I find there is a correlation between the percentage of space in the photo taken up by legs and the lack of success of a picture; imagine ten women at your 25th high school reunion sitting in a row of folding chairs in front of their standing significant others. There’s no way that’s not a bad group shot.

The human face will always be photography’s most compelling subject. No amount of antisocial-behavior-inducing electronic media will ever erase our need to look into someone else’s eyes. And so the human face is the logical place for any aspiring amateur photographer to begin. A simple, close-up photograph of someone you love bathed in beautiful natural light is your quickest route to photographic satisfaction.