Today we feature a trio of somewhat related tutorials that are bound to ‘up’ any newbie’s photographic game.

A short and sweet how-to on DPSchool explains how you can nail sharp close-ups every time.  The first of three tips Steve Berardi provides has to do with contrast.  If your subject and background differ sharply in contrast, the subject will ‘pop’ and, as a result, the image will look sharp.

Next, every lens has an optimal aperture, shooting at which you can attain maximal sharpness for that lens.  Finally, Berardi advises that the camera’s sensor be kept parallel to the subject, i.e. the camera should not be tilted or be at an angle to the subject.

ePHOTOzine offers and equally to-the-point tutorial for dog-lovers.  Though it offers a couple of tips you can use to make cute portraits, such as lighting and exposure, the emphasis is on capturing action shots of dogs.

Besides providing predictable tips such as shutter-speed, this how-to instructs you to rope in some family members to call or play with the dog so you’re left free to concentrate on capturing the key moment.  Another technique is to predefine or anticipate a plane of focus a la athletic photography, and snap the shutter when the dog enters the plane.

Take an ultra-sharp photo of your romping pet by combining what you learnt in the above two tutorials – or perhaps we’ll let Paul Burwell furnish pinpoint advice in Making Sharper Wildlife Photographs.

Practice makes perfect is not an oft-heard tip but that’s precisely what Burwell prescribes in telling photographers to get acquainted with their tripod heads and mounting so that when a kingfisher swoops, you snap – or, rather, squeeze: eliminating the least jerk from your shutter-press so that your action is a swift yet gentle squeeze was one of the key tricks to being able to take handheld photos with low shutter-speeds in the old days when lenses had no stabilizers, and Burwell recommends it to this day.

A counter-intuitive tip to dampen camera vibrations with body weight is also on offer.  Now this is one you’ll probably have to practice.

Indeed, every newbie would be well advised to practice, and put into practice, all the diverse tips and tricks these three tutorials provide.