5 Simple, But Crucial Digital Photography Tips by Gary Bunn

Digital Photography is a highly complex activity, with a steep learning curve and many advanced techniques that take years to master! However, we all have to start somewhere. So, here’s a list of 5 Great Tips that will ultimately help you improve your digital photography, and set you off on the right foot.

1. Use a Tripod or Bean-Bag.

Yes, these can be such a pain to carry around, but they’re definitely worth the time. Using a Tripod or alternative such as a bean-bag will add stability to your camera, meaning you have greater control over exposure times and composition. You’ll also never see that annoying camera shake ruin a picture again whilst using a tripod!

2. Get a High Capacity Memory Card.

Have you ever had one of those photography days which is going perfect? The light was great, your subjects look fantastic, the weather is holding off, your capturing the shots you only dreamed of…Then it happens.. Your Memory Card is full and you don’t have a spare! You could manually sort through and delete, but it’d take hours. It’s a much better idea to spend a bit more and invest in a high capacity memory card. They’re now available up to 8GB!!

3. Use a UV Filter.

Using a UV filter on your camera lens is a great idea. They’re small circular pieces of glass that screw over the end of your lens, and offer great protection from scratches, dust, finger prints and also filter out UV rays, improving the color of your images. Best of all they’re dirt cheap!!

4. Add Warmth To Your Tones.

The White-Balance settings on your digital SLR control the tonal effects of your images, so try experimenting with them. Don’t think that just because a setting is called ‘cloudy’ that you can only use it when it is cloudy! In fact, using the ‘cloudy’ setting when taking pictures adds warmth. Perfect for a sunset or evening landscape shot.

5. Shoot, Shoot, Shoot!

This will obviously depend on your memory card size as discussed in point 2, but is still very important in trying to get those great shots. Simply put, do not rely on a single shot to capture a great image. Imagine taking time finding a fantastic composition, only to find later that the shot you took has a lens flare or dark shadow in it! Its very frustrating indeed! Take several shots for each composition, try slightly changing the angle each time. This way you can compare and choose the best one later. Remember you can always delete the images you don’t want, that’s the beauty of Digital Photography!