One of the easiest ways to recognize beginner photography is whenever there’s a great distance between the camera and primary subject. The person or object is so far that you can’t see any surface details, fine lines and subtle shadows. All of these elements will give your beginner pictures more power and interest, and they’ll tell a different kind of story. You may certainly want the typical vacation pictures of the family standing in front of the beach and ocean, a mountain or monument, or an amusement park sign or attraction. Those pictures tell the story of where you were. The story changes, however, when you learn the tips in this article.

The quality of your photos will quickly move beyond the beginner photography stage when you start to fill your viewfinder with your primary subject and other objects.

•    This is a technique that all beginner photographers must keep in mind when they photograph people. Once you’re standing more than a few feet from your family members on the beach, for example, they become less recognizable. A few more feet and facial features and expressions disappear, especially if it’s a sunny day on the beach with deep shadows. Fill the frame with their images, however, and your pictures suddenly reveal more details, such as the clothes their wearing, the white sunblock on someone’s nose, the breeze moving their clothes and hair, a child carrying a shell or coconut, etc. You no longer have to show the beach and ocean to take a beach-and-ocean picture because these clues can now be seen. Shooting closer to your subjects also reveals their personalities and relationships, giving your beginner photography more emotional impact.

•    You also want to fill your viewfinder with objects you photograph for much the same reason. Full-view pictures of old buildings, barns or other interesting structures are certainly worth taking. Then, move closer, however, to take photos of the features: doors, windows, lights, weathered stone or wood, rusted nails, surface textures, faded paint, etc. You may capture abstract, even artistic, images that will propel your pictures beyond beginner photography.

Practice these three methods to fill your viewfinder with your subject or object.

1.    Zoom in Closer.
With the zoom feature on most point-and-shoot digital cameras and zoom lenses for DSLRs, you can shoot tighter images of subjects and objects and still be some distance from them.

2.    You’re Not Glued to the Ground.
Beginner photographers learn that one of their most important tools is that they are mobile. Go ahead, photograph the family on the beach from 20 feet, but then shoot them from 10 feet and move closer again to five feet. You could create an interesting display of photos at each distance, with the last being individual portraits of each family member completely filling your viewfinder.

3.    Crop It in the Lab.
You can use photo-editing software to crop, or reframe, your image, filling more of the picture with the object or subject. This digital zoom effect must be used sparingly because the more you zoom or fill the frame, the more photographic quality you lose.

You can also use the digital zoom feature on your camera, but it negatively affects the quality of your picture much the same as the digital zoom effect in photo-editing software. Your best options are to zoom with your camera lens or simply move closer. You’re sure to see an improvement in your beginner photography.