4 Rules for Framing a Photo when Someone Hands you their Camera

Rule No. 1: Don't give your primary subject a hat using the secondary subject.

Photo taken by a lovely man with a super-cute hound dog named Wolfgang.

  Rule No. 1b: Don't allow your primary subject to obstruct the view of the secondary subject.

There's  really cool bit of coast directly behind my buttocks. I promise.

Rule No. 1c: Don't forget to include the secondary subject, perhaps by zooming out. . .

I know it doesn't look like it, but there was lots of water and a beautiful panorama somewhere behind me.

...or perhaps by using a horizontal frame, even when the person is standing up.

Rule No. 2: If you don't understand how to frame the joke/perspective shot, say something.

Please. Say something, but don't take this picture. Thanks, Walter.

Rule No. 2b: For the love of all that's holy. Say. Something.

This was supposed to be an Atlas holding up the world reference. Fail? You be the judge.

 Rule No. 3: You don't have to take both a horizontal and vertical shot of every subject. 

Okay, okay, secondary subject only slightly obscured, extra background, but overall not bad . . .

Perhaps the obligatory vertical and horizontal shot is a remnant of a bygone era. This
photo and its massive amount of sky complements of a friendly older lady.

This is my favorite unnecessarily vertical shot. But I want to give kudos to the
elderly woman who took it, particularly because she thought I was committing suicide
mid-shot and still kept her composure and minimized the ground like I asked. Good on you, milady.

 Rule No. 4: If you don't know what you're doing with a DSLR camera, don't use it. It's a red-herring for the rest of us looking for competent photo takers.

Me: Hey can you take a picture for me?
Dude with DSLR: Sure.
Me: It's a large aperture setting, so if you could just focus on me. . .
Dude: . . . I guess. Maybe . . .*shrug*
*takes 2 photos*
Dude: Don't worry. I took two, one with the focus on you and one with the focus on the background.
Me: . . . thanks.