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My objective with this little set of guides is to make general suggestions that are virtually universal.
These are suggestions based on several years of working with and owning several different kinds of digital cameras, and were developed for the Basic Digital Photography classes I've been teaching for several years now.
Illustrations are of my Canon S3is.
1. For most shooting, switch your camera to “P” (Program) instead of using the “Green Box”(Auto) mode. Think of it as giving your camera a "steroid injection." "Program" does all the things that the Auto mode does - only better.
2. File Size and Resolution (Image Quality) – Always shoot at highest resolution and file size your camera is capable of.
Why? Because if you're shooting at a lower resolution you might as well have bought a lower resolution, cheaper camera than the one you have.
And think about this: What if you get the chance to take the "picture of a lifetime" and you happen to have the camera set at a low resolution? There's nothing you can do to make it print at a decent size, is there?
So always shoot "big." It's easy to reduce a file size for e mailing AFTER you have that great image. Yes, of course larger files take up more space on your card. But the cost of cards has dropped so low these days, it's really silly not to have an extra or larger card available.
3. ISO Setting – Light sensitivity of camera (Think of this in the same way you used to think about the film you bought.)
Most digital cameras automatically set themselves (usually 100 – 200 ISO).
But by choosing an ISO setting of 400, you're improving the camera's effectiveness - making the flash seem a little more powerful, and shooting faster because the camera will automatically select a faster shutter speed when you're not using the flash.
(Experiment with the ISO setting. 400 does NOT work well with a few compact cameras. But it will work great for most.)
4. White Balance - Choose "Auto" and forget about it. White Balance controls the way your camera sees the color of light. And, yes, you can adjust it for specific light sources (incandescent, fluorescent, open shade, etc.) But, don't. Auto works wonderfully well almost all the time, so why mess with a good thing?
5. Flash –Turn OFF “Red Eye” feature (this feature slows down the camera, doesn’t work well, and is confusing to people when you use it – lots of flashes - especially if your camera has that "flicker" feature.)
The flash only works from 6 – 12 feet. Don’t use a flash when shooting scenery or long distance pictures. But DO use the flash when you're shooting people in bright midday sunlight - it fills in the harsh shadows. And, no, it won't overpower the sunlight.
6. Focus – Hold the button HALF WAY DOWN to focus on a subject (not the background). If necessary - say, the subject is off center - first compose the entire shot using the zoom, then point the center spot at the subject, press the button halfway down (this locks the focusing point!), then re-frame the shot and take the picture!!
Using this technique does a lot of important things: in addition to activating the auto-focus, it takes a light reading and sets the camera for correct exposure; it also charges the sensor and the flash.
All these things MUST happen every time BEFORE the camera will allow you to shoot.
This is the ONLY way you can get past that pesky thing we call "Shutter Lag," when the camera seems to wait and wait before snapping the shutter.
Remember! Until you press the button half way down, the camera has absolutely no idea what you want it to do!
- Hold the camera like a camera In other words, use both hands. View the image through the rangefinder window - unless you don't have one. The camera is more stable. You can see the image better. And you don't have to worry about glare and reflections on the LED screen.
- Carry an extra memory card. (They're so cheap these days. Why get stuck with too little memory or a card that just goes bad.)
- Remove pictures from card often. Save them to your computer or a disk and delete pictures so you can reuse your card over and over. You should also Re-format the card occasionally. This not only erases the images on the card but also cleans the card’s memory.
DO NOT ALLOW YOUR COMPUTER TO ERASE PHOTOS FROM YOUR DISK. Do this in the camera only.
- Charge your camera battery often! And carry extra batteries.
