Today we're going to talk about a few simple, non technical ways to make a huge improvement in your photos. The famous photojournalist and war photographer, Robert Capa, once said "if your pictures aren't good enough, you're not close enough". So,with that as your new mantra, one of the easiest ways that you can improve your photographs is to just get closer to your subject. I want you to fill your frame with your subject. This does a couple of things that will improve your images. First, it gives the viewer a simple, easy to define subject that has big impact. Secondly, it helps remove distracting elements from the background and foreground that take away from your subject.

The other nice thing that happens when you get closer is that your background walls more out of focus, which helps add further emphasis. If you really want to create an out of focus background you need to study up controlling depth-of-field. If you don't feel ready to bite off the technical lesson on depth-of-field, just get closer and you'll see that your backgrounds get softer.

This amazing and simple image is by Julie Lackey. I found Julie's work when she contributed an image for the Favorite Shot Friday flickr pool. Isn't she amazing? I love the simplicity of the first image. If you have a small child, I imagine that you have marveled at their little hands and feet. This is the shot that would remind you, 20 years later, exactly how small they really were.

and I just love this simple composition...

Here are a few of mine from our trip to Carmel last summer.

The image of my feet in the sand brings me to our next tip. I want you to start playing with different angles and more creative cropping. I always like to say that your image is telling a story. Often times when snap a photo, we include more information than we need to really tell the story. This next image is by a friend of mine, Brene Brown. I think it tells the "soccer girl" story perfectly without a single face being shown. So you guys know, Brene was one of my main inspirations for doing these Monday Lessons in the first place. I helped her out with a few tips and tricks and she suggested I do the same for others on my blog. So, here we are! Thanks Brene!

The next time you go to take the picture, look up, down, sideways and tilt your camera in a new way. You may be surprised to find the shot looks even better from a whole new angle. Here's a shot of mine from Cabo San Lucas. It's on a fishing boat looking up a fishing rod towards the sky.

My friend, Danny Clark, sent me this one to show how looking up can be great too. Danny has this signature way of shooting some of his images that's kind of tilted and crooked and looks great!

Here's a couple more by Julie Lackey that show how getting low and close up can lend so much impact to an image. Maybe it's because I have 2 little boys but this image just reminds me how little boys play with their cars - lining them up and creating elaborate scenarios with them.

And who hasn't found their child looking up at them with a proud smile and saying, "Look Mom, I put on my own shoes!".

And I personally just think little baby feet are one of the best things in the world! How they turn into regular, not so cute, grown up feet I'll just never know. This next shot is mine ut in the same spirit as Julie's image. One of Finnian's favorite things to do is play in the yard with a hose and a watering can. I just love how his little toes look and how the water droplets are partially frozen in their fall.

and one more image from Julie that will hopefully inspire you to not worry about cutting off parts or pieces of your image. Getting creative with your cropping might just lead to some of your most interesting pictures. I like to think about it this way, sometimes the heart of the story lies within the things that you choose to leave out. When you do this, you also allow the viewer to fill in the blanks with some of their own personal imagination, which allows them a place of their own inside the story.

OK, now it's your turn, go get close! I'd love to see what you come up with. Post links to your images in the comments section below or post them to our Monday Lesson Flickr Pool.