The holiday season is upon us again and digital cameras are more popular than ever. Due to falling prices, improvements in image quality and the ease of sharing, viewing and printing photos, one in four persons in a PC-owning household in the United States is expected to own a digital camera by the end of the year*.
While the basic principles of photography still apply, digital cameras have their own unique characteristics that differ from traditional film cameras. To compile this advice, SanDisk enlisted the help of Rick Sammon, host of the Digital Photography Workshop on the DIY Television Network, photography instructor at leading photo learning workshops around the U.S. and author of 21 books on photography.
Here are Rick's 10 tips for taking better pictures with a digital camera:
1. Move in closer.
Most pictures will benefit if you take a few steps forward. Having your subject fill most the frame helps your viewer understand your photo and provides details that are often more interesting than an overall view. To get the clearest picture, use the camera's optical zoom if you can't move closer to your subject.
2. Use your viewfinder.
A digital camera's LCD screen uses lots of battery power so to maximize battery life, use the camera's viewfinder.
3. Anticipate the moment.
Most point-and-shoot digital have an inherent delay between pressing the shutter button and when the camera takes the picture. Try to anticipate the action and always be ready to shoot.
4. Use available light when possible.
Indoors, the mood created by natural light is lost with a flash. Whenever possible, position a subject by a door or window and avoid using the on-camera flash.
5. Shoot at the highest resolution available.
If you want to print your images or enlarge a part of the image, you'll get the best results from a larger file. You can always decrease the resolution of the image on your computer to email them, but starting off with a low-resolution image does not give you the flexibility to print your picture.
6. Take as many pictures as possible.
The more images you take, the better your chances are of getting that special shot. Because you don't incur any costs until you print your images, take as many shots as you can.
7. Delete unwanted images 'on-the-fly.'
Immediately deleting images you don't want minimizes the task of deleting images because you're running out of storage capacity. When in doubt, save the image until you can view it on your computer monitor.
8. Use rechargeable batteries.
Digital cameras are notorious for consuming batteries. Consider investing in an extra rechargeable battery. You can continue to take pictures while the other set is charging.
9. Think big.
In most cases, the 8 or 16 megabyte (MB) card that came with your camera won't cut it. Get the highest capacity removable storage card within your budget. For most occasions, a 128MB card will suffice. Rapidly falling prices are making these cards very affordable-having more capacity than you think you'll need lets you concentrate on taking pictures and not filling up the card.
10. Get an external card reader.
One of the easiest and fastest ways to transfer images between the camera and computer is to use a card reader. This method is often faster than using the transfer cable that may have been included with your camera. In addition, if your camera does not have a docking/recharging station, the card readers avoid tying up your camera and draining its batteries when it is left on for long periods of time while transferring images.
"Whether you're new to photography or an experienced picture taker, the important thing to remember is that digital cameras offer shooting freedom and flexibility," said Sammon. "Experiment with your camera. Try new techniques. And above all, remember to have fun while you're doing it."
