5 Simple Tips to Better Photos
Digital cameras are making their way into many homes, and proportionally, the number of people asking one question is on the rise:

“How can I use my point and shoot camera to make good photos?”

This article makes a few assumptions since it is not possible for a ‘one size fits all’ answer. There are numerous great articles focusing on squeezing every bit and byte out of digital point and shoots, they include many technical and sometimes difficult to remember techniques. Moreover, everyone is not totally serious about getting the ‘perfect’ photo… getting good photos is what matters.

Let’s assume that You:

• have a compact digital camera.

• like to photograph everyday events.

• are not concerned about details of technology.

• are not interested in hi-fi stuff – just decent photos.

• are willing to spend the next few minutes reading about it.

Here are the points, with a short explanation…

1. Point – Shoot – Wait
Whenever shooting, don’t click and immediately move the camera away… wait for a second before you move your hands. It will reduce the number of blurred photos drastically.

Explanation: Most cheap digital cameras have a problem called ’shutter lag’. It is the time between you clicking the button and the actual photo being taken. Film cameras do not have this problem, neither do the more costly SLRs.

2. Pay Attention to the Light
Look for soft, reflected light for portraits. Slightly overcast day is perfect! Keeping the sun behind your back ensures good overall lighting. Pointing the camera in the direction of the sun will make anything in between appear solid black or extremely dark. Also, do not include very dark and very bright objects in the same frame as long as possible.

3. Get Closer
Cameras with digital zoom are nothing more than a marketing gimmick. If your optical zoom does not get close enough, move yourself closer to the subject if possible. Getting too close and using wide-angle will result in distorted images… so choose the location carefully!

4. Use flash sparingly
A flash usually ruins a perfectly fine photograph. Unless totally required, keep the flash off. Let the camera decide for alternative ways to expose the photo. Use the flash when the sun is right overhead – to fill in the shadows under the eyebrows.

5. Steady The Camera
Many point and shoot cameras also have very low sensitivity to light, hence they have to keep their shutter open for a long time to gather enough light. Next time you are photographing in low light, use a steady object to take support while you shoot. If you don’t have anything around to take support of, make sure you hold the camera with both hands. Before you are going to click, hold you breath for a moment – since breathing almost always causes blur in hand-held night photos. Hope these tips help you to increase the quality of your day to day photographs! Remember, these are the most basic techniques to get good photos… we will discuss more and better ways to improve photos in the coming weeks.