Digital Photography Basics
The great thing about digital cameras is that taking a picture with them is so easy - you just point and snap your picture. But what if you want to learn how to take better pictures, so that you have a good chance of catching some great memories with your camera? We've set out some digital photography basics for you below - think of it as a mini digital photography guide, to get you started on the road to beautiful photographs.
Use your LCD monitor. The LCD monitor is one of the things that sets the digital camera apart from the old-fashioned non-digital camera. If you're used to using a non-digital camera, you may be reluctant to give your new LCD monitor on your digital camera a try. With the LCD monitor, you can see what your picture will look like, before you take it. And once you've taken your picture, you can quickly check it out to see if you should take another shot.
Edit as you go. Unlike a traditional film camera, your digital camera lets you take more shots, and you can also delete shots that you don't like, on the go. This is especially handy if you're using a lower-capacity memory card (although it's highly recommended that you pick up a high-capacity one, just for the convenience of having more so much more storage). Using your LCD monitor, you can check out your work, and re-adjust your subject's poses or positioning, or make adjustments to your settings.
Camera resolution. Whether you've splurged on a high-megapixel camera or not, you should keep in mind that megapixels will only have a big effect if you'll be making large prints from your shots. If you're sticking with small- or regular-sized prints, you really don't need the extra megapixel power. If you're shooting pictures to upload to your website or blog, you might even want to adjust your resolution to less than the maximum (usually the default option), since this will give you smaller files to upload.
ISO settings. In general, using a low ISO settings will give you a picture with good image quality with what's known as low "noise". Noise shows up in your images in the form of tiny specks, and the lower the ISO setting, the less noise you'll see. Sometimes, however, you may want to increase your ISO setting. A higher ISO setting lets you use a faster shutter speed, which can be helpful when taking telephoto shots.
White balance presets Your digital camera probably already comes with a variety of preset white balance settings. The white balance function gives you more control over how colors look in your images when shooting under different lighting conditions. It's best to just play around with the different white balance presets on your camera, and try for yourself which setting works best under different lighting conditions.