Seven Must-Know Tips For Digital Photography

Use this seven digital photography tips to make your digital photos stand out from the crowd.

Digital Photography Tip #1 - Use Auto Focus

Let your camera do the focusing. Virtually every digital camera has an auto focus feature; use it. Unless you have your camera on a tripod and trip the shutter by remote control so you don't have to touch it, you can't get a better focus by hand than you can get with the auto focus feature of your digital camera.

Digital Photography Tip #2 - Find A Focal Point

How will the person viewing the photograph know what to look at in the photograph if you don't tell them? If you need to, zoom in on your focal point to eliminate distractions in the foreground or background.

Digital Photography Tip #3 - Shoot On The Grid

When you look through your viewfinder or at your LCD display, imagine splitting the scene into a grid three rows high and three columns wide. Try to put your focal point on one of the gridline intersections. This digital photography tip is especially effective for portrait photography.

Digital Photography Tip #4 - Frame The Shot

Look for natural frames in your scenery to give your photographs depth and draw even more attention to your focal point. Imagine one of my favorite wedding pictures: a white limousine, a dark-tuxedoed groom standing alongside while the white-gowned bride emerges from the darkened back seat. This picture has a few well-placed contrasting lines, dark against light, and they all point to the bride.

Digital Photography Tip #5 - Avoid The Flash

While auto focus is your friend, auto flash is not. Digital flash photography can leave everybody looking a little bit blue. Turn on all the lights in the room when you're taking digital photography. Tip your subjects to the light by setting up attractive photo opportunities in areas where a pendant light, recessed light, or chandelier hangs between the photographer and the subject.

Digital Photography Tip #6 - How To Use The Flash When You Must

Again, turn on as many interior lights as possible. If the room is still too dimly lit for great digital photographs, use your flash in addition to the existing lighting. Remember, a standard digital flash lights only the area 10 to 15 feet away from your digital camera.

Digital Photography Tip #7 - Use Photo Editing Software

One of the best things about digital images is that they're so easy to edit. You can find photo editing software available at very reasonable prices - even for free. Enhance the colors in your photos, eliminate the red eyes, crop out distracting backgrounds, sharpen the focus - you can make so-so pictures look like professional photographs with this one digital photography tip alone.