Here are some great tips for improving your photo’s. I found these on
If there is just one piece of advice you can give me for photography,
what is it?
This is a great question. The number one thing I always tell people
is to use the Rule of Thirds to avoid placing your subject dead center.
The Rule of Thirds divides your camera’s view screen into 9 small
squares, like a tick-tack-toe board. The trick is to place your subject
anywhere except for the center square. This simple adjustment can
turn an ordinary photo into a work of art!
I love the effect of a splash of color in a black and
white photo. How do I do that?
This technique is done in post-production, after you have taken
the photo. Most photo editing tools have what’s called a “history
brush” or “history state” feature (the name may vary, depending
on what program you are using). First, open the photo in your
editing program, and convert the whole thing to black
and white. Then, use the history brush feature to paint the
part of the photo you want to show in color. The history brush
restores the selected area to its previous state (in this case,
restores the black and white area back to color). It really is a
great tool; in the old days, if we wanted color on a black and white
print, we had to paint it by hand!
How do you make the background blurry with the subject in the
foreground in focus?
This is done using depth of field. If you have a zoom feature on your
camera, stand far back from your subject, then zoom all the way in.
Set your camera to Manual mode and open your aperture to f4 or f5.6.
This flattens the depth of field to create the effect you are after.
Can you give me a few post-production tips for making
portraits look better?
On every portrait you take, you should always use your
post-production editing programs to whiten peoples’ eyes
and teeth. First, de-saturate those areas to take the color
out, and then whiten them. Some programs even have an
automated tool to do this. Another tip is to use a sharpening
tool around the eyes so they pop a little more (but not too
much). Small adjustments like these will significantly improve
your portraits; all the pros do it! 
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