4. TAKE GREAT CANDIDS
Some of the best pictures you'll ever take are those in which no one says "cheese" and you have a bunch of relatives and friends grimacing at you. "Candids" are photos taken when the subjects are unaware the camera is on them. Move around at a party or gathering, and look for people doing interesting things and wearing interesting expressions unrelated to the utterance of dairy products.
The images you get will be far more true and varied than if you posed people a thousand different ways. Tell the "story" of the event, taking shots from beginning to end, from all angles, and involving all the people there. This will vary the backgrounds as well as the subjects.
