Digital Cameras - Start thinking more about your digital photography

By Dan Feildman


Likewise, slow your exposure speed to 1/10 of a second or thereabouts. Be sure to hold your digital camera steady, or use a tripod, to avoid camera shake. That waterfall will now look like a stream of water flowing down. Try adjusting your digital camera's exposure time when recording pool balls, automobiles, or other fast-moving subjects for interesting effects.

Most higher-end digital cameras support a histogram feature that can be displayed before or after you take a photo. Though it looks like a complex chart, a histogram is merely a representation of an image's brightness, and whether or not it has rich shadow and highlight areas. Without going into science or a lot of details, here's how you can use your histogram while taking pictures. If the histogram is weighted towards the left side with vary little if any curvature near the right, your photo will most likely be underexposed (too dark). Use your exposure compensation tool to brighten the image. Consider a slower shutter speed to allow more light to enter the camera lens. Note that there are exceptions. Are you taking photos of fireworks in a night sky? Since most of the picture will be dark your histogram should naturally be weighted towards the left.

What do you do when you leave your tripod at home and you see an awesome shot? There are several things you can do, its not the end of the world. If you are using autofocus mode, your digital camera may have a shutter button that requires you to press halfway down to focus, then fully down to take the picture. If you are experiencing camera shake, get the camera to focus on the subject by pressing the button down half-way, then press the button down fully and keep your finger pressed on the button until the camera has taken the picture.

If your digital camera has an optical viewfinder and not an electronic one, you should never, never use this when pointing your digital camera towards the sun, especially for sunrise and sunset photos! As your digital camera's optical viewfinder is not tinted, it's almost as bad as just pointing your head and looking straight at the sun. This could cause serious eye damage. Looking through a viewfinder versus the LCD helps you hold the camera sturdier and closer to your eyes, thus reducing camera shake. However, in this instance, you should use your digital camera's LCD. If you're worried about camera shake, use a tripod. However, especially with the sunrise, due to the brightness of the sky, your digital camera should normally be able to take very fast photos, minimizing any camera shake.

During travel you could experience and might want to go to places that are cold. When the weather gets much colder, especially as it gets below freezing, take care to not breathe on your digital camera. Tiny water droplets in your breath could form condensation on your digital camera lens. If this happens, immediately wipe the moisture off with a lint-free cloth, lest it completely freeze and possibly cause damage.

Don't damage your digital camera equipment, or yourself, when traveling on double-decker buses! Some tour buses in large towns use double-decker buses for large groups. That way, those who want to take photos can do so without having to shoot through the glass of windows. While this offers a good opportunity for photographers, especially if there is ample light to take fast pictures to offset the speed of the vehicle, be careful with yourself and your equipment! Some of these buses may pass very close to low-hanging trees or stoplights. Thus, you should never stand up taking photographs while the vehicle is moving, no matter how incredible the subject. If you are not paying attention and stand up at the wrong time, a limb or other object could knock your camera right out of your hand, or worse, something can knock you in the head!

While you should always try to take digital photos at nighttime that avoid the blurred results of 'camera-shake' due to long exposures with an unstable digital camera, realize that blur is not always undesirable. Some blurring can be used creatively, such as that created by cars driving on an interstate at nighttime. This effect is best performed if the roadway is next to a lit skyscraper or cityscape. Frame a photo containing the cityscape and roadway, and take an exposure of half a second or longer as necessary (use a tripod!). The skyscrapers should look clear and crisp, and the roadways will turn into streams of light.

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