While you can’t obviously learn everything in one photo article, this article gives you five basic tips to start using right away. Whether you have a point-and-shoot camera and rely on preset modes or you are now the proud, albeit confused, owner of a professional SLR camera, there are certain basics that once understood will send you on your way towards taking extraordinary pictures. Here are five important and easy to use tips that you can put to use right away.

1) Resolve to Have Enough Resolution

Although a low resolution setting saves space on your memory card, it doesn’t make suitable prints. You can easily resize and make a picture smaller in free programs like Picasa (”resize” is hidden under “export”) but making an image larger rarely looks good. When you enlarge the photo, the pixels that make up the picture are spread thinner.

If you plan to print your pictures, choose medium or high resolution. Depending upon your camera, 3 megapixels should give you a high quality 4×6 image and possibly even a nice 8×10 image. For excellent quality 11×14’s go for 6 megapixels.

2) Let There be Light (but Make it the Right Kind)

Natural lighting is usually best, so don’t worry if you don’t have a fancy flash and reflectors. If your only flash is the built-in one, that’s all the more reason to opt for natural light. Built-in flashes can make subjects look flat. That’s why the pros use an external flash and bounce light off the umbrellas. There are tricks you can use like wearing a white shirt or taping foil to the camera to bounce the light off the ceiling, but if you want an easy way to get professional quality photos without the equipment, go outdoors.

When shooting outdoors, consider the position of the sun. With the exception of sunrise and dawn, the lower the sun is in the sky the better. Noon brings the harshest shadows. Unless the sky is part of your photograph, bright overcast days produce the best light.

3) Compose a Perfect Picture

Getting a fast snapshot of something without any thought mostly depends upon luck. But by learning how to compose a picture first, you have more creative control and you will end up with more photographs suitable for framing. The photos you take will look more like what you pictured when you clicked the shutter release.

There’s enough to the Photography 101 subject of composition to fill several articles, but for starters, here’s the number one rule. Fill the frame of the viewfinder. First, decide on what is the most important subject in your photo and then move close enough (or zoom-optical zoom is best) to fill the viewfinder with the subject. For example, if the subject is your grandmother watering her petunias then that’s the subject not her entire yard. Many make the mistake of losing their subjects in the landscape.

4) Steady Now

It doesn’t take much camera shake to create blur, in fact it takes so little that you will likely not even notice the movement. For sharp photographs, keep your elbows down, feet apart and hold the camera steady while pressing (not punching) the shutter release. Continue holding still until the light indicates the camera has finished taking the picture. When you are taking a picture that requires a slower than usual shutter speed – fireworks for example – support the camera with a tripod. You can even use a bunched up coat on a wall with a remote shutter release. A good rule of thumb: use a camera support for shutter speeds slower than 1/60.

5) Share Your Creations

If your photos are digital, use a photo editor to bring copies (save originals) of your photos down to the appropriate size for your website, email, photo album or picture frame. Use photo-printing paper that is compatible with your printer model. If you’re using a film camera but want photos for email or a website, use a quality scanner or when dropping off film to be developed, request a CD.

Save your best photos for hanging on your wall or displaying on a table. A framed photograph also makes a very welcome gift, especially when the subject is a portrait. Remember a portrait can be of a single person, family, multiple friends or a beloved pet…the list is endless, and again, these make lovely gifts, especially when framed nicely.

By using these 5 tips you’ll help to expand your photography knowledge so you can continue to take even better looking photographs.