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"Find Natural Frames Memorable pictures are made using time-tested techniques, methods -- and, yes, even tricks. To help photographers of all stripes up their game, LIFE.com is launching a series of "lessons" on photography, focusing on elemental aspects of picture-taking. One of those aspects, for instance, is composition, or how a picture is framed, and how that frame is filled. LIFE.com asked professional photographer Tyler Stalman to offer insights on effective composition. "I love this photograph," Stalman says of Ralph Morse's shot taken on a naval ship in 1942 for LIFE. "Keep an eye out for natural frames for your subjects. Here, even if the doorway or hatch had not been there, it would have been a nice photo. But the framing adds an extra level of drama: You get a kind of voyeuristic look through the door, which is heightened because the guy is not looking at the camera, as if he's unaware of it.""

There are no fixed rules in photography, but there are guidelines which can often help you to enhance the impact of your photos.