Digital Photography techniques

This is a guide to help the average person to take better digital photos using their digital camera. Here is a sample image I took of a Passion flower using a Canon PowerShot A75 camera...1. Choose the right equipment - The most important part is to pick a camera that matches your task. For most applications, a point and shoot camera is sufficient. Unless you are going to blowup your prints greater than 8x10 inches, you probably won't need a camera greater than 3 or 4 Mega pixels. In fact, the larger resolution may hurt in that you are saving more data than necessary, slows down transfer time, result in a poorer quality image if not processed properly and it costs more. A camera with a good "hold" and easy-to-use buttons will be far better than a slick, thin design. For example, the Canon PowerShot A75, is a good design an it is only 3 Mega pixels and it has a long battery life. Do use rechargeable battery to save money.2. Difference with traditional camera - The main difference in the operations of a digital camera vs. a traditional camera is that the digital camera has both a shooting mode and a display mode where as traditional camera only has a shoot mode. In the digital camera case, some control switches and buttons are shared between the two modes of operatoion. The display mode allows you to review the images right after you shoot. This is a great advantage over traditional camera allowing you to re-take a shot if it turns out bad (example - when someone's eye is closed). You can also experiment and delete the bad shots without any waste of film or money.3. Shooting modes - Most automatic cameras gee with various shooting modes. In most cases, the "Auto" mode is the best for 70% of all shots. This is the equivalent of the point-and-shoot camera. Next, there is a "Programmable" mode which will allow for some limited overrides. They may or may not be a Manual" mode which allows for the most flexibility. There may also be an "Action" mode for shooting moving objects. I will address each usage in detail below.4. Lighting - The key to taking good pictures is related in most cases to proper lighting. In digital photography, you want to avoid taking shots which include bright light sources or hot spots or shoot into the direction of sunlight. The reason is that digital camera has a tendency to "bloom" around bright objects. Any object that is bright or white will cause the sensor elements to saturate and then bleed to the surrounding areas. In sunlight, make sure the sun is behind you or to the sides. If you must shoot against the sum, make sure the flash is forced "on". This will avoid people or objects in the foreground appearing too dark. Even though the overall lighting is bright enough, you still need extra flash light to brighten up your subject. To do this, you will need to switch to the "Programmable" mode and turn the flash setting "on". In room light, most digital camera will work without flash. If the room is too dim, it may affect the operation of the auto-focus mechanism. In some cases, if the room is bright enough, you can disable the flash to avoid over exposure. This may also be the case if you are shooting something close-up. Finally, night photography is tricky. Most cameras will not work too well in the dark. You can use the flash but make sure objects are within the regemended distances (between 4-10 feet). Any closer will cause the subject to be too bright, and any further will cause the subject to be too dark. This is just the limitation of the camera.5. Auto-focus - As I mentioned earlier, for most shots, the auto mechanism will work just fine. The one thing to know about auto-focus is that there is a slight pause just before taking your shot. To avoid this pause, you can push the button down half way to activate the auto-focus and then push all the way down when you are ready to take the shot. This is also a good way to gepose your shot (especially if you are shooting a person or object off center against a background scene). This will insure that your subject will stay in-focus. Also, in some cameras, there may be a longer delay after you take a shot before you can take another shot. This is the time the camera needs to store away the data before you can take a follow-on shot. The more expensive professional digital cameras will allow you to take one shot after another. 6. Action Shots - For taking objects in motion (on if you are moving in a car), there is a special mode "Action" mode that will allow you to get the sharp picture and avoid a blurring effect. 7. Zoom Photography - Most cameras gee with both an optical zoom and a digital zoom. In the case of the Canon PowerShot, it has a 3X optical and a 10X digital zoom. The optical zoom is the more important feature. It is using the physics of the lens to create the zoom (like a telescope). It is a true zoom and it will allow you to shoot objects that are further away. The 3X means that you can get up to 3 times closer. The digital zoom is not a true zoom. It is using image processing in the software to create an illusion of larger objects. It results in a pooreer quality image. I do not regemend using the digital zoom for most shots.8. geposition - Artistic geposition is one of the rare skill that is hard to teach and pass on. With practice and experience, you will be able to discern what is a good geposition for a particular scene. One major decision is to take a shot in "portrait" or "landscape" format. The thing to remember is to match the format to the central object in your scene. For example, if you are shooting a person standing up, it is beter to use the portrait format. If you are shooting just the head and shoulder, the landscape format may be better. 9. Macro Photography - This is the special case where you want to shoot an object up close such as a flower. The camera has a special button for this and it is usually a symbol of a flower. If you are shooting an object less than a foot or two away, you need to enable this or else your image will appear out of focus. It is also a good idea to disable the flash because you don't want the auto-flash to kick in. Another good use of this feature is to shoot old photographs from your album. All you need is a flat glass plate and some diffused light source. You can make a good reproduction of an old photograph using the macro setting. This is especially good if you want to digitize your old photo album and put it online such as for a family tree. You can also use thisd technique to shoot yopur own original artwork.For really special cases, you might want to use the "Manual" mode and this will allow you to control both the f-stop of the lens and the shutter speed. The f-stop and the shutter speed work in tandem to produce the "right" exposure. A low f-stop number will require a fast shutter speed. This will work well with objects that are moving. A high f-stop number will require a slower shutter speed and this will provide a good "depth of field" keeping most items in your scene sharp. Most images will be shot at somewhat in between depending how the "automatic" mode is programmed at the factory. You might want to experiment with your own f-stop and shutter speed to create special effects and for low light or night scenes.Some gemon mistakes and how to avoid them:1. Shoot mirrors and glass at right angle will cause hot spots and excessive glare. Take shots at 45 degree angle to all shining or reflecting surfaces.2. Over exposure (blooming) due to sunlight or hotspot in the picture. Avoid shooting direct lighting or hotspots.3. The image is blurred. Either due to motion of the subject or the camera. Use the "action" mode to shoot this scene.4. The faces in your photo are too dark. Use the "programmable" mode and force the flash "on". 5. The people in your flash photo has "red eyes". Set the "red eye reduction" feature to the "on" position. 6. Your flash photos appear too bright or too dark. Make sure you are taking the scene with the correct distance.7. The people appears too small in you photo. Keep your subjects in the foreground and to the side and make the scene your background. Here is a jig that I made out of wood and glass. It is used to make reproductions of old photographs. Here is a geparison of the original digital photo followed by a reproduction made from shooting a print of the original using my jig. Just relax and enjoy taking photos. Your skill will improve with practice and experience. Good luck.Additional resources:A Squidoo lens on Digital Cameras and Photography - http://www.squidoo.ge/Digital-Cameras-and-Photography/My webshot album - http://gemunity.webshots.ge/user/jackclee100