As the human face is so interesting, so fascinating, it’s obvious then that close up portraits of faces make for some of the best photography. Taking a good quality close up portrait means to photograph your subject from their shoulders upwards, or closer. Therefore you are framing your subject around the face, so that the face takes up the majority of picture.

This is the best sort of framing to fully capture the range of expressions available on your subject. When photographing a close up portrait shot you need to ensure that your lighting is right for your subject. For example, you wish to accentuate the character in a face and highlight curves and wrinkles then you have your subject lit from the side or from above.

If however you want to take a more flattering photograph you would light your subject with diffused light and eliminate any shadows. For outdoor close up portraits a cloudy day would be best to avoid any harsh lighting.

Your photos will look better as well of your subject is lighter than your background so that they dominate the final image. It is best to use a wide aperture and make the subject in sharp focus while the background is slightly out of focus. Using a 90mm or higher telephoto lens will allow you to take the emphasis off your subjects nose by taking the picture from further away; therefore their nose will not appear to be closer to the camera.

The jeans market has always been one of the most competitive throughout the last few decades, with brands going in and out of fashion. Although they’re seen as being very stylish, and some of the commercials have been labelled iconic moments, you’d never really associate jeans with art.

That may be about to change however as the brand Pepe Jeans are just about to step into the art world.

Pepe Jeans have put in a request to use the works of Pop-Art icon Andy Warhol in a range of their jeans, purely in Europe.

Warhol himself was famous for wearing Levi jeans, but the Warhol foundation actually cancelled a contract they had with Levi to produce jeans branded with the Warhol name. They have now agreed for Pepe Jeans to use the artist’s work in a collection that is to be on sale in August. The collection is simply called ‘The Art’.

There will be two different London collections, one focusing on signed contracts of Warhol’s and the other using his portraits.

Night photos, when taken correctly, look absolutely stunning. The start contrast of the blacks against the lights, such as the moon, stars and city lights make for beautiful shots; certainly beautiful enough to print on canvas. There are a few things you need to consider though in order to take amazing night time photographs.

Firstly, you will need a tripod. You cannot take night time photos without one. In order to get a clear exposure that truly captures the scene you’ll need to mount your camera on a tripod and using a timer to avoid any camera shake from touching the tripod as you open the shutter.

Often when people when take photos of scenery such as night time locals or sunsets they’ll just centre the scene and shoot the picture. This isn’t the best way to do it at all!

When shooting a scene such as a night shot try to get some items in the foreground to add depth of field into the frame. Creating depth within your photo will greatly enrich your photograph.

You should also try to use the rule of thirds, which means to split your frame into a grid of thirds, both horizontally and vertically. For example, when taking a photo of a sunset over the sea, place the sun itself on one side of the frame, and have the vertical thirds separated so that they are two thirds horizon with one third sea, or vice versa.

Portraits make the best canvas prints as they’re more engaging for the viewer. A beautiful photo of your children, parents or family member, when taken right, would make an excellent print on canvas. But how do you take great portrait shots?

Great portraits photos are natural and don’t look forced. If you push the issue and insist that your subject remains still and smiles on cue you’ll get a poor, obviously fake outcome. You need to relax your subject and make them forget that the camera is there, snapping them when they’re not even looking at the camera for example.

Then you’ll get a photo that represents and embodies them and their essence, rather than a forced image.

One thing that many professional photographers do is to orchestrate a moment when the subject thinks you are going to take a photo, and catch them unawares just before or just after. So tell them to smile, do a countdown and take the photo before they are ready, or when they are relaxing thinking you’ve finished.

Another trick is to genuinely make your subject smile by telling a joke, or by waving a toy around if you are photographing small children or babies. Catching them off guard is always the best way.

As the summer approaches you might be thinking that it’s the perfect time to get outside and start taking some great photos that might look good printed on canvas. Well you’d actually be wrong. Strong summer sunlight isn’t the best light in which to take photos. Bright sun washes out your subject and can cause problems with your lens.

For better, richer photos that show off your subject’s skin tone and colourisation you’re better off taking your photographs in the shade, or even on an overcast day. This makes Britain a great country in which to practise your photography!

One thing some professional photographers do is to take their photos with a subtle flash, on a very low setting, and use it to slightly brighten the image. Using a low flash will create ‘catch lights’ in your subject’s eyes, adding to the life and dynamism of the photo.

You can also add a subtle yellow filter to your flash will compliment the natural light from the sun.

You should also avoid posing your subjects so that they are directly facing the sun. This will cause them to squint, creating wrinkles in their face. Don’t however do the opposite and have the sun directly behind your subject, as this will cause heavy backlight. Instead it is best to position the subject with the sun to the side of them.

The late afternoon is the best time of day to take your photos as the deep yellows created by the setting sun add a degree of warmth to your photos.

Do you consider whether to hold your camera horizontally or vertically before you take a photo? Some people always hold their camera the same way, never changing the angle of their composition. This leads to badly framed photos and ones that certainly wouldn’t look good framed, enlarged or as canvas prints.

When taking your photos, the way in which you hold your camera should be the most basic of composition choices, but it is one that is often over-looked.

Making this decision will also help you to move closer to your subject, which improves the quality of your image.

If you’re able to frame your subject vertically within the viewfinder (portrait format) then you should always take the photo that way. If you can’t, rather than move backwards, move the camera to take a horizontal (landscape) photograph.

As a rule of thumb, if you are photographing just one or two people you should use a portrait composition, but if there are more people in the picture you should take a landscape photo.

There obviously times when you may want to deviate from this rule, such as when you take a photo of a single subject with a spectacular landscape behind them. Then you may want to take a horizontal photo, but obviously it is the background that dominates this decision.

The important thing to remember when choosing your ration however is to move the camera before you move your subject or yourself. If you can frame the shot without moving further away you should do that because it means you’ll be closer to your subject, and that makes for better photographs.

Only the greatest icons of our time were immortalised by the Pop Art master Andy Warhol. Wayne Gretzky, Marilyn Monroe, a tin of soup… well, now one the most famous and influential men in the field of music and politics has been iconised on canvas. Bono, lead singer of Irish rock band U2 and one of the foremost speakers in the Make Poverty History campaign has been immortalised by Steve Kaufman, the US pop artist and prodigy of Andy Warhol.

Kaufman created a two panel work of U2’s Bono out of his studio in California, rather ingeniously titled ‘Bono 2 panel painting’. The work shows the Irish legend in portrait and profile, sporting his ever present trademark sunglasses.

Apparently Kaufman made the decision to paint Bono after a recent stay in Dublin where he participated in a pop art exhibition held by ‘Pop Art Ireland’. His work, which went on show in the Shelbourne Hotel, completely sold out.

The work is now on auction at the PopArtIreland.com website, which is expected to start at 7,000 Euros.

When taking your photographs it’s important to consider the composition of the frame. Taking great photos is an art form, but it’s one that everyone can enjoy and learn. Improving your photos is very simple if you follow some basic rules and read the correct advice.

Once you’ve taken the perfect photo, you can use your photos for perfect canvas prints. A canvas print of your best photograph is a great way to reward yourself for the hard work.

So, when composing your photos, be sure to avoid cluttered backgrounds. If you’re taking a photo of your subject and the background is very busy and cluttered, your subject will get lost within the frame. Give your subject the importance it deserves by ensuring that the background does not detract from the image.

Try to manoeuvre yourself so that you have a clear uncluttered background, either by changing the angle of your image by lying down or simply move your subject to be positioned in front of a better background.
When composing your frame ensure that your subject isn’t merged with something else behind. For example, taking a photograph of a family member and finding that they have a lamp post or tree sticking out of the back of their head is a common mistake. Remember that items behind your subject will appear to be coming out of them when the photo is printed.

Also be sure to watch for shadows and reflections that occur naturally. Catching shadows at the right time can add real depth to what would otherwise be a flat picture.

With the advent of modern technology on home computers and on digital cameras themselves, taking panorama photographs has become easier. A panoramic photo is a photo that shows a wide view of a landscape, one that cannot usually be taken with a single photo. Instead several photos are taken in sequence and then ‘stitched’ together by the software.

Panoramic photos can even be a complete 360 degrees, showing all the way round a landscape. Panoramic photos are perfect for canvas prints as they look so spectacular when displayed on your wall.

The software to stitch the photos together is very simple to use, and doesn’t require extensive image manipulation skills from the user. You don’t need to know how to use PhotoShop or other tools as the software finds the edges of the individual pictures and stitches them together itself. Software such as ‘ArcSoft Panorama Maker’ will do the job fine.

Some camera, and indeed mobile phones these days’ come with ‘stitch assist’ which displays part of the last photo in the viewfinder so that you can line up the next one yourself. Landscapes make the best panoramic views, but remember to ensure you have the same exposure settings for each of the photos or the joins will be visible when the photographs are stitched together.

You could even take a panoramic photo of inside your home if you have a particularly attractive property, or your local football team’s stadium.

We recently talked about how to eliminate red eye when taking your photographs, because there’s nothing worse than having the perfect picture ruined by the red stare of your own flash bounced back into the lens from your subject. It ruins your photos, and while it can be touched up later by computer manipulation or even by some high end digital cameras, it’s always best to avoid it altogether.

But what if you want to take photos of your pets? Asking your dog to look slightly off centre of the lens isn’t really practical as they won’t understand what you’re saying. Even if they do, chances are they won’t do it!

Instead, you could reduce the chance of red eye with your pets by photographing them in action shots rather than trying to get them to pose. After all, it’s more natural for your dog to be leaping around the garden than sitting there staring at a camera.

Alternatively, if you must have that posed shot, you can try moving the camera away from your pet’s eye level just before you take the picture. This should ensure that no light is bounced back, causing red eye. You will run the risk however of causing the image to be blurred if you move too quickly. You’ll need to trial this for the perfect image.

Then you’ll hopefully have a photo of your pet worthy of printing on canvas.