Tips for better picture taking

It is really easy for me to be a picture director because i know what it is that i want and I know how to get things accomplished so putting things together comes easy to me. I also tend to get on the same degree as my subject so getting them to look me in the eye is easy also. Using the flash comes natural to me also because it is almost always necessary to use the flash whether you are taking pictures in the dark or in a really bright sun. Taking close ranged pictures is mediocre for me because i like giving my subject their own personal space so it doesn't feel like i am suffocating them. Taking vertical pictures is another unorthodox thing for me. I usually take lanscape pictures but using portrait is differently and kind of out of my comfort zone. Moving from the middle and using plain backgrounds is something that i need to fix. I like having my subject be the center of attention and making sure that everybody is looking at them. However, I don't want the background to be "too" plain otherwise the picture looks like this person is "posed". The only main difference between the photos on the link and the photo's in the newspaper is that the photo's in the link are posed.