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[H1719]How To Use Canon Digital Camera

by Matt Chang, Mat

Doesn't it drive you nuts when you see the pictures that someone just took and they look amazing! For some, it just seems like everyone else is taking great pictures except you. Taking good pictures of people can be hard, but don't despair. An average digital camera can take great portraits if you keep a few simple guidelines in mind. Here are some solid fool proof methods that can help you snap great pics with that digital camera you have and get those great stills you've always wanted.

Choose the right camera settings. You did buy a camera with features right? So why not use them? Most digital cameras have a "portrait mode" built in. You can activate it by turning dial on your camera to the icon of the head. What this does is affect the depth of field, allowing you to get a sharp picture of the image in front, the person, and blurring out the stuff farther in back.

To get an even sharper image, blur the background even more. What you want to do is zoom the camera lens all the way in. This makes the background blur even more, throwing your subject into even sharper relief. Turn off digital zoom on your camera. Use optical zoom, which is the real zoom on your digital.

Next, make the flash go off. Do not just let the camera flash if it needs to, because it will only flash in dark situations, and you want to have the camera flash even in daylight. What the flash will do is soften the foreground, and put a gleam in your subjects' eyes. There is a setting on your camera that will allow you to set the flash. Check your manufacturers settings to learn how.

Great pictures are taken outside if you don't have serious studio lights. You want the natural light to help. Even if you are in a less than sunny day.

Once you're outside, place your subject such that the sun is behind and to one side of them. Make sure they are not directly facing the sun or they will squint. Placing the subject with the sun directly behind them will put the sun in directly in your camera lens and you will get odd effects.

If possible take your picture in the early morning or the late afternoon. The light at these times makes for the best photography. This is when the sun is at a farther angle to you and the subjects, making for more indirect and nicer lighting.

composing and shooting: Frame your shot so you get just the subject's head and maybe their shoulders. When you get in closer, you can get cleaner pictures, and tighter shots are usually neater.

Remember to zoom all the way in and then compose your shot. Again, zooming in first and then adjusting yourself will get you the best option in depth of field.

At this point, you are going to take the picture. Hold the trigger button down half way to allow the camera to auto focus and adjust. Let your subject relax, and smile naturally. Take the picture almost when the subject is not aware, so they are more natural.

Conclusion: Here is where the real secret lies. Take several pictures. Remember you have a digital camera and you are not using film? Even professional photographers take several snaps. You really never know which is the one you will want. You can always delete what you don't like.

Especially in today's troublesome economy, with the high prices of digital cameras, rechargeable batteries, tripods, filters, and other accessories, you might be tempted to save some money by purchasing cheaper, generic digital camera media. And why not? Photos taken with cheaper media should look just the same as those taken with more expensive media, as long as the files get written correctly. Your JPG images will not come out more pixilated, and uncompressed TIFF and RAW files will contain the same information.

However, "saving money" has a few potential downsides:

* Brand name digital camera memory cards may be faster than their generic equivalents. If your digital camera supports the faster write speeds, you can take photos quicker by not waiting as long for your digital camera to store information onto the media. This is especially important if you wish to use drive mode and take multiple images in quick succession, useful for sporting events, wildlife photography, and other situations involving fast-moving subjects.

* Brand name digital camera memory may prove to be more reliable. On some generic memory I have used, even though the media did not outright fail, if you shot multiple photos quickly the memory card could 'hang', causing some photos to be lost. Since the photos were never successfully written to the media, they were unrecoverable.

* Brand name digital camera media may have limited warranties. If the media proves to be defective within a certain period of time after the purchase, it might be possible to get a replacement memory card. Some warranties may provide replacements at no charge; others might require modest shipping and handling charges.

Even with limited warranties, however, any lost photos on the defective media may remain lost. In some instances, media recovery applications may help. While I don't vouch for any particular software package, publishers include DataRescue, Jufsoft, and MediaRECOVER.

* Brand name digital camera memory may be rated to handle better in extreme conditions (hot and cold environments), useful if you plan on mountain climbing or shooting photos at a beach or desert. Of course, in such environments you may deal with other weather-related problems such as faster-draining batteries and condensation forming on the camera lens.

* Even if you want to purchase brand name digital camera memory, you may be tempted to purchase such media from lesser known stores, online outlets, or auction sites. After purchasing items at some establishments (though certainly not all), you might find yourself with counterfeit memory, generic memory repackaged as brand name! Such memory may increase the chances of data corruption, perform slower than advertised, and quite possibly damage the camera as you insert or remove the media. Plus, counterfeit memory lacks any true warranty, even if the fake packaging claims one is offered. As the adage goes, if a price is too good to be true, it just may be.

(Note that if this scam happens to you, you cannot always blame the store for the sale. It may have unknowingly purchased this memory from a fraudulent distributor.)

I am not recommending always buying the most expensive media at the most expensive retailer - the choice is yours. Some of the above potential downsides may not apply to your digital camera or your shooting conditions. You might not require faster shooting, and certainly not all generic memory will corrupt your data. However, for those truly concerned about their photos being written correctly and transferrable to backup media without incidents, paying a few extra bucks may prove to be money well spent.

Article Source : Pg. 18

About Author

Both Matt Chang & Andrew Malek are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Matt Chang has sinced written about articles on various topics from Computers and The Internet, Investments and Spyware. Matt loves looking for a online.