If you have an expensive, top-of-the-range digital camera and are still failing to impress your friends with your shots, you may want to sit down at your computer and click yourself an order for "Composition Photo Workshop".

Written by Blue Fier, published by Wiley and available through Amazon, the book reveals the secrets to good composition via a step-by-step guide to basic photography.

Author Fier has taught photography for 15 years and offers short and sharp lessons on how to "see" and frame shots.

The book also teaches basic elements of design - points, lines, planes and solids - and how to arrange them to make something that looks good.

The author illustrates his ideas and teachings with photos to aid the reader's understanding. Best of all, at the end of each chapter, he gives you an assignment to try out your new knowledge. Then, you can upload your homework to the book's website for other readers to see and give you feedback.

For Fier, composition is about more than just framing with your viewfinder. He also shows you how to adjust camera settings - like shutter speed and aperture - to achieve different compositions.

The 272-page book is divided into 11 chapters. Focus hard, and it should help improve your skills and make taking photos a lot more fun.