FSB Author Article
Top Ten Tips for Dynamite Digital Photography
By Tom Grimm and Michele Grimm,
Authors of The Basic
Book of Digital Photography: How to Shoot, Enhance, and Share Your
Digital Pictures
Here are 10 easy ways to greatly
improve your digital photographs and avoid the pitfalls that are
common with today's automatic cameras. Professional photographers
Michele and Tom Grimm offer these and many more tips in their
brand-new handbook, The Basic Book of Digital Photography.
1. Pay Attention to Composition.
Too often a picture lacks impact
because your subjects seem too far away. Move closer or zoom in to
concentrate attention on your main subject and to avoid unwanted
elements that are distracting. Make certain you see nothing in the
viewfinder or on the LCD screen that you don't want in the final
picture. Be especially alert for cluttered backgrounds. Finally,
just before you shoot, check that the horizon appears level in your
camera's viewfinder or on the LCD screen.
2. Vary the Format of Your Pictures.
Cameras make pictures that are
rectangular, not square, so you should remember to turn your camera
vertically for appropriate subjects, such as portraits of people. In
other words, don't be so lazy that you always hold the camera
horizontally. Appropriately, horizontal images are in the format
called landscape, while the format for vertical shots is known as
portrait.
3. Shoot, Shoot, Shoot.
If you used to shoot with a film
camera, break the old habit of just making one or two exposures. The
memory cards that are substitutes for film in digital cameras will
hold hundreds of pictures and you can easily erase the images you
don't like. So shoot away until you get the perfect picture. A big
bonus is that you won't have to spend extra time at your computer
fixing up mediocre shots with image-editing software.
4. Press the Shutter Release
Button . . . Don't Jab It.
More pictures are ruined because of
camera shake than for any other reason. The main offense is jabbing
or snapping your finger down on the shutter release (which jars the
camera). It's easy to avoid blurred pictures: Just remember to arch
your shooting finger and slowly press or squeeze the shutter button.
Also, be sure to hold your camera with two hands to help keep it
steady.
5. Shoot with Flash Outdoors.
Pictures taken outdoors, especially of
people and pets, are frequently better when you use your camera's
built-in flash. That's because direct sunlight often causes annoying
shadows on faces, particularly around the eyes. Flash "fills
in" those shadows to provide uniform illumination and a more
pleasing portrait. Also, to keep your subjects from squinting in
bright sunlight, ask them to turn their backs to the sun. That puts
their faces in shadow, which you'll then illuminate with the flash.
6. Memorize the Shooting Range of
Your
Flash.
Although they are convenient, built-in
flash units are not very powerful and underexposed flash pictures
in dark places are often the result. To avoid underexposures (or
overexposures) with your flash, memorize its operating range. How
distant (or close) can your subject be for a proper exposure? The
flash range of a point-and-shoot camera may only be 3 to 12 feet.
Caution: the flash range will change as you adjust your camera's zoom
lens; check the instruction manual.
7. Set a Higher ISO for Sharper,
Non-blurred Images, and Greater Flash Range.
Keep in mind that adjusting your
camera's ISO to a higher number, such as ISO 800 instead of ISO 100,
automatically sets smaller lens openings for more sharply focused
images, as well as faster shutter speeds for stop-action, non-blurry
pictures. It also extends the maximum distance range of a built-in
or dedicated flash unit. Unfortunately, a very high ISO, such as ISO
1600 or 3200 (if available) may cause unwanted effects in digital
images called artifacts. Take some test pictures at different ISO
settings to compare the results.
8. Read and Reread Your Camera Manual
(and our Digital Photo Book).
Most new camera owners look at the
instructions only once or twice, if at all. But modern digital
cameras, whether point-and-shoot or SLR (single lens reflex) models,
are not as simple as their advertisements suggest. Study the
instruction booklet until you're familiar with all of the camera's
buttons, symbols, and picture possibilities. If you lose the
instructions or forget to bring them on a trip, log onto your camera
manufacturer's Web site and download a copy of the manual.
9. Compose Pictures with Your
Viewfinder, Not the LCD.
Unless you're taking close-ups, it is
easier, faster, and steadier to compose pictures by using your
camera's viewfinder (if available) instead of the LCD screen. There
is more support with the camera pressed to your face as you look
through the viewfinder instead of trying to hold it steady at arm's
length while composing subjects on the LCD screen. Also, you won't
be bothered by bright light that makes it difficult to see images on
the LCD.
10. Don't Let the Date and Time
Deface
Your Pictures.
Make sure your camera is not set to
automatically print the time and date of your shots on the front of
your pictures; it will ruin their appearance. Besides, you should be
aware that the time and date are embedded in every photo image file
as hidden metadata that can be viewed at anytime with image-editing
software on your computer.
©2009 Tom Grimm and Michele Grimm, authors of The Basic Book of Digital Photography: How to Shoot, Enhance, and Share Your Digital Pictures
Author BiosTom Grimm and Michele Grimm, authors of The Basic Book of Digital Photography: How to Shoot, Enhance, and Share Your Digital Pictures, are a husband-and-wife photojournalism team who have spent nearly four decades traveling the globe; the couple has visited every continent and more than 130 countries in search of the perfect photographic image. Their photographs and articles have been published worldwide in magazines and newspapers and on the Internet. The Grimms are authors and illustrators of thirteen adult and children's books.
For more information, please visit www.TomGrimm.com and www.amazon.com.