Abstract:
OK- so you have bought that fancy new digital camera (maybe even a DSLR) and now you want to know how to get the most out of it in 10 minutes or less. Read more for this amateur photographer’s bare essentials.
Bare Essential # 0: Use The Quick Help Guide:
Every digital camera comes with one and is usually a smaller, pocket version of the full product manual. Use it t familiarize yourself with your camera’s basic physical controls. Scan it to figure out how to interact with your camera’s on-screen menu.
Bare Essential # 1: Jack Up Picture Quality
I’ve seen and heard about too many people that fail to do the easiest and most fundamental of user tweaks. This article is not going to talk about shooting in camera RAW; instead we’re gong to assume that your camera defaults (as all digital cameras do) to standard JPEG format. Using the directions provided in the quick help guide, change your camera to shoot in the highest quality JPEG mode that is offered. Memory cards are so cheap these days that it makes little sense in trying to “save space”. Remember, the bigger the picture on the memory card, the more you can do with it later via software.
Bare Essential # 2: Start shooting in “Automatic”
For instant gratification with your newest toy, set your camera to shoot it’s first batch of pictures in the “automatic” mode that all digital cameras provide. Under this setting, your camera will make all the decisions for you, and should under most normal situations provide you with an exposure that is near optimal. If you end being serious about your camera, you may not use the “automatic” setting long term, but it is an excellent way to get a feel for what the camera can and can not do. My recommendation is to shoot in automatic for at least a couple of days in both indoor and outdoor situations.
Bare Essential # 3: Familiarize yourself with your camera’s LCD
As soon as you start shooting, you’re going to want to see results on the screen immediately; Just be warned that the LCDs on the back of digital cameras are not always accurate. Make no mistake about it, a picture that looks bad on the LCD will always be bad when it comes off the camera. However, a picture that looks good on the LCD will not always look good when it comes off the camera. Get into the habit of taking a shot, reviewing it on the LCD and taking another immediately if the opportunity presents itself. Finally, learn how to toggle the picture’s meta-data on/off using the LCD’s display options. Start to become familiar with how your camera displays the information surrounding a picture’s exposure. The four tools necessary for understanding exposure is: (a) Histograms, (b) Aperture, (c) Shutter Speed & (d) ISO sensitivity. Future postings will address all of these topics in more detail. Learn how to identify this vital data in every picture you take. Assuming that you shoot on “Automatic”, your camera will take care of everything, but note how different shooting conditions and subjects will produce different results for these 4 photographic exposure characteristics.
Bare Essential # 4: Don’t Get Frustrated with Blurry Photos (Yet)
Your new camera (when shooting in “automatic” mode) is programmed to handle a wide variety of photographic scenarios provided that it can “guess” what it is supposed to do at the moment your click the shutter button. In order to make this happen quickly for a large percentage of “typical” scenarios, it makes certain assumptions. Sometimes these assumptions may not take into account the motion of your subject or variable lighting conditions. It is perfectly normal to be frustrated by blurry photos when shooting in “automatic” mode. It might just mean that you aren’t holding the camera steady enough or that your subject is moving too quickly for the camera to record a clean image. For now, just now that you’ll have tools at your disposal to correct for this when you start shooting in other more advanced modes. A blurry shot in “automatic” mode does not automatically make the camera crappy!
Bare Essential # 5: May the Flash Be With You
Like my second Bare Essential tip, this piece of advice is only a short-term recommendation. Until you get more comfortable with the more advanced features on your camera, resist the temptation to turn off or disable your built-in-flash (assuming you have one). Pop-Up or built-in flashes are not very strong by most standards and typically only provide “fill flash”. What this means is that the “automatic” settings of the camera will only fire the flash if it thinks the subject you are taking will benefit by it. For beginning photographers, I believe that it is better for the flash to go off than for you to be left with photos that are dark or that have excessive shadows. With that said, try not to include direct light sources in the frame of your shot. Natural or artificial lighting is most effective if it is coming from the sides or at angle to your subject. It is also worth mentioning that this is when the pop-up flash is most effective: when it is considered a secondary lighting source to whatever is the primary light source for the subject. Finally, one of the added benefits of using flash is it helps to reduce blurriness in situations where your subject might be moving or your hand might be a little unsteady.
Bare Essential # 6: Get Your Photos Off The Camera
If you use your new digital camera regularly, take advantage of the digital format by getting your pictures off the camera as often as possible. Many data storage experts will tell you that if you have only one copy of a digital asset you really don’t have a copy at all. I’ll make it even more fundamental: until you get those pictures off your camera, you don’t have a digital asset in the first place. The photo becomes a digital asset when it has been removed from the memory card and copied onto another medium (e.g. CD-ROM, DVD, hard disk, thumb drive, etc). Personally, I get my pictures copied off my memory card as soon as I finish shooting for the day. If you can’t do it immediately after your shoot (no access to your computer), do it at least on a per-weekly basis. Almost everyone that has ever taken digital photographs for a long enough time has fallen prey to this pitfall. Don’t let it cost you valuable pictures of your 10-month old son before you learn about protecting your digital assets.
In my next posting, I’ll talk about the role of software in today’s digital photography.
Stay Tuned ….
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