How to take best Snaps with a Digital Camera – Digital Camera Techniques

June 24, 2009

Nowadays, almost every other person owns a Digital camera. Advance in technology, stylish and efficient, these cameras provide the best image results. Price does matter and of course the quality of your equipment, but the most important factor is the usage of the camera. Almost all the digital cameras available in the market offer the same techniques and features so how you bring them into use decides the fate of your photos.

Highly technical as it may seem, it’s only a matter of applying common sense and following some basic rules:

Organize your camera

First things first; when using your camera for the first time or after restarting with new batteries, enter the correct date and time. Like wise you will be able to not only trace your pictures but also sometimes the time and cause of any error that may occur in your camera.

Read the Camera Manual

You should be able to clearly understand the features available in your camera and their respective functions. Carefully study the icons used for each of them and then move to the next step.

Setting up your new camera

Now check the battery status of the camera and then the settings you want to keep. Check the view finder; if it’s blurry then make necessary adjustment with the camera diopter.

Holding the camera

The most basic thing to bear in mind is that the camera is more of a tool than a machine so before mastering its operation, you first have to learn to hold it! Hold it in your right hand (and in left if you are left handed) and then support it with the other hand. Keep your hands off the lens, flash or auto focus. This will prevent darkening or blurring of the image and keeps your hand steady.

Supporting the camera to avoid camera movements

Usually, the sharpness of the image is lost if the camera is unnecessarily moved while the shutter is open. So first position yourself and take your aim where you have to shoot and then release the shutter. This can be done in a number of ways:In bright light or when using the flash, simply hold the camera in you right hand supported by the other and press the shutter button slowly and pause in the middle so that the focus is locked before the image is captured.

In case of dim light or when not using a flash while using a longer focal length lens or a high zoom, one need a tri pod stand or a monopod for stability. Another way is to lean against a wall or a tree while bracing yourself with your elbows or simply bracing the camera with your face. Any how, the shutter button has to be pressed slowly to lock the focus.

Note: You may press the button all at once but it will delay the photo capturing and the snap may be out of focus. Pressing halfway down will allow the camera to calculate the focus and exposure simultaneously thus speeding up the photo capturing.

Shutter speed and lighting

The shutter allows the light to strike the image sensor for exposure and thus the shutter speed decides the amount of light entering the camera. Follow the simple rule; lesser the light, darker the image and more the light, brighter the image. The shutter speed when lowered should cause the image to get lighter, however in digital cameras, this effect is not observed because the camera correspondingly changes the aperture to equal the shutter speed changes.

Note: You can increase the shutter speed by increasing the ISO and lower it down by using a /neutral density filter.

Foreground and background focusing

For having an object in the background or foreground focused sharply, you have to change the Depth of Field. For this the aperture size is to be altered. In case of landscape photography when a larger field depth is desired so that all the details in the foreground as well as the background are clearly visible in the snap, you should have a smaller aperture whereas if plan to capture a particular object like a butterfly on a flower bush, you should go for a larger aperture size since it will make the subject prominent with the background in a perfect soft blur.

Exposure control

The shutter speed and the aperture size are the most important parameters for the light exposure. The two should be appropriately adjusted as discussed above in order to get the best exposure of the image on the sensor. If exposure is too quick, it will result in a darker image so the tone of the snap can be selected by adjusting the exposure.

Capturing static & moving objects

Static sceneries can be easily captured if the above mentioned tips are clearly followed but a fast moving object poses the real challenge. Faster the motion of the subject, faster should be the shutter speed in order to have a sharp image. The main problem with action photos is that they get blurry and distorted; a disappointment for sports fan. The technique involves a simple calculation of the

-direction of movement
-the time of exposure of the subject on the image sensor
-distance of the subject from the camera
-the focal length of the lens

Note: When the shutter is open, try to capture the moving object from an angle from where it is either moving away or towards the camera but not parallel to it as this will expose the object to maximum number of pixels on the image sensor, thus giving the blurry effect. In this case, lower down the shutter speed and increase the focal length of the lens as this will cause the image formation on the sensor with shortest possible movement thereby preventing picture blurring.

Sometimes, using this blur creatively will add more life to your pictures, for example when taking the snap of a bullet train; the blur helps in creating an aura of the actual power and high speed of the train.

Utilize the sunlight

The best thing about out door shooting is that you can make use of the natural light. During midday or when the weather is pretty sunny, you can switch off the flash. The colours appear sharp and natural but at dawn or sunset when the light is low, increase the exposure time so that maximum amount of light can enter the lens. However, when capturing sunsets or sunrise, the main point is to get darker and richer colours to produce the effect. In such cases, under exposure will do a fine job. If the sun is not your subject to be shot, then choose the afternoon time, especially half to an hour before the twilight when there is enough sunlight to cover the surroundings while the sun is below the horizon so it also does not interfere with the image. Also when the sun is to be captured in the photo too, take the photo when its partially hidden by a cloud so it appears as a soft and warm object.

Note: At dawn and dusk, shoot with the sun behind you instead of shooting head on into it so that it illuminates the surrounding well. Do not look directly into the sun even through a view finder, since it can cause severe eye damage.

Using the White balance setting

If you are not an expert in using the natural day light, the digital cameras also offer a number of White balance settings for different situations, for e.g. the versatile Auto mode works in most of the cases, day light mode for outdoor shooting in bright light, Incandescent or Tungsten mode when shooting indoors and when a warmer effect is required. Similarly, the Cloudy mode is best for taking pictures in a rainy weather whereas the Manual mode will set the white balance by just focusing the camera on a white sheet of paper.

Versatile use of the Self timer

The Self timer option available in most of the cameras not only is used to allow the user to get into the frame but can also be used to capture pictures in dim light. Just place the camera on a smooth surface and set the timer (don’t stand in front of the shutter while doing so otherwise that will ruin the focus) and then take he picture. In case of taking a picture of your own self, set the focus on any other object at the same distance as at which your photo is to be taken.

And lastly, feel free to shoot; don’t hastate in taking risks and experimenting. As a general rule, take a number of photos of an object from different angles. And most importantly, be patient as it takes time to master the skill. With each photograph you take, you learn something new; so each time you make a mistake, you are a step closer to perfection.

Written by admin · Filed Under Digital Camera Buying Advice