Magazine Cover photo tips

For Tuesday 2-22: Bring a photo you've taken for the magazine cover.

Tips:
• Don't use your flash indoors -- it creates flat, unflattering lighting. If it's daytime, go outside or find a window with sunlight coming in.
• If you are outside (daytime), force your flash to fire. It will fill in unflattering shadows, but light from the sun will prevent the overall lighting from being too flat
• Shoot in "portrait" mode, holding the camera vertically. Also, your camera might literally have a portrait mode on the dial (it looks like a person). Use this setting.
• Leave enough room at the top of the composition for your magazine name. Shoot several different shots and choose the best one later. Professionals will easily take hundreds of photos with different framing, etc.
• If shooting a person, have them move away from any background wall. It will make the background out of focus and make your person more prominent.
• Within your composition, try not to have too many colors or distracting designs.