When you’re out taking pictures, and a problem crops up, it isn’t always easy to solve it. There’s a better way of doing things however! As football fans are fond of saying, “The best defense is a good offense.” And the best offense here is to avoid problems with your digital camera in the first place.
That’s not to say things aren’t going to happen that are unexpected and unavoidable. However, many of the common problems photographers have when out shooting pictures are easily remedied with just a little prior planning.Dead Batteries
There’s nothing worse than missing that great picture because the battery in your digital camera died. The easy solution is to always, ALWAYS, have extra batteries in your camera case. It doesn’t matter if you use rechargeable or regular batteries, you need at least one spare set of battieries.
Also, bear in mind that if you’re outside shooting in cold weather, your batteries will die a lot quicker. Digital camera batteries just don’t last as long when they get cold, so in the case of lower temperatures, or out cavorting in the snow to take pictures, it might be better to have a couple of extra batteries.
Yes, it’s true batteries can be expensive, but it’s worth the spending a little extra money to keep from beating your head against the wall because a dead battery made you miss that once in a lifetime shot. Spare batteries are a must!When Cards Go Bad
A while back I went on vacation and took all my pictures on one card. I thought I’d have some fantastic shots. I was sure I’d filled that card with lots and lots of memorable photos.
The scenery was indeed breathtaking, but what really took my breath away was when I tried to load the pictures onto my computer and got one of those dreaded “ERROR” messages. The card was bad and most of the files were corrupted. There was no way to access them, so all those wonderful pictures were gone, gone, gone.
While it doesn’t happen often, cards can and do go bad. That’s why it’s better to buy two smaller cards for your digital camera than one humongous card. For instance, if you’re looking at buying a 2-GB card, get a couple of 1-GB cards instead.
Yes, it’s cheaper to buy a huge bunch of gigabytes on one card. But if that one card goes bad, there goes ALL your pictures. Don’t make that mistake. Buy smaller cards. It’s better to have part of your pictures than none of your pictures.
The moral of the story? Two cards are better than one.It’s Raining, It’s Pouring
The weather isn’t cooperating, or maybe you just like pictures of rain. Or you’re on a boat or at the seashore, and there’s a lot of moisture in the air. Whereever you are, if there’s a lot of moisture in the air, it can be a problem. You want to take pictures but you don’t want to ruin your camera. What to do?
Well, you can buy protective gear to keep in your camera case for such times. Places like B & H Photo or Calumet Photographic stores carry waterproof cases. However, if it’s just an occasional thing, you might not want to spend money for such equipment.
For a make-do solution, carry a clear plastic bag in your camera case to keep water off your camera. If you’re traveling and don’t have a plastic bag in your camera case, grab one of those clear disposable shower caps and use it.Planning Ahead Saves Your Sanity
If planning ahead doesn’t save your sanity, it will at least improve your chances for good pictures. Having charged-up batteries and extra memory cards plus a dry camera will at least give you the opportunity to take lots of pictures.
And getting those great pictures is why you bought a digital camera in the first place!

Digital cameras offer so many functions and features, photography can seem way too complex for the beginner. In frustration many new photographers simply switch their digital camera to auto, and never learn how to use it properly.

If you read that and thought “That sounds like me!” read on; I have good news. There are some great ways to take better photos without having to learn the complexities of your camera. That’s right – leave your camera on auto and still learn to take great photos.

Of course I encourage anybody to learn and understand aperture and shutter speed, the settings you will need to understand to really improve as a photographer. However, the best encouragement is to start getting results quickly, so here are five easy tips to help you improve your photography…the low-tech way!

Better Photography Tip#1. Take your photo in the best possible light. You may have heard that the best light for most photography is very early or very late in the day, when the sun is low, and the light is soft and colourful. This is a good rule to follow most of the time. Not only is the light more attractive, you can also avoid the contrast and heavy shadows of midday.

Some subjects actually work better on cloudy days. For animals and people, cloudy weather softens the light and overcomes the problem of your subject squinting into the light. In the forest, overcast skies prevent the heavy contrast that is a problem on sunny days.

Better Photography Tip#2. Landscape photos: create a more interesting composition. Many photos can be made more interesting not by zooming right in on the subject, but by zooming out, or standing further back to capture more of the surroundings. The important thing is to use make sure you use the surroundings to add impact to the picture.

For example, let’s say you are photographing an old rustic farmhouse. You could add even more character by using a line of fence posts, or a gravel driveway, to lead the eye into the picture. Or when photographing a waterfall, you could try going a little further downstream, to shoot the creek with the waterfall in the background for a more interesting angle.

Better Photography Tip#3. Sunset and Sunrise. Everyone loves taking sunset (and sunrise) photos. A brilliant sunset sky can make a great photo, but you can make it even better by looking for a good subject in the foreground. The key is to find something that stands out against the sky, with a an outline people can recognize; a tree, a windmill, even a row of power poles. The subject does not have to dominate the photo; in fact it is probably best if it only takes up about ten percent of the composition so that the sky remains the starring attraction. But if you can create a striking silhouette, you will immediately add character to your sunset photograph.

Better Photography Tip#4. Animals (And People). Portrait style photos are usually spoiled by a distracting background. When you take a photo of a friend, a pet, or an animal, you don’t want the surroundings to take attention away from the subject.

So here’s the trick. Don’t stand close to your subject and take the photo with a regular or wide-angle lens. Stand further back and zoom in with your largest lens magnification. This will have two results. First, it will reduce the area behind and around the subject that is visible in the photo. Second, it will minimize the depth of field, which means only your subject should be in focus. Anything in front or behind the subject will be out of focus, and will not cause a distraction.

Better Photography Tip#5. Concentrate. Sometimes all it takes to make a photo a success is to move a little to the left or right, or zoom in or out just a little more. If you just point the camera in the general direction of the subject without thinking about what you are doing, your results will not improve. If you slow down and really examine what you can see in the viewfinder before you press the button, your success rate will impove.

Simple things to look out for include; trees and power-poles appearing to grow out of the head of the subject (move yourself or the subject to a better position); litter on the ground (pick it up); aircraft or distracting clouds in the sky (wait for them to pass by); blurry branches on a windy day (wait for conditions to settle for a moment). All these things and more can ruin a photo, and they can all be remedied by taking a good look to make sure your picture has captured everything you want, and nothing you don’t want.

So there you have some easy tips for good photography without getting hung up on technology. Above all, pay attention to tip #5 and slow down to concentrate on what you are doing. The other golden rule: keep practicing, take lots of photos whenever you can. You will learn a lot more from your own experience in the field, than by being told what to do. Remember with digital cameras it doesn’t cost you anything to keep on snapping. With patience and attention to detail, you will be taking better photos in no time – guaranteed!

Great rainforest photography is like all nature photography. You get the best results when you concentrate on nature and light, not on technology. Yes, you need a decent camera, and you must know how to use it. But results in rainforest photography are not about the price tag on your camera. If you have a tripod, and a camera that allows you to adjust the aperture and shutter speed, you are set to go.

I make my living from nature photography, including a lot of rainforest photos, and I have never relied on the latest equipment for my work. Great rainforest photography is simply about finding an eye-catching subject, in good light, and having a creative eye for composition.

Note: The following tips are for photos of rainforest scenes, not for close-up photos of leaves, fungus etc.

Rainforest Photography Tip #1: Choose a subject. As they say in the classics, “It’s a jungle out there.” In the rainforest, you are confronted with foliage, branches, roots, rocks, vines…in your face and all around you. A really good rainforest photo requires structure, to make some visual sense of all that clutter. Look for something that is immediately eye-catching – a big tree that dominates the trees around it; a root system that leads the eye; a waterfall or stream; in short, something that you can build a composition around.

Rainforest Photography Tip #2: Use the best natural light. The mistake almost everybody makes at first is to take their rainforest photos on a bright sunny day when they are in the mood for a walk. Wrong! In full sunlight, the rainforest becomes a patchwork of light and shade that is impossible to expose properly. What you need is a cloudy day, when the light is much more even. Misty weather adds even more atmosphere to the rainforest, and can add a mysterious character to your rainforest photo.

Do not use a flash. The flash illuminates the scene with flat, white light, eliminating the gentle play of natural light and shade that gives the rainforest its character. Always use the natural light.

Rainforest Photography Tip #3: Carry a tripod. Taking your rainforest photo under a heavy tree canopy, on a cloudy day (see rainforest photography tip #2), means the level of light will be very low. You may be shooting at shutter speeds as slow as one or two seconds. You will always need your tripod, and it is best to avoid windy days so that the scene is as still as possible.

Rainforest Photography Tip #4: Use a wide-angle lens (or a zoom lens, zoomed back to its widest angle). The wide angle lens has several advantages for rainforest photography. Firstly, it exaggerates the sense of perspective in a photo, creating a sense of three dimensional depth. Viewers of your photo will feel like they are looking not just at a rainforest, but into it. Secondly, the wide-angle lens has a naturally wide depth of field. With so much detail all around you, it is important that you can keep both the foreground and the background in focus.

Rainforest Photography Tip #5: Stay on the path. There are some practical reasons for staying on the path when bushwalking. You minimize the possibility of getting lost, injured, or fined by some over-officious park ranger. The people who run the national parks are not stupid. They know what you want to see, and design their trails accordingly. Sticking to the path will not rob you of any great photo opportunities.

In terms of rainforest photography, you are able to create some distance between you and the foliage around you. It is much easier to photograph a tree when you don’t have the branch of another tree in your face. By staying on the path, you can get a clear view of your subject, without interference. You can even use the path as part of the composition in your rainforest photo. It is an excellent way of inviting the viewer to join you on your walk in the rainforest.

So there you have my five rainforest photography tips. Notice they concentrate on light and creativity, not on fancy techniques or equipment. You can make great improvements in all your nature photography this way, regardless of what type of camera you have.

The following are the steps to take those amazing picture-perfect shots.

The technical

First things first, it is best that the camera being used has a plate for imaging that is large. Also, a lens that is considered fast should also be used. “Fast” in photography language means a lens that has an aperture that is larger than f2.8.

When the aperture of a camera is large, the image or picture that will be produced has a depth of field that is shallow. In photography language, this basically means that the area that is behind as well as front of the subject being taken is a blur.

As much as possible, the shoulder and the head of the subject should fill the whole frame. Also, if the subject is a person, don’t forget to focus on the subject’s eyes.

The technique

Practice really does make perfect. There is no such thing as a perfect job done only once. It takes perseverance as well as patience. When shooting pictures, try to take a series of shots using a lens that has a wide opening and a stop on at least one or two.

Focus on various areas such as the ear, nose, hair using varying apertures for such. When the pictures come out, you then have many different options to choose from.

To be able to create a depth of field that is shallow, the best thing you should do is use a long lens – preferably a telephoto – and have it set on the zoom that at its maximum. Then, try to stand as close to the subject as possible.

However, for subjects that are in motion, for example a car. The camera must then be moved the same way the subject is moving. Or simply put, the subject must be followed. The best film to be used for such a shot are ISO 400 films. Also, don’t forget to set the camera at an ISO setting that is similarly fast.

The body of the camera, especially when taking such moving picture shots, must be steady. Make sure to focus on the subject as you see it through the lens of the viewfinder. Using such a technique ensures that the subject being focused on is clear and crisp while the background is a beautiful blur. Such a picture helps highlight the movement being done by the subject therefore making it seemingly jump from the picture.

Photo effects

Believe it or not, there is also an easy and stress free way to create a similar photo effect without doing the techniques mentioned. This has become possible through the magic of software. Photoshop has a “blur” function, which blurs the picture’s background in a uniform manner independently as well as authentically the way an actual photograph may be done by a technically-savvy photographer. The software blur is and looks artificial while the real blur is more organic in feel.

Fortunately or unfortunately, the technology of software is advancing so that there is a CS2 version of Photoshop that enables anyone to create a blur that is considered as “smart.” This function takes into consideration the picture’s depth of field. This basically means that the function applies a lot of blurring effects to the pixels that appears more distant and applies a lot less blurring to the pixels that appear nearer. Believe it or not, such a function is adjustable that anyone could achieve any effect desired.

Here is a guide in achieving the wedding photography of a couple’s dreams:

1. Choosing the right photographer

In order to select a wedding photographer, a couple must first decide on the picture style that they want.

Portrait photographers are perfectly capable to take both formal and casual pictures, but he will most likely concentrate on the formal ones.

Photojournalists take shots that are candid and not planned. This kind of photographer usually has experience in journalism photography.

Hobbyist photographers are those who are often a friend or a relative of the couple, and would likely offer his services for free or a very low price. It is hard to tell the kind of pictures that they will produce, and there is a risk that the pictures may not be as good as a professional’s.

2. Getting the perfect camera

Wedding photographers usually use two basic camera types: the 35mm and the medium format. The 35mm has the tendency to produce pictures that are a little grainy, but the only person who may notice the difference are the photographers themselves.

3. Color or black and white?

Color is usually used in wedding photos, but those who want a more artistic feel may go for the black and white film. Black and white photos lasts longer than color ones, though color films capture the details of the event more appropriately. One option would be to take the pictures in color first, then have copies made in black and white.

4, Personality of the photographer

Most couples want a photographer who can take great pictures but who is also friendly and sociable. Set an interview with the prospective photographer, and make sure to ask effective questions. Also, make sure to ask for references, and take a look at his previous work.

When a brand new SLR (single lens reflex) model digital camera is put into

your hands, whether it is a purchase or a gift, you are holding an exquisitely crafted instrument designed to deliver sharp, crisp, brilliantly colored photos. If you spend the time to acquaint yourself with its technical aspects, a whole new world of photography can open up to you.

I admit that the typical manual for digital cameras can be intimidating. I have two manuals for a small digital camera that I bought two years ago. The camera can be used in automatic (point-and-shoot) or manual mode and the basic guide is 32 pages, the advanced guide is 144 pages.

Fortunately, camera manufacturers now have show and tell instructions in the form of DVDs and that should help. But sometimes technical terms discourage new owners from getting up close and personal with their new cameras.

With computer access it is really easy to search Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia, to investigate many technical terms like, for instance, mega pixels (tiny, tiny dots of color). When you see that the more mega pixels a camera has, (like 10.1mp or 12.1mp), the sharper the image is going to be because there is more pixel information being recorded when you shoot.

This means that you will be able to have your photos blown up to, say, poster or mural size because there is a greater density of pixel information and the image will keep its clarity at large sizes. Photos taken with less mega pixel data appear grainy because there are fewer recorded dots of color information.

Perhaps you remember with fondness the user-friendly cameras preceding the latest addition to your collection of memory makers.

With the stalwart (if slightly boxy and heavy) 35mm film camera, inserting a roll of film was sometimes a little tricky, lining up the film edge holes on the sprockets, and being careful to shield the camera from too much light when inserting the film.

But then once that was done, your automatic film camera was good to go. Just point, shoot and no worries. Of course, you really had no idea if you actually got the photos of what you were shooting until the film was developed days or weeks later.

Stepping into the 21st century, that scenario has changed dramatically with the advent of the digital camera. You know what you have right away.

(I was amused recently while watching a TV show where an irate actor snatched a camera from a paparazzi photographer to destroy unwanted photos. A scene like this done ten years ago would have been super dramatic with the person pulling out yards of exposed film. Now it is merely a matter of snapping out a tiny memory card!)

Here are a few of the basic things to learn about your camera.

Put very simply, the aperture (opening) of the camera lens is like the iris of the eye, enlarging to let in more light in low light situations and narrowing in brightly lit scenes like snow or water-reflecting scenes. In automatic mode, when there is too much or too little light coming through the aperture, the camera computer corrects for this.

You can manually control the amount of light by adjusting the f-stops on your camera lens. Basic f-stops range from f-1.2 to f-22. The lower number setting indicates a low light situation where the camera aperture is opened to its widest diameter to allow in more light. The high number setting shows an extremely brightly lit situation where the aperture needs to be closed down, letting in less light so that the image will not be over-exposed and washed out.

You can control the speed (ISO) at which the photo will be taken. In film cameras, the only way to change speed was to change rolls of film, sometimes wasting much of a roll. With your digital camera, you simply switch by dialing the speed you desire.

This is important if you are, for instance, shooting sports photos where the shutter is open a tiny fraction of a second so you can capture action without blurring. Or, you may want the shutter open for long periods if you are shooting night scenes or fireworks

The part of your camera that is governing how far away from your subject you are shooting is the lens. If your new digital camera is an SLR (single lens reflex) model, you are a very fortunate person. The SLR model is very versatile because with the flip of a button, you can change lenses quickly and easily. You can instantly change from shooting panoramic shots to intimate portraits or switch to a macro mode of ECUs (extreme close-ups).

Even if you start out with a basic lens of 18-55mm, the time you spend learning about the effects of using different focal length lenses will reward you with the knowledge to take spectacular photos.

Your digital camera is capable of taking stunning and memorable photos if you take a little time to really get acquainted.

(If you are thinking about upgrading from a digital point-and-shoot camera, take a look at the EOS Canon Rebel XTi SLR 10.1mp digital, the camera I love. With the professional level of this camera, your photographs can exhibit a whole new level of clarity and brilliance.)

When you are first getting into digital photography, make sure you have a general idea of what it is you will be dong with your camera. There are many things that can be done when one is starting to do digital photography, however if you do not know what you are doing or have never used a camera before you may want to educate yourself a little before jumping in.

Take A Class

There are many places where you can take a class on photography where they will not only teach you how to use a camera, but what type of camera to use as well. They will teach you where to take a picture and what types of mediums to use to get the effect you want in your picture. These classes are offered in many different places. Some are available at a community college, local camera shop or even by a local photo club.

Read A Book

There are many books that will teach you how to not only use a camera, but what different ones can do as well as what types of pictures each camera is good for. Try to find one that is easy reading for you and has good information. If it is a book made by a camera manufacturer, it is likely not a good source as it will only promote their products and not give a truly broad picture of digital photography.

Look Online

The web is a wonderful resource when it comes to research and self education. Many of the items that you want to know about in regards to digital photography are tight online and available for your perusal. Here you will be able to find out about all different things in relation to photography without needing to leave your home. In most cases, the information that you will find and need is available for free if you look in the right places.

So, make sure that before you go and buy a camera and just point and shoot, learn a little about it first. Consider all of the things that maybe you should know before you embark on your photography endeavor unarmed and unknowing. Learn a little so you will be able to better enjoy what you are doing and not become frustrated with a lack of understanding of the camera and all that it can do.