It is important, when taking a snap of, say, a tourist destination, to think for a few seconds.

Take this image, of a guard at Stockholm’s Royal Palace:

A snapshot, but one I thought about for a bit.

• I got close enough to fill the frame.
• I ensured that I shot when the sun was lighting his face, not the back of his head.
• I placed the palace he is guarding behind him, not the parking lot.
• I blurred out that palace.
• I used the “rule of thirds” in the composition.
• I shot at the right moment, when his arm was outstretched.
• I had started by looking for a guard who looked not unfriendly.
• And I ensured the blue sky reflected in his helmet.

A little thinking makes your shot from a snapshot into a photograph. Just think of subject, context, background, light, and composition.