Digital Photography for Newbies
When thinking about purchasing a digital camera, a number of things need to be taken into consideration. For a new person, this could be quite intimidating, but digital cameras are easier to understand than you might think.
Picking the Right Camera
Of course the most important tool here is the camera, so this is the first purchase you will need to make before you get started. The quality of a digital camera is mainly defined by four features: resolution, lens aperture, lens zoom range, lens quality and software.
Resolution is one of the most important features to consider. The resolution is the number of pixels in the captured image, which basically means that the higher your camera’s resolution, the more detailed and clear your pictures will be.
Lens zoom range is next. This refers to the amount of distance you will have to maintain between you and your subject when taking the picture and how far in your lens will zoom at that length. Most digital cameras come with a 3x zoom and that will allow you to come in really close on your subject without getting a blurry result. You will be able to stand at a distance, and the lens will zoom in so that it looks like you’re standing up close.
How to Get Started
Once you have chosen a camera you can now start to have some fun. Play around for a bit to get used to all the features of your new camera, and take some fun photos. Take some shots of your pets, or go outside and shoot some still objects such as a tree or flower. This will help you learn how to manage your camera’s settings, and who knows, you may even turn out some photos that you really love.
Transferring Your Pictures for Display
Once you’ve taken a fair amount of photos, you’re going to want to transfer them either for printing or display. With a regular camera, you could expect about one in twenty-four shots to be good. When you sent your film to the shop, or started developing it yourself, you’d have to remind yourself not to be disappointed that what you saw in your head didn’t transfer to the shot.
With digital photography, this process is all but eliminated. Because these cameras work digitally, you can simply look at and delete the pictures you don’t like. You can, therefore, continue to take a shot until you get the image you want.
Periodically you’ll want to download all your pictures onto your computer. This means that digital photography often results in a bigger collection of photos than you would have otherwise. You can file them all on your computer and then print off the ones you like on your own printer. Or you can take your memory card to a store that offers photo printing services and have your prints made there.
With photo retouching software you can also play around with the shading, tones and crispness, as well as eliminate red-eye.
Many folks still like to have hard copy printouts of their photos while others are content to store their images on their computers for viewing in slide show or screensaver mode. You can also share images electronically via email and digital upload sites with friends and families.
In short, digital photography is a very versatile and exciting way of taking photos. Once you start you certainly won’t want to stop!
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Filed under Photography by Jason Mann
