Tips For Taking A Better Picture1. Use one of your camera's digital filters when photographing sunrises and sunsets. "Vivid Color" filters work well, and if you really want to push it, try using a red or blue filter if your camera them.
2. If you are having problems achieving vibrant color in poor light, opening your aperture one or two extra stops may help.
3. Carry a small bottle of vodka in your camera case. Vodka is an excellent lens cleaner. It does a good job on optical viewfinders too. Don't use it on your LCD monitor though! Check your owner's manual before doing this just to be on the safe side, but it has always worked very well for me).
4. If your subject's glasses are reflecting too much light from the flash and they really want to leave them on, ask them to remove the lenses. This can be done by loosening the temple-piece screws with a small screwdriver.
5. Turning on lamps and lights behind your subject will help eliminate unwanted shadows on a back wall.
6. Purchase a small table top tripod and keep it in your camera case. They are much easier to pack around than a full size tripod, and they are sturdy enough to hold an average size point and shoot camera. Most mini tripods cost about $10 and can be found at any camera (Cord's, Ritz, Robert's) or large discount department store (Wal-Mart, Meijer, Target).
7. Place darker complexioned people in the front of a group shot with flash, and lighter people in the back. The camera's flash falls off over distance, so you want to keep darker people closer to the camera. It will make for an overall better exposure and photos from your printer will look better.
8. When shooting long exposures without a tripod, cradle the camera in your hand, and brace your elbow against your stomach or chest. Take a breath, hold it and slowly press down on the shutter button.
9. Don't be afraid to experiment with white balance. Do you wish to make a snowy winter scene appear even colder? Try setting the white balance to tungsten. It will make the snowy scene look much more wintry and icy. Custom white balancing your camera with a blue card instead of gray will add warmth to your pictures. Don't believe me? Try it and see for yourself!
10. Get into the habit of carrying your digital camera in your purse or pocket so you always have it handy. Those spur of the moment photos are often the best and most interesting ones.
11. Always take more photos after the official "line up" photo at group events. Say "thank you" loudly and then resume shooting pictures when people reengage in conversation.
12. Keep your camera set on the "Auto" mode for fast shooting. You never know when that UFO will suddenly appear, and who has the time to manually set the aperture and shutter speed on such an occasion? Flip the settings over to manual for your creative shots, and back to auto once you are finished using the camera.
13. Here's an easy way to achieve quick depth of field: Set your camera's focus to manual and pay attention to the distance meter on your camera's LCD display and set your focus to the infinity mark (it looks like a sideways "8"). This is referred to as "hyper focal focusing" in photography lingo. You can use this setting for deep scenic space, quick people shots and more. If you don't have a distance (or depth of field) meter on your camera, try prefocusing about one third of the way to the farthest object you wish to keep in pretty good focus.
14. If you own an older SLR camera without redeye flash control, use invisible tape on the external flash to avoid redeye. Foggy tape layered two or three times over the flashtube area (not the entire flash lens) can help reduce redeye in many instances and it shouldn't create a problem with TTL flash exposure.
15. Lowering your subject's chin will help make his or her eyes appear larger when taking portrait shots. Tilting the camera slightly forward will cut some reflection on eyeglasses.
16. If you are taking a flash shot of a group standing in front of a mirror, and for some reason you cannot move the mirror or reposition the group, try this: Shoot at an angle to the mirror and scrunch down low so that their bodies and heads block the flash reflection. Moving the group closer together to avoid reflective gaps will also help.
17. Carry a big piece of folded heavy black paper in your camera bag and use it to block unwanted light. Poster board construction paper works well. Use the paper to shield the camera lens from stray light, cut down on glare from reflective surfaces, or to keep the sun out of your subject's eyes in portrait shots.
18. Utilize your camera's macro feature and force yourself to shoot close. If the camera is having problems auto focusing on the subject in macro, switch your camera over to manual focus (if your camera has this ability), set the focusing at its closest distance and easily photograph small items around your house and in your neighborhood without changing the focusing distance.
19. Once you figure out the basics of your camera, sit down and read the owner's manual with the camera in your hand. You'll be surprised at how much you learn. Place tabs on the pages containing information important to you.
20. Want a mini photography lesson? Set your camera to auto and try shooting photos in different lighting conditions; cloudy, dim, bright, dusk, dark, etc., and pay attention to the settings your camera chooses for each of those conditions. Write them down in a notebook or on the back page of your owner's manual if necessary. Then try duplicating these settings with your camera set to manual. Your camera is very smart. Take some time to learn from it.
21. Don't be shy when shooting street photography and cityscapes. Wade into the fray and get up close and personal. Set your camera to wide angle and shooting closeups as people are waiting for a traffic light to change.
22. Want some interesting people pictures? Try shooting photos of your friends from the back. Try it with them looking forward, and to the side. Use different focal lengths and various lighting conditions.
23. When shooting a group portrait of your friends or family, don't group them all together! have some sit, lie on the floor and lounge on the couch.
24. Try taking some casual photos (parties, short excursions, hiking trips etc.) using your camera's black & white feature. Black & White photography is much more forgiving of redeye, pasty or pale skin tones and other imperfections. And your friends will thank you too!
25. Snap your photos two at a time, by taking a horizontal photo and then immediately snapping a vertical one. You will be surprised at how often the second one turns out better - and you might even manage to get two good shots too!
26. Use your camera's bounce flash if possible. It makes for more natural lighting in indoor flash pictures. Try side wall bouncing for verticals. It usually works quite well. If your camera's flash does not have a bounce setting, try using second curtain instead.
27. Use your slow sync flash setting for indoor flash portraits. Slow sync leaves the camera's shutter open longer to capture more of the background detail than the auto flash. Make sure you hold the camera steady! Turn on your camera's image stabilization if available, and/or use a tripod.
28. Pose your subjects according to their girth. Put heavier people centrally where they will look thinner. Place thinner people along the edge. Camera lenses tend to "fatten" people closer to the edge of the picture.
29. When photographing children and pets: Utilize the available light. Try using a higher ISO setting and filling the frame with their faces. Set a low F stop (wide aperture) to blur the background while keeping their faces in focus when photographing them in warm indoor or soft outdoor light.
30. When photographing people dancing, set the camera's flash to slow sync and hold the camera at hip level or reaching overhead on the dance floor. Wild and crazy pictures guaranteed!
Have Fun!!