Easy to understand tips for taking digital photography.

This page will cover an introduction to camera shake, composition, white balance, aperture, shutter speed and ISO.

However, before I begin I would like to comment on the the subject of automatic or manual settings.

While it can be a great deal of fun, as well as challenging and satisfying to shoot on manual, the most important action is to "get" the picture.

Sometimes there just isn't the time, literally, to set up manually even if you want to.

Perhaps it felt silly or even intimidating to think of getting the shot.

How many people do you think, perhaps you included, had the thought, "I'll come back later or next time?"

Yes, me too!

It's gone though, isn't it?

Literally never to be recorded in that absolute exact way ever again!

Even an out of focus, not perfect photo of something so incredibly precious is better than no photo at all.

That being said, tips for taking digital photography is about how making even small adjustments will expand your talents and creativity; so, here we go!

In addition to exposure and composition paying attention to camera support can really make or break a photo.

The question to ask is, "how am I holding my camera?"

If you are hand holding, meaning you are not using a tripod:

Is your left hand supporting the underside of the camera rather than perched on top?

Are both of your elbows secure to your body whenever possible?

Are your feet a comfortable width apart for a solid stance?

If kneeling or lying down do you feel braced yet steady and relaxed?

Are you shooting with a fast enough shutter speed to help eliminate camera shake?

Do you have a preference of either Vertical or Horizontal?

Do you take a few of the same subject at one angle and then experiment with the other in a close up?

If not, you might be surprised!

The photo on the right is a good composition example of leading the eye in to the picture.

Other tips for taking digital photography involve the color tone of your pictures.

What do I mean by this?

When I think of color and for this example, in addition to the overall picture and exposure, it pertains to a specific hue.

A hockey rink or gymnasium, for example.

Do you find you sometimes have a yellowish hue or tinge to your pictures instead of white, like these?

Tips for taking digital photography; the culprit could be your white balance setting.

What is white balance?

White balance is a function allowing you to adjust the color so white will actually appear white.

Ah Ha!

If necessary, refer to your camera manual for specifics on how to adjust this.

Depending on your camera options it's likely you'll be able to adjust for all or some of the following lighting conditions:

Auto, daylight, shade, cloudy, fluorescent, tungsten, flash, manual and color temperature.

Tips for taking digital photography; I've usually found the most success with fluorescent and sometimes tungsten for hockey rinks and gymnasiums.

The beauty of digital is you can experiment and delete photos, if necessary, until you get what you want!

About the Aperture; tips for taking digital photography.

When your camera is set to automatic the aperture and shutter speed are being set for you with proper exposure in mind; at least according to what the camera can determine.

What is aperture?

The aperture determines the amount of light hitting the sensor.

If necessary, first check your manual for information specific to your camera.

It is a number which very likely has the letter "F" before it, such as F8.

What does this mean?

Aperture numbers relate to opening or closing of the lens and can be used to increase or decrease light and for creative affects.

Opening the aperture relates to the smaller number, for example F4.

Closing the aperture relates to a larger number, for example F16.

Depending on how well your camera responds to aperture settings a competely different photo is possible.

In this example, the photo on the left is F2.8 and right is F11.

The smaller the number the smaller the amount in focus although more light is being admitted.

The larger the number the larger the amount in focus although less light is being admitted.

In addition to using aperture creatively and for depth of field, meaning the amount of focus, it's a tool to increase or decrease the amount of light.

While a number of these basics are relative to film photography they're very relevant tips for taking digital photography as well.

Shutter speed tips for taking digital photography.

What is shutter speed?

Shutter speed is used to determine the length of time light hits the sensor.

Simply put, how long it takes to take the photo. For example, 1/2 a second or 1/500 of a second.

Shutter speed is referred to in fractions when you see numbers such as 60, 90, 250, 500, even if your camera does not display them as such.

For example, 60 is actually 1/60 of a second.

The waterfall is 1/20 of a second while the moving cat is 1/1000.

If the cat was photographed at 1/20, there will be blurry areas, such as the paw. However, a slower shutter speed would likely have worked as well, perhaps 1/250 because it's moving quite slowly.

This would have affected the aperture, however, to re-create the correct exposure.

A slower shutter speed blurs the image if it's moving because the shutter is open longer.

A faster shutter speed creates a "freeze" of the action because the shutter is not open as long.

Relating this to tips for taking digital photography a faster shutter speed also helps reduce camera shake.

Other tips for taking digital photography relate to the ISO setting.

What is ISO?

A relationship exists between ISO speed to light sensitivity which can be very helpful information.

Remember the days of film when you might have purchased a 200 ASA or 400 ASA; although it's likely referred to as ISO now?

Relating to tips for digital photography why is this important?

Two reasons:

The higher the rating the faster the film meaning it is more sensitive to light.

With a digital camera there is great flexibility to change the ISO at will, so to speak.

Most cameras use a default setting of 100 or 200 ISO but you can change this if you want to.

Auto setting is also an available option.

How is it adjusted? Once again, the trusted manual will come to the rescue and explain how, likely with just the press of a button.

Why change it?

Think of it as a tool which helps you deal with certain light conditions.

The higher the number the more sensitive it is to light.

For example, ISO 800 is more sensitive to light than 100 ISO.

"So what," you may be thinking?

Have you ever been in a situation where the light just wasn't bright enough to capture the image without a flash?

However, perhaps you did not want to use the flash or the situation did not permit it, such as a no flash zone.

It may be you don't want to reduce your shutter speed and need another light source option.

Changing the ISO to a higher number will introduce more light sensitivity. This means if you change from 100 to 800 your camera will have a better chance of recording the image.

Why?

In simple terms, you have created the opportunity for more light which may be enough to capture the image.

An example of when is it helpful to change.

When I take photos of my grandson, even with available light from a picture window, the shutter speed is too slow and creates image blur when he's "on the move."

In this case I do not want the flash to be hitting his eyes.

If I change my ISO from 100 to 1600 or even 3200 the extra light sensitivity allows for a correct exposure and shutter speed, most of the time.

This is not always possible but it's a great tool in certain situations.

Extra tips for taking digital photography.

Have your ISO at 100 and note your camera settings for aperture and shutter speed. Change it to 800 or higher and notice what happens.

However, be aware the higher ISO can cause digital noise.

What's this?

It creates a grainier look to your images being more noticable in the darker areas and especially in enlargements.

Some cameras handle this better than others but with experimenting you'll likely figure out your camera's "best below zone."

Due to the digital noise possibility, you may choose to work with aperture and shutter speed settings first.

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