When you look into a picture that pleases the eye, can you detect the subtlety that makes it appealing? We all know a well taken photo when we see one. Here are some tips that you can use. These tips apply to both digital and traditional cameras.

Here are four tips for a better picture.

1. Get a little closer, do not be shy. One of the biggest mistakes most beginning photographers make is shooting from so far away. They leave too much distance between themselves and their subjects. Instead, get up close and personal. Fill up as much of the camera frame, with your subject, as you can. You can always reshape, trim, and resize a good quality shot. But you cannot continue to blow up a distant subject and hope that it will come into focus. It just won't happen.

2. Focus your shot on only one subject. Determine what the main subject of the photo will be, and catch that image. Try and find the one key subject, person, or event that accurately portrays the feeling you are trying to capture.

3. In addition to getting one subject, in your photos, you will want to make the background of the photo as simple as possible. Busy, distracting backgrounds pull the attention away from the central theme of your photo. The subject of your photo is absolutely the most important element, and anything that detracts from the subject can ruin your shot.

4. Subject placement. Most people place the subject at the exact center of the frame. There is nothing wrong with this. However this often leads to a bland and uninteresting picture. You may use a method called the rule of thirds. Imagine having a camera lens split into 9 equal sized boxes, 3 across and 3 down (like having a tic tac toe game printed right on your camera lens). Where those "tic tac toe" lines cross, should become the focusing point of your subject, when you are arranging to take your photo.

Based on this tip, every time you compose a shot, the main subject of your photo should be located primarily on one of these "third" lines.

These are just four very fundamental tips and strategies to help improve your photos. Photography skills can always be improved and is never ending. You have to keep on practicing and shooting in order to improve your photography skills. Get a critic and show them your pictures. Then you will able to improve your skills. You can even post your photos to online forums for them to rate your pictures. Take advantage of these and hopefully you will become the next award winning photographer.