Start with the mission: a photograph is a story told with light. Before you touch any dial, ask what mood you want—calm, energetic, intimate—and let that guide your choices. In travel, wide scenes invite big, stable shapes; for makeup and portrait work, small shifts in light direction transform skin texture and color harmony.
Know the building blocks: exposure (aperture, shutter, ISO), focus, and white balance. A wider aperture (e.g., f/2.8) blurs backgrounds for creamy makeup portraits; a narrower one (e.g., f/8–f/11) keeps landscapes sharp edge-to-edge. Shutter speed freezes or exaggerates motion—think water flow on hikes versus crisp eyes in portraits—while ISO trades brightness for noise.
Compose simply: remove distractions, place your subject on strong lines, and mind the edges. Try foreground layers for depth in travel shots, and use negative space to spotlight makeup details. If you’re unsure, shoot a clean version first, then iterate with leading lines, frames, or reflections.