Just thought i would take a moment & explain some of the slight do’s & don’ts of the basic’s for people who enjoy the art of photography or just want to post better looking shot’s in a slightly different direction than what Kaizu’s thread pointed too & what has worked for me. I have received quiet a few pm’s in the past with basic questions & have pm’d others that i know would take the advise the right way instead of thinking i was some “know it all”.
I was hesitant in writing this thread for the same reason. I know that’s not the case thus this being posted as there are a few people here that can tell you much more than what i know.
Some of what makes for a good photograph (be it Myers photo’s or everyday life type photo’s) is to make sure that your main subject is clear & unambiguous, meaning that whoever look’s at your photo, knows exactly what your target is. In other words the viewer’s eye is drawn to that one thing your trying to show. Some photo’s can tell a story or a theme depending on what your trying to show.
A good photograph simplifies & includes only the things/elements that draw’s the eye to the target. Having a cluttered background will draw the eye & attention away from what you really want people to see & a messy photo is never a good photo.
Try to have limited naked space in your photo, meaning if you are taking a photo of a complete Myers mask dead on, try to capture the mask in the middle of the frame as opposed to having 2 inches of blank wall above the head while almost cutting off the bottom of the neck. I most always try to do this as i take the photo to save me from having to crop the photo once uploaded…Nothing at all wrong with cropping but just to save me that little time.
To me, lighting is probably the most important area of taking photographs as it makes the camera’s ability’s work better by not having to strain itself due to lack of light. The better & appropriate the light, the better your camera will work for you producing a clearer photo as your end result. Besides that, you can take the same shot with 4-5 different are’s of light & create 4-5 different looks once your lighting ability improves. I never light my mask anywhere lower than the mouth as the lower the light the less the features will show…
The higher you have the light the deeper/darker the features will become, creating/casting darker shadows. Higher light gives off a slightly more dramatic look & i have seen some people accuse the lighting as being the reason any one mask looks so good, but the mask contains all those features/marks but it’s just the light that brings them out, just in a different way.
To me anyway this whole place is 99% visual & we all of eat with our eye’s first (if something looks yummy, we want to have at it a bit more) so taking the little extra time to practice or just to re-take the same shot 10 times will only help you down the road as the next time you take a shot from that same angle, you will pretty much have that down pat. I never zoom all the way out & get really close to the subject as it tends to give a slightly rounded type appearance & just doesn’t look right.
Instead i might zoom most of the way in & step back a few feet & it gives off a more realistic look of what your shooting. At the end of the day it’s about enjoying taking pics & we all want our pics to look nice on a site where pics tell the whole story, but the above is pretty much the absolute basics & will hopefully help those who are just starting out & wish to improve. There is a heck of a lot more but i just thought i would keep this first one as simple as can be & what has worked for me in the past. Again, it’s not meant to be anything near stressful but to me, having a good looking picture and purely creating something from nothing to 100% finished gives me a pretty good feeling. Again, this might not help all or even a lot, but for the few that get something from this makes for a successful thread for me as they are just the very basic’s of what makes for a nice photo & things that have worked for me when i was first starting out.
Thanks for taking the time to read this & i hope any of the above works for you too!
I have a couple that helps me… one is about 3’ tall and red headed! 
He LOVES the camera!!!