Before taking the photo
Try to envision the final result before taking the photo.  This is typically more important than how fancy your equipment is.

1.      Get closer shots.  The closer you are, the less distractions you will notice.  You can step closer or zoom in on your subject to achieve this.  Zooming in is typically a better option.  If you zoom in to achieve the closeness effect, you will also eliminate any unflattering lens distortion a wide angle might create.  Vertical objects will remain vertical when zooming in vs leaning outward when zooming out.  Zooming in also helps to narrow the field of view, thus helping to remove unnecessary objects.  Your frame should be your subject matter and little else if it doesn’t enhance your composition.

2.      Work quickly.  Not all subjects will keep that perfect pose or remain in the perfect location your composition requires.  People have a hard time holding a “natural” expression very long.  You can always take multiple shots.  Memory is cheap and you can always delete to make more room on a memory card.

3.      Compose your image correctly.  Crop out unnecessary objects, keep the frame level, understand your lighting, and strive for the rule of 3rds.  The less work you have to do in a photo editing software later, the better.

4.      Focus.  Learn to use the focusing points to match the location in your frame you have positioned your subject.  Don’t get stuck always using the center point.  Your subject may be at an angle going away from you, and if you focus on their midsection, their face may be out of focus since it’s closer to you.

5.      Vary your shutter speed.  If you have a subject with a waterfall or river behind them, try using a fast shutter speed and also a slow shutter speed.  You may be able to add some more uniqueness to your photos.  Use a tripod for these experiments to keep the camera steady.  You only want the blurring to be from what’s actually moving in the scene, not everything because the camera moved. Time-lapse photography can be fun just as much fun as action photography.

6.      Work with light.  How is light affecting your subject?  What direction is it coming from in relation to your subject, as well as your camera?  Is the light causing unflattering shadows on your subject?  How large is your light source-not how bright?  Is your subject squinting?  Is the lighting affecting the colors?  Do you have the correct white balance set?  Do you need to add your own artificial light to create a better photo?  Controlling the light is an important part of photography.