subject: Top Tips For Digital Photography [print this page] A picture is worth a thousand words, sorry, I know that's a clichd way to start talking about photography but it's really true. Taken properly, a good photo can stir the deepest of emotions and have a profound effect on the person viewing it. To that end it's important to get it right. Anyone can point a camera at an object and click a button but it takes time, patience and a little skill to produce to truly superb picture.
Before you start your photography you're going to want to make sure your lens is perfectly clean. The slightest speck of dust or dirt can ruin a picture and because the lens is so small and sensitive you need to make sure you only clean it with a specific cloth that you keep just for this job. The handkerchief in your pocket or the tissue at the bottom of your bag are likely to have dirt on them that can damage or scratch the lens permanently.
Don't forget to read the instructions that came with your camera, even if you've been using this make for years and you're an expert in photography, you never know you might learn something new and it never hurts to be prepared.
Most cameras will have the standard auto focus (AF) setting for when you're shooting something stationary, like portrait or landscape photography. If you're trying to shoot something that's moving you need the continuous auto focus (CAF), this lets the camera know the subject is constantly moving and allows it to stay in focus. However, this can put a huge strain on the battery so always remember to bring spares.
If you can, take you time. You can always take the shot again if it goes wrong but you may never get the chance to take that exact picture again (especially if you're shooting a motion picture or wildlife photography). Take the time to get your subject in the perfect position and try and use their surrounding to create a natural frame, remember the rule of thirds, split you frame into three equal parts and try and position your main subject on one of those thirds rather than right in the middle of the picture to create a more natural picture.
When it come to modern photography, most digital cameras are so sophisticated these days that they'll do just about everything for you but where's the fun in that? Learning how to control the shutter speed yourself will give you more control over the exposure and how your photography turns out, especially as most cameras exposure will automatically focus on whatever is dominating the frame which might not necessarily be the focus of your picture.
No matter how good at photography you are, and not matter how sophisticated your equipment is, if your batteries die mid shoot you're up the proverbial creek with our a proverbial paddle. The common sense way to avoid this is to always carry a spare set, if you're in the middle of the country side miles from anywhere having to pack up over something so silly is going to be really annoying. Try to avoid constantly viewing your images as this is one of the biggest drains on batteries in a digital camera, and the more you've got your camera doing for you 'automatically', the more power it's going to demand in return.
And lastly, don't forget to enjoy yourself. Photography can be an incredibly rewarding hobby and a great way to create some lasting memories so just have fun!
