Photography tips

"A truly successful photograph can be broken down into two simple components: what is in the frame and when do you press the button? Everything else you control will help shape the success or otherwise of the photograph: the light, the composition, movement, stillness, empty space, colour, focus and depth of field" -  Documentary photographer Marc Wilson.

Commercial photographer Maria Falconer says: "Don’t look too hard. Relax and let the photographs come to you."

Make sure that you use One Shot/Single Servo for stationary subjects and AI Servo/Continuous Servo to keep track of moving ones.

For sharp shots, you need a fast shutter speed. To guarantee this, use Shutter Priority, dialling in your preferred shutter speed, and switch to Auto ISO; the camera will adjust the aperture and sensitivity according to the light

Getting the most out of sunsets needs patience and timing. The best pictures are usually when the sun is close to the horizon and clouds are lit from below. And a telephoto lens can often give more impact than a wide-angle.

You can maximise depth of field in landscapes by focusing at the 'hyperfocal' distance. This is where the far distance is at the far limit of your lens's depth of field, and this also gives you the best depth of field nearer the camera.

Wide-angle lenses are great for capturing wide, sweeping landscapes, but they can also capture lots of empty foreground, so look out for rocks, trees, gates or other objects you can include to add foreground interest.

You can capture silky smooth water or softly blurred moving clouds by putting your camera on a tripod and using a long exposure. And if the light is too bright for a long exposure, you can either use an ND filter or wait until dusk!

Use 'leading lines' in your landscape photos to draw your viewers' eyes into the picture. A leading line could be a jetty on a lake, a line of rocks or a footpath winding its way into the distance.

It's tempting to use a wide-angle lens to capture a great swathe of floral color, but this can lead to individual blooms being lost. Instead, use a telephoto lens to pick out single flowers or clumps – this will also add artistic blur to the background.