Focusing on depth of field, controlled by the aperture. The smaller the f-stop, the wider the aperture, and thus shallower depth of field. This helps isolate your subject and provide a more soothing, less distracting photo. These pictures were taken in the f/2 and f/7.1 range for comparison.

Composition is filling the frame with your subject matter or positioning them in such a way that makes the scene more visually appealing. We can achieve this by employing the rule of thirds, framing, and symmetry in addition to using lines, curves, textures, and perspective. I'm also experimenting with Instagram-like filters I found for Photoshop, so excuse the hipster-ness of these photos.