Photographing Food:

• Choose a simple, plain background or tablecloth. You don't want to distract from your food.
• Use natural lighting, if possible, such as next to a sunlight window. If you can't use natural light, set up bright lights pointed towards your dish. The harsh lights of your flash makes unappealing shiny areas in your photo.
• If you can't use natural lighting, use the white balance setting on your camera, or adjust the color in a photo program later on.
• Use a tripod if you have one. If not, rest your elbows on something stable. It's very easy to get a blurry image in a low light situation.
• Take lots of pictures and use different angles such as from the top, level with the dish, or maybe even a dynamic angle shot. Use your zoom and see how it looks up close. You can even zoom really close with your macro setting. You may be surprised with the results!
• Work quickly so that whipped cream and fresh foods, such as lettuce, don't begin to wilt.
• To make a dish appear to be hot and steamy,  soak cotton balls in water and microwave them. You'll get about a minute of steam. Or you can blow cigarette smoke through a straw placed behind the food. Again you'll have to work quickly!
• Garnish your dish with colorful fruits and vegetables. Garnish plain brown gravies and white sauce dishes with a sprig of parsley or a slice of orange.
• Make sure all the spills and smudges are wiped clean.

Vacation Rental Owners

• Be sure to include a shot of the living room, kitchen, a bedroom, and an outdoor shot. Everyone is interested in these areas.
• When shooting outside, try changing your white balance setting from auto to cloudy. This adds a  mild warming filter on your camera. It increases the reds and yellows resulting in richer, warmer pictures.
• Use your flash. Even outdoors on a sunny day, some foreground areas are darkened by the bright sunlight. Your flash will lighten them up nicely.
• Remember to hold the camera level. Try lining up on something in the picture that is vertical. If taking a landscape picture, make the horison level.
• Watch your borders of what  you see through the camera's viewfinder. Do you see anything unattractive such as telephone wire, an old can, a distracting sign, your finger, or your camera strap - hanging into your picture?

Attractions

• If you have a business with high action activities take photos of customers in action. Get in close. Zoom in on their excited faces. Select the Sport setting on your camera to stop action blur.
• If your activities are indoors try  the different light settings on your camera (daylight, incandescent (tungsten) and fluorescent) to see which produce the best results.
• Timing is important, too. If you can't anticipate when to shoot, try your camera on the Series setting. This setting will take a series of shots until you release the button. This way you can't miss the moment.
• Watch your background. Try not to get distracting elements in your compostition.

Gift Shops, Museums, Galleries, etc.

• Make sure to include the outside of your business. Visitors will recognize it immediately when they see it in person.
• Take inside photos while there are a few customers in your shop.
• Include single item pictures of your trademark items.
• Although an empty store looks neat, it doesn't look popular. Display a single item with a neutral backdrop and light shadow. It  makes the items appear bigger than if the background was an outdoor shot.