You know the drill. You’ve just returned from that big car show with a camera bag stuffed full of exposed film. On the film are several of your dream cars, providing fresh motivation to finish your current project. Before even seeing the prints, you’re telling all your buddies about the cool stuff you shot at the show. But your enthusiasm soon turns sour as you sit in the photo lab parking lot viewing your prints. While a few shots are decent, most are poorly exposed, cluttered or set in poor lighting conditions.

Even though this occasionally happens to everyone, it’s certainly avoidable. Armed with a little additional knowledge, practically anyone with very basic equipment can take excellent photographs.

Successful photographs that grace the pages of magazines and exhibits are the result of careful planning on the part of the photographer. All the elements of the scene are considered and thoughtfully placed within the frame. Anything distracting is removed. This is known as photo composition.

Although composition is a somewhat subjective concept, there are certain accepted guidelines that, when applied properly, will greatly enhance the look and feel of your photographs. The first and maybe the most important concept is to keep things simple. This will give your subject prominence and create strong interest without distraction. One common mistake is attempting to show too much in the photo. Simply zooming in on a car and filling the frame will emphasize your subject and eliminate many troubling elements.

Placement of the subject also affects the look of the final image. Take a minute to move around the subject while keeping your eye in the viewfinder. Try different angles, heights and lenses (more on this later). Zoom in and out if you have a zoom lens. Low angles combined with wide angle lenses give the impression of strength and power. You will probably notice that some views just look more pleasing to the eye than others. Try placing the subject slightly off-center to add interest.