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If you are taking the plunge into digital photography, you are going to need a camera. Speed is the key consideration in choosing a digital camera. Because digital cameras need time to transfer the image to your storage media, it is an important issue. This is referred to as 'shutter lag' by the photography pros. With candid photography, a three-second shutter lag can mean the difference between taking a blah, ordinary photo, or capturing your child with the perfect grin.
Because digital cameras eat up a lot of batteries, you'll also want startup speed. If you are taking photos intermittently, you'll want to be able to turn off your camera to preserve battery life. Then you'll need it to start right up again when the perfect photography moment arises.
Autofocus is another speed requirement in digital photography. You don't want to wait for your autofocus to resolve your photo after you aim your camera, only to find that your target has wandered off!
Through the lens (TTL) composition is another consideration. TTL refers to the fact that some digital cameras require photographers to compose their photos on an image screen. To allow for the battery-sucking screen to be shut off most of the time, a digital camera with TTL has a viewfinder like a film camera.
You will want manual controls if you are the least bit interested in using digital photography to produce quality photos as a hobby. Someday you may want to compose a photo without using the presets built into your digital camera even if you do not know what those controls do.
Another important element of digital photography is megapixels. Generally, the more megapixels your digital camera can take, the larger your end photographs can be without distorting them. However, the more megapixels, the slower your camera responds. Even just three megapixels will produce large, quality photos.
Even with the advent of digital technology and the sudden appearance of every kind, every shape and size of digital cameras in hobby shops, department stores and other shops in the metro, not everyone is a pro when it comes to operating this little gadget. In fact, even the most tech-tough can stumble every now and then.
One thing you should do when you own a digital camera is to of course read the manual from cover to cover. This will help you get familiar with all the functions of the camera as well as see the various effects that it can do. Most manuals will also have illustrations that will help you understand each function.
To further help you in your digital quest for information on good photography, here are some tips that will make geniuses out of digital photography dummies.
Tone up.
One of the few essential things that you must remember is to adjust the white balance of the digital camera. Adjusting the white balance will warm up the tones and increase the hues of reds and yellows. When you purchase one, most functions will be on the auto or automatic function. Change that to suit the environment that you are shooting.
For instance, if you are doing some outdoor shooting, change the setting from auto to cloudy. This means that the camera will compensate for the cloudy and hazy environment and produce photos that are richer in color.
Mad about macro
This is another really great feature that digital cameras now offer, the macro mode. This is a function in the camera wherein you can actually focus on object and get to picture the finer details. This is especially used when you are taking close-up shots. Macro mode is denoted by the flower symbol, which can often be seen on the main buttons of the camera.
One thing to remember in using this mode is that the focused object will be sharp while leaving the rest in soft detail. If you want all the elements in the photograph illuminated, this is not the function for you.
Flash it!
One of the great things about digital cameras is the fact that you can adjust the light to suit your subject. Although most manual cameras have flash modes, they do not have the slight flash, which comes in handy when you are shooting for a not-so-well-lit area but still pretty bearable. The slight flash will help put colors on the picture because too much flash can result to colors that are bland and pale.