I’d like to share a tip that can help you take better pictures.  It’s called “the rule of thirds”.  Generally, following this rule gives your photos a more complete composition.   Often, amateur photographers will try to bulls-eye their subject into the very center of the frame.  This may be okay sometimes, but it is usually best to visualize three vertical and three horizontal segments.  Like this:

You should try to get your focal point to hit at least one of those lines.  Hitting an intersection (where the arrow is) is even better.

Here are some examples:

I was reminded of the awesome benefit of following this rule the other day when editing the last of Brittany and TJ’s pictures.  I had this picture to start with.  Nothing special about it really.  While I liked it okay, it was bulls-eyed and boring.

I almost closed this one up and moved on.  However, I decided to experiment with the cropping.  Knowing that I wanted the ring to be the focal point I just tried to blow up the picture until it hit an intersection.  What I got was a picture I am so in love with!

And all I had to do to make this picture go from meh to YEAH was crop!