There are three major pieces that I think really make a difference when it comes to taking good photographs. The first is the subject matter. This is honestly an easy one that doesn’t require “artistic skill” and anyone can really start to get it. Can you make an emotional connection with the subject? This is not necessarily about design, or color, or photo composition. But try to make that connection especially when you are just out there taking quick point and shoot pictures – what is the subject thinking or feeling. Or if its a landscape or an animal, how does the way that image make you feel? At the end of the day you will prefer taking shots that either you feel emotional about, or somehow making that human connection with the person you are taking the picture of.