10. Find Where Your Lens is Sharpest
This may sound odd, but the hard truth is that lenses are sharpest at certain f-stops and it varies for every lens. Lenses are typically not as sharp when shooting with very wide-open or very closed apertures but somewhere in the middle, around f/8. An easy test for this is to take photos of something close up while using a tripod and adjust your aperture for every photo and decide where it is the sharpest for you. Your lens has a sweet spot and finding it will allow you to get sharper pictures.