Let me begin by saying I am not Ansel Adams. Most of what I know about photography came from an introductory class I took in college. However, that class was part of a bachelor’s degree in the fine arts, which gave me me an extensive knowledge of graphic design. Of course, an in-depth familiarity of all your camera’s bells and whistles can take your photos to a whole new level. But if you understand a little bit about design, you can make great photographs.

You don’t have to be employed by Sports Illustrated in order to get great shots of your kids. I believe that every regular Dad has the ability to create some memorable gems using a regular old point-and-shoot camera. These five simple tips will help your photos go from boring to breathtaking.

1) Kill The Flash
If you only open your camera’s instruction manual one time, may it be to learn how to turn off the automatic flash. It’s evil. Sure, it’s useful for dark environments, like birthday parties and spelunking adventures, but it will absolutely ruin a Kodak moment of your toddler playing with blocks while the late afternoon sunlight softly cascades down on her.

Flash has no doubt ruined billions of photos by washing out all the pure light and color while creating a fake shadow around the subject. Turn that puppy off and you’ll immediately start to see your photos take on a more natural, appealing look.

One caveat to keep in mind: the less natural light there is, the better chance of your photo turning out blurry due to camera shake. You can improve your odds by bracing your elbow against something in order to keep things steady. You could also buy an inexpensive tripod as well. I like this one.

2) Obey the Rule of Thirds
This handy design guideline is the ticket to photos that are way more visually interesting and energetic. In the words of all-knowing Wikipedia:

The rule states that an image should be imagined as divided into nine equal parts by two equally-spaced horizontal lines and two equally-spaced vertical lines, and that important compositional elements should be placed along these lines or their intersections.

Of course, the natural tendency of most human beings with a digital camera is to plop the subject right in the middle of the frame, creating a snoozefest of epic proportions. This is not deer hunting and your camera is not a gun; you’re not trying to capture your subject in the cross-hairs. Use the rule of thirds and start looking like a pro.

3) Get Up Close and Personal
I’ve seen way too many photos in which the people end up looking like miniature plastic figures in a diorama. Now if the gang is standing in front of the Grand Canyon, I can see the logic. But if the primary subject is the people, let us see the PEOPLE, not random tree branches and an acre of dead grass!

Don’t stand two counties away; physically get closer to your subject. Getting close enough to capture all of your kid’s freckles makes for a more engaging portrait; we don’t always have to see what color socks he’s wearing. Don’t be afraid to crop off the very top of your child’s head or — gasp! — only shoot part of his face. Sometimes these little abstract interpretations end up being the coolest photos.

4) Shoot More
Photographing kids is like photographing wildlife. You have to take lots and lots and LOTS of pictures because you never know when the perfect shot will present itself. Even the pros shoot way more photos than they need. They know that the best way to get the perfect shot is to have lots of shots to choose from. That’s the beauty of digital cameras — you don’t have to invest hundreds of dollars in film and processing. Buy the biggest memory card you can afford and shoot like there’s no tomorrow. You can always delete the ones that don’t turn out, but the chances are better that you’ll capture an all-time classic.

5) Forget the Face
We human beings are naturally attracted to faces; we’ve been that way since we were babies. It’s probably the reason we see way more photos of people’s heads than their knees. I get it. But mix things up once in awhile and get some snaps of something different. A close up of “bed head,” for example. Or your newborn’s tiny little foot. Perhaps your little girl’s dancing shadow on the sidewalk. Or maybe a shot of sticky hands holding a quickly melting popsicle. You get the idea.

Now get out there and start creating your own wall of fame!

Jason Kotecki is a dad who also moonlights as an artist, author, and professional speaker. Jason and his wife Kim (a former kindergarten teacher) make it their mission in life to fight Adultitis and help people use strategies from childhood to create lives with less stress and more fun. Stop by www.KimandJason.com and follow them on Twitter @kimandjason