. People will appreciate only such pictures which relate to their lives in some or the other way.

2. Proper viewpoint and camera angle: Another important thing which contributes to a great picture is its proper composition which involves proper viewpoint and the angle from you take your pictures. Taking pictures from different viewpoints and angles convey different meaning to its viewer. Even the most mundane of things appear to be classy and exotic when taken from some particular angle. Here I would quote an example of the famous picture of an Afghan Girl taken by the team of National Geographic. One would not see the reason why that simple picture of a girl with half her face hidden behind a veil would shake humanity. But on a closer look we will find that it captures so many different emotions on the face that one cannot help but notice. There are a number of angles like high angel shots, low angle shots and the angle at your eye’s level. But the technique is to capture a perfect picture from a low angle. Low angle shots give lot of strength and character to an otherwise boring subject. Through these shots we can really see the world from a completely different perspective which has been forgotten by us in the daily routine of life. A low angle shot not only makes the picture more interesting but also adds more power to it.

3. The art of overlaying pictures
One technique which is sure to place you in the same pedestal as the hotshots of the photography world is the blending of two or more pictures into one so that one single picture conveys different sets of meanings. This is not an easy job to learn but one can definitely become an expert in it with lots of practice.

4. Creation of special effects in photography: Special effects like starburst can create wonderful picture which otherwise would seem to be dull and boring. When taking a picture of people singing Christmas Carols, you can always add a hint of sparkle in the Christmas trees and the eyes of the very lovable Santa. Such effects make the pictures magical and are used widely in making cards and fairytale books.

5. Lighting and texture: the use of proper lighting and texture help in adding depth to your picture. One must learn the correct usage of this technique as it will help one in focusing people’s attention to the main subject thus blocking the other mundane things in the same picture. By learning this technique you would learn how to shift your focus to a more important issue that needs to be conveyed. Another technique to clicking good pictures is the proper usage of textures. You will surely want people to actually visualize the snow capped Alps when you show them the photo of Switzerland.

6. Focus on one main interest: It is a very important factor in taking a good picture. When taking a picture, always have one subject of interest based on which the entire photography has to be done. A picture which carries too many ideas is bound to confuse our senses. Each picture must have a central idea on which the subordinate ideas must be based. Such subordinate ideas must focus on the principal feature .It is but natural for human eyes to look for one particular thing and therefore adding too many concepts in to one single image is going to puzzle its viewers.

7. Simplicity: One major rule of thumb while taking a picture is to keep it as simple as possible. A picture with too many emotions to convey falls flat when viewers actually view it. Simplicity always paves way for a good understanding of the concept being conveyed through the picture. While taking a picture one should move around the subject to be clicked. Keep shifting your angles and then select the one which compliments your idea. One should refrain from taking such pictures that would block the main idea and mislead the viewers.

8. Correct placement of the subject matter: Another factor which should be kept in mind is the exact geometrical placement of the subject matter. Many a time people make the mistake of placing the focal point of interest at the centre of the picture. This adds to the picture turning out to be boring and dull. Doing this will take away the very purpose of snapping that shot.

9. Balance: Every picture conveys a definite meaning or an idea. The mass, shape, tone, texture and shadow are all very important constituents of a picture and therefore a harmony has to be maintained. All these require equal treatment while taking a snapshot. You cannot ignore the texture while giving all your attention to the tone and lighting while photographing.

10. Using your camera: The proper usage of a camera is yet another technique which is very basic to learning photography. It includes the shutter speed of the camera, camera shake with hand held pictures and digital exposure techniques. The shutter speed of a camera helps in capturing emotions, isolating subjects and can also freeze motions or movements. Learners must practice the use of shutter speed located in their ordinary cameras while learning photography. Another technique which should be learnt is the art of taking shots without shaking the camera. This is a very common problem which has been faced by many of us. There are many pictures where one can see distorted faces or shaken and blurry images. Digital exposure techniques like whether one should over expose the subject matter or under expose are also important considerations while learning photography.