Whether or not you are a professional photographer, you can get professional results from your camera. With planning, you can make your snapshots look more like portraits. The main differences between portraits and snapshots have to do with background, posing and lighting.

Backgrounds in snapshots have distracting elements, don't complement the subject and generally appear unplanned. When composing your shot, watch for bright spots of light behind your subject and anything that will draw your eye away from the main focus. Take a step to one side, zoom in or get closer or even move your subject before taking the picture. A good general rule is that the background should have the same lighting or be slightly darker than the person you are shooting. Busy patterned backgrounds and colors that don't compliment their clothing will also take away from the overall image. If you shoot with an SLR camera step back as far as you can and zoom in on your subject or use a large aperture opening to blur the background. This will make the person in the image pop and will yield very professional results. If color is a problem after the image is taken try turning it into a black and white image. You may end up with some great results.

Posing is not complex. It just requires being mindful of how your subject will appear on a flat photograph. Picking up a basic book on posing isn't a bad idea. Although studio posing and...

Shokudo- type restaurant in Tawarayama Onsen. One of these, often family run, restaurants in the countryside that also do home delivery. If you have watched the Maison Ikkoku anime, it is the type of place operated by Godai's parents.

Camera: Pentax *ist DS, lens: Sigma 18-50mm - 1:3.5-5.6 DC