Photography is simple.  There, I've said it and I know the professionals will not thank me for it, but it really is true.  The basis of a good photograph is to get something interesting in the frame, not too much of it and not too little.  Everything else is unimportant compared to this.  The main reason why photos fail it that people forget this simple rule - or they can't apply it.  I am certain however that if you strive to apply this rule then your photos will work more often than not.

This seemingly simple rule is of course not quite so easy in reality.  It does require a fair amount of work.  The main thing is to look at a lot of photos critically.  It is important to look at other people's images and to think through why they are successful, or otherwise in terms of what is in the frame.  Then it is equally important to do the same with your own photographs, especially those images that nearly make it but don't quite hit the spot.  There is no doubt that you can learn far more from mistakes than from success.

Only once you are consistently putting interesting subjects in the frame do the other aspects such as exposure, choice of aperture, focal length, etc come into play.

So there you are.  Simples!

I spent a lovely few days in South Dorset earlier this month in during a few days of warm sunny weather.  When the weather is so good and the souroundings so welcoming there is no need to go far.  Both of the photos that I am showing have a link to water.  The photo above shows a tranquil mill strwam and the pic below is of the beach huts along the front at Swanage.