Taking better photos: It's a snap

There's an old saying among photographers: It's not the camera that takes the picture, it's the photographer.

Maybe you got your wish this holiday and you are now the proud owner of a smartphone or a digital camera. Or maybe you love your old camera. Whatever camera you have, you can take better pictures.

The more you know about your camera, the easier it will be, so get to know your camera and all its functions -- or in the case of a cellphone, its limitations, such as its fixed lens.

To advance your photography skills, look at the past, particularly at great photography. Head to the Internet and look up icons Jacques Henri Lartigue, Robert Frank, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Andre Kertesz, Elliott Erwitt or Shelby Lee Adams.

You may also find inspiration from these reader photos, which nicely illustrate tips and techniques for getting better photos.

But in the end? Make your own photos. Most people take pictures of other people's pictures. But only you will see the world the way you do. And only you will make pictures in your own, peculiar, quirky way.

So go ahead -- point and shoot.