A great photo can capture the energy and emotion of a moment. Here are a few simple tips for making the most of your digital camera.
Don’t Keep Your Distance: Take your pictures on eye level with the subject. Close-up pictures have less visual “noise” and allow the energy and emotion of the moment to come through.
Go Vertical: Vary your orientation so you get lots of tall pictures as well as long ones. Not only do many subjects look best in a vertical or “portrait” orientation, it’s also great for livening up photo albums and scrapbooks.
Step Aside, Please: Lock your subject into focus and then move your camera so that the subject is at one side and the scene around them is in 2/3 of the frame. By placing your subject off to the side, you instill a feeling of time and history in the picture.
Watch the Background: Plain is best. Try to keep busy backgrounds out of your pictures, or choose to photograph a large, mostly plain item amidst a chaotic background. Be sure to check that items in the background won’t appear to be “growing” out of your subject.
Light It Up: Even outdoors, flash is a good idea for getting rid of heavy shadows caused by bright sunlight. Your flash’s range is probably only a few steps, so you may need to get closer to see the effect. Try to keep heavy shadows off your subject – this may be as simple as rotating the shot so that the sun is shining directly on the main subject.
Camera Phone Tips
Keep Shooting: Camera phones have come a long way, but they’re not perfect. Taking a lot of pictures gives you a better chance of coming up with some good shots. It’s also a great way to document a journey – whether the first walk to school, the trip to summer camp, or the progress of a person on their way to a surprise party.
Snap on an Angle: Casual shots seem more fun when they’re taken at a wacky angle.
Don’t Forget to Flash: Most camera phones have a Flash setting that may be defaulted to “off.” Check the settings and select “auto”or “always on.” That way you won’t be fumbling around trying to get the flash to work while your subject gets away!
Check Your Resolution: Another setting to check is the image resolution. Always use the highest resolution your camera phone allows if you plan to email or print the pictures. You won’t see a difference on your camera screen, but it it’ll really help when you view the images in a larger setting.
Keep It Steady: Remain as still as possible for a moment or two after the picture snaps. Many camera phones have a processing delay, so even after you hear the shutter snap sound effect, the phone may still be “working”on taking your picture.
Clean Up The Junk: Your phone probably has a pretty small memory card. When you don’t have time to download all your snapshots to a computer, go through the images and delete any that are just not good. There’s nothing worse than getting a “memory full” message just after taking that perfect picture!
Purchases to Consider:
After you get used to taking digital pictures, you may find you’re ready to invest in some basic equipment that will help you get the most from your camera. Here are a few tools that you may find helpful:
Tabletop Tripod: An inexpensive, folding tripod you can set on a table, the ground, or even the hood of your car.
Larger Media Card: Consider getting a larger media card - it’ll store more pictures - and using the one that came with your camera as a spare.
Extra Batteries or a Portable Charger: Always keep a spare set of batteries with your camera. Digital images take a lot of juice! You can also purchase car chargers for some models with rechargeable batteries.
Remote Shutter Button: Don’t forget to include yourself in the story! Most cameras have a self-timing setting allowing you to set the photo up, then quickly run and join in. A remote shutter button gives you extra time and allows you to take multiple pictures that include you! It’s also great for use with a tripod – if you tend to be shaky, even pushing the shutter release button may blur slow shots such as those taken in deep shade, or capturing the movement of water.
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