Here's a really quick tip for photography composition use the Rule Of Thirds

Instead of putting the key subject in the middle consider breaking the image into a 9 square grid and using the intersection points as places to put things of interest in the picture.  

So if you are taking pictures on the beach have the sea in the bottom third line not the middle.  

Have the people to the left or the right not in the middle.

Many camera phones have grid lines you can turn on in the options to help you balance the picture.