| With its ability to generate nearly perfect images, | | | | editing tools. |
| a digital camera can be fantastic and flexible tool. | | | | 6. Remember that each sensor is designed to |
| However, understanding a digital camera can take | | | | capture a specific range of tones. If the full light |
| time. Novice users will often limit themselves to | | | | available is not allowed to reach the sensor the |
| the typical "pose-and-click" brand of photography | | | | camera will not receive the information it requires |
| used by amateurs for decades. This is, | | | | to build a good image. Most of the pixels will be |
| unfortunately, a great injustice to a camera that | | | | unable to capture the tonal range in their full |
| can be put to better use. To avoid condemning | | | | scope and vibrancy. This will result in lower picture |
| such an elegant and versatile machine to a life of | | | | quality. |
| drudgery a prospective photographer need but | | | | 7. Where underexposure makes a picture toneless |
| follow the ten shooting tips given below: | | | | and dark, overexposure makes colors too rich, |
| 1. Use the camera as often as possible. Practice, | | | | bestowing an artificial hue to the picture or even |
| practice, and then more practice is the key to | | | | causing it to look "washed out". Overexposures |
| improvement. | | | | overpowers the interplay of light and dark effects |
| 2. Never depend on PhotoShop or any similar | | | | and over saturates the subtle tones that are |
| photo-editing tool to digitally enhance the quality of | | | | essential for giving an image a natural look. |
| a photograph or fix mistakes. This is the first | | | | 8. When the human mind decides the parameters |
| vow anyone who wants to be a good | | | | under which a photograph is taken, the best |
| photographer must take and then follow. While | | | | potential for quality will result. Automation helps |
| these editing tools are excellent ways to make | | | | guard against bad photographs, but will never |
| little changes and corrections, a good | | | | manage to take great pictures. A novice |
| photographer seeks to take the picture that | | | | photographer should gradually move away from |
| minimizes or even eliminates the need for such | | | | automated functions and start taking over these |
| alterations. The more an image is changed, the | | | | tasks when it comes to exposure, color, noise, |
| less of the photographer's skill is left within it. | | | | and so on. A gradual, but unmistakable, |
| 3. The camera's focus must be on the subject, | | | | improvement in the quality of photographs is sure |
| not on people or objects around the subject. This | | | | to follow. |
| reduces the "noise level" in the photograph as well | | | | 9. Always remember to compose a picture. The |
| as improving clarity and sharpness in the image. | | | | art of focusing on the subject using frames, |
| 4. Learn to look at and respect | | | | movement, lights, and other available tools, |
| underexposure-warning lights. These lights are | | | | composition is the art of photography that takes |
| particularly useful for beginners, allowing them to | | | | place outside the camera. Composition techniques |
| experiment with the exposure settings until the | | | | can be learned from either a senior photographer |
| blinking warning lights disappear. Once the | | | | or from a book. Once the lessons have been |
| photographer gains experience they can start | | | | learned superficially in this way, they must be |
| using their own insights in tinkering with the | | | | practiced just as the art of photography itself is. |
| exposure levels. | | | | An almost automatic improvement in the quality |
| 5. Avoid underexposure at all costs. An | | | | of photographs will be seen. |
| underexposed image will lack color quality. It | | | | 10. The final and most important step is for every |
| causes the camera's sensors to fail to read the | | | | photographer to learn to critically examine each |
| colors coming into the lens, resulting in an image | | | | image that they shoot. Study it to discover the |
| that lacks the naturalness and vibrancy that it | | | | weaknesses of the photograph. Re-shoot the |
| should have. Not only does this "deaden" the | | | | photograph, endeavoring to remove the |
| resultant picture, but also it is among the more | | | | weaknesses. Continue to hone the craft until fully |
| difficult to realistically correct problems for digital | | | | satisfied with the results. |