3 Simple Ways to Improve Your Digital Photos

When digital cameras exploded onto the scene a few years ago, it changed photography in several ways. One big factor was it took a big expense out of the picture taking business. No more expense film, instant viewing, and the ability to exchange photos digitally with no cost made a huge impact on photography. Shutterbugs everywhere were elated and photos were cheap and easy,

But going digital didn't help people take better pictures. Digital photos still require some basic photography skills to get that great picture. But you don't need hours or days of training to improve your photos, just apply a few basic techniques that can make any photo better. And we won't even use any technical terms.

Know Your Basic Camera Settings

Everyone hates manuals. They are usually written by someone with a real problem in communicating or translated so poorly that you can't understand what they are saying. But you do need to know the some basic functions to take photos. My favorite settings for beginners or the technically challenged in no particular order are:

On and off switch – great for saving batteries

Shutter Button – This is where you press to actually take a photo

Auto Setting – this is where you let the camera decide on the best settings

Where to put the batteries – You want to take pictures, you need to put the batteries in the camera

Where the memory card is – Yes, most digital cameras need the additional storage

The list above is must know but a good second list would include where to set the ISO (this is sensitivity to light setting) speed. Don't worry if you don't know about ISO yet; just use 100 for outdoor shots and 400 for indoor shots as a very general rule of thumb. Know your flash drop off distance (most are pretty short distances like 12 feet maximum). Know how to work your optical zoom (forget the digital, the loss in quality is not worth it). Know where to change your resolution of photos (that's the number of pixels – if you plan on larger than 4 by 6 prints this number should be higher).

Visualize Your Photo

Before you look at that viewfinder, think a little bit about what you want to capture as far as the image. Look at the subject and decide on a focal point. Pick a spot, subject, item, or whatever that is what you want to preserve in time. Look for distractions like poles that are behind someone's head, how much of the scene you want capture, and what you don't want in the final photo. Sometimes you want some background to tell the story; sometimes you just want the part that is the story. If you are taking a group shot for example, is the location important? Then make sure you get that in the photo but still focus on the people since they are the subject.

Regardless of your subject matter, fill the frame. That simply means get close enough that your primary subject is taking up the maximum amount of space in the picture. You can still have evidence of the location, but be able to clearly see the people's expressions and other details. Photos should tell a story or record an event, place, and circumstances. You don't have to make a production out of the planning but a little thought can go a long ways in catching just the right image.

Working On The Dark Side

In the old days this meant the darkroom where you actually developed the film and made the prints. In the new digital world this means using photo-editing software on your computer. You don't need to be a Photoshop expert but it would be good to know how to do the following:

Change the contrast – not every exposure will be perfect and a little light adjustment can help

Crop – this allows you to remove things you don't want in the finished photo

Change the format – sometimes you'll want a jpeg, or maybe a gif for the web

Change size – If you shoot in the big sizes, you may want to reduce the size for easy emailing

There's a great small and easy software program that can do all of the above and more. It's called Irfanview and is free. It's a stand-alone program that is extremely easy to use and learn. You can find the most current version by doing a search in Google on the name. For the quick and easy editing chores mentioned above, it works great.

See, there was nothing to terribly difficult about any of the above suggestions. And all can contribute to a better photo and not take a lot of effort to learn and use. And if you can't find that camera manual to review, you can probably find it on the manufacturer's website to download.