Shutter speed is perhaps the most creative adjustment available to the digital photographer. It allows us to freeze action or use motion blur to create a variety of effects, and is expressed in seconds or fractions of seconds depending on the length of exposure.

A high shutter speed (1/1000 of a second or higher) can freeze even very fast moving objects dead in their tracks. However, you will need to keep a couple of things in mind:

1.) You are going to need a brightly lit subject as shutter speeds this high don?t allow your camera much time to gather light for exposure. You can get around this to a degree by using a higher ISO setting, but don?t go to high, or noise will creep into your shot.

2.) If possible, set up your shot by having your camera focused on the spot where your subject is going to pass by. This will allow you to concentrate on timing your subject?s approach, giving you a better chance to trip the shutter at just the right moment.

Medium shutter speeds (1/20 of a second to 1/80 of a second) can be used to create motion blur when photographing moving objects. This gives the photo a sense of life and motion. Here are several ways you can approach this type of motion blur:

1.) With your camera stationary, trip the shutter as a moving subject passes by. This will make the subject look blurred, while keeping the rest of the shot clear?giving your subject a look of speed and a sense that it is moving out of the shot.

2.) Follow your subject through the viewfinder in a smooth sweeping motion as it approaches, and trip the shutter as your subject goes by?this is called ?panning.? This method will keep your subject relatively clear, but will blur the background, giving an overall sense of speed and movement. The timing for this type of shot takes a little practice, but the results make it well worthwhile.

3.) When shooting a stationary subject, purposely move your camera in a sweeping or circular motion to create a blur of colours and lines. This one is a lot of fun and can provide some interesting abstract results.

Low shutter speeds (1/8 of a second up to 30 seconds and beyond) can be used to create a variety of effects?here are just a few:

Note: For most of these long exposures a tripod or some other means of keeping the camera perfectly still is necessary to avoid creating unintended blur.

1.) Moving water will look smooth and silky when shot at shutter speeds of 1/8 of a second or more?the longer the exposure the more pronounced the effect.

2.) When photographed at shutter speeds of 2 seconds or greater, car lights will turn into long colourful trails?the longer the exposure, the longer the trails.

3.) When very long exposures are used (15 seconds plus) city lights will often take on a stretched, star-like appearance.

4.) Photographing city lights at shutter speeds of 1/15 of a second, or so, either from a moving vehicle, or while walking, can produce interesting and colourful abstracts (no tripod needed.)

Most digital cameras have a shutter speed priority setting, which allows you to control the shutter speed?try it?it can open up a whole new world, and its loads of fun to boot.

[techtags: Family Photography, Senior Photographers, Studio Portraits, Portrait Photography]

One of the least explored creative uses of the digital camera is black and white photography. With a little practice in developing an eye for when it will be effective, taking photos in black and white can be a rewarding addition to your photographic repertoire.

The biggest problem beginning photographers have when experimenting with monotone photography is knowing how to look at a picture with grayscale in mind. Color tone, or contrast, takes on a much larger importance, since the ordinary color distinctions are lost. Training your eye to register color intensity takes some effort. To help speed up this process, use the black and white setting on the camera. Although there is no real advantage to this from the imaging standpoint, since even free photo editors admirably convert images to grayscale and sepia monotones, when you change the camera setting, the display changes, letting you actually see the picture as it will be. This helps to spot problems with color tones blending together, unwanted shadows, and other problems that wouldn’t be noticeable in color. Practicing previewing in this way can help educate your eye, and soon you will become aware of the distinctions even without the camera.

With the removal of color, the photographer must look at his prospective image with new eyes: Linear patterns and shadows can be much more striking in black and white than in color. Look for lines and shapes that define the images - photos that would be quite ordinary in color take on drama in monotones. The ratio of darks to lights (contrast) affects your shot more drastically as well. To create a delicate sense, you can fill the image with light area, creating an otherworldly look. A more somber shot might have a higher ratio of dark space. Experiment with mood - it can often be more easily expressed with the simplicity of black and white.

Black and white portrait photography can produce extraordinary results. The loss of color can mean the loss of many potential defects - blemishes, flushes, red noses and the like can fade away, leaving a more flattering shot than one truer to the real thing. Careful lighting can either accentuate features like wrinkles, or reduce them. Try to choose the lighting to help show what you want to say. Generally, it is best to fill the frame with your subject, unless there is something in the background that is important to the story you are telling about him. Remember, simple images are often the strongest.

Scenery photography can also be more dramatic in black and white. One of the problems in photographing distant points is haze that washes out the colors. This is no problem in black and white! Bring out nature’s drama by using light and dark rather than color. Anyone who has doubts about nature photography in black and white need only look at Ansel Adams’ work.

Whether you’ve tried monotone photography before and haven’t been thrilled, or it’s a new experience for you, you can learn to take stunning photographs in this manner. The basic elements of good photography are the same - composition, contrast, depth of field, focus, lighting, exposure, etc. You just need to learn to see slightly differently - contrast, lighting and exposure have more impact on the final image, and need to be considered more carefully. However, with some practice (and with digital film there is no need to be stingy about the number of exposures), someday you may find your best photos to be in black and white.

[techtags: Family Photography, Senior Photographers, Studio Portraits, Portrait Photography]

The digital photography camera has ushered in an absolute revolution in the world of photography. With its excess of futuristic features, the digital photography camera has also brought in considerable cost reduction of photography. No wonder, people are flocking to digital camera stores.

To elaborate, digital cameras make for easy storage and editing of pictures on the PC, you cut back on film costs with the reusable memory cards and innovative features like sound and video recording. Photography just had quite an interesting makeover.

Delving into the intricacies of the entire digital camera mechanism is worthwhile so that the salesman doesn’t lead you up the garden path with tall claims. And being well up on the features of your digital camera will also give you food to brag.

The first thing to know about your digital camera is the kind of CCD (Charged Couple Device) you have. This fancy-sounding device is actually the be-all and end-all of your photography unit and the pixel count in them is what that determines how good your snap is going to be.

It is also vital to know what pixels count to opt for. Anything upwards of 3-Megapixels is good for prints of 8 x 10 inches or larger, of course, the more the merrier. But if your requirement is minute 3 x 5 or 4 x 6 photos for the Web, then 1 or 2-megapixel camera will suffice admirably. On the other hand, nothing less than 5-megapixels should be on your minds if you plan to have prints of your digital stuff.

The Zoom feature is closer to your digital camera than any other feature. Optical zoom refers to the camera’s capacity to magnify a subject. This zooming in or zooming out takes place within the lens itself and it is visible from the lens advancing and retracting just like the conventional film camera. This is one feature, which is best when you have it in plenty.

There are many who would swoop on a digital camera lured by its pixel count and optical zoom capacities. But the power consumption of a camera is also worth taking a peek into, for there are cameras with voracious appetites for batteries and you could well end up spending a fortune on them. So when you are buying a digital camera, ensure that it works on rechargeable batteries. A charger included in the package is a great buying option.

Stacking up on the memory card is a good idea if you are the traveling kind. A CompactFlash memory card, offering a lot of storage sizes ranging from 16MB to 1GB and greater compatibility with a large number of makes, is definitely a popular choice.

LCD monitors come in a variety of sizes and resolutions, besides the captivating ones that bend and twist at impossible angles. What you will go for of course depends on the kind of work you will be doing with the camera. If you are involved in on-site architectural work and it is shooting around angles that you are aiming at, then a moveable LCD is the one to go for. But the primary thing to take care of is that you don’t have to peer too hard to make out what is on the screen.

These are the basic things that you look out for when purchasing a digital photography camera. Things when gone awry will virtually render your camera quite inefficient. There are certain other features of a digital photography camera that when present in the right dosage, make for some excellent photography sessions.

Scene modes, for instance. Having a choice helps, especially when you have not yet familiarized yourself with the intricacies of exposure, focus and shutter speeds.

A Red-eye reduction feature is quite a handy mechanism to have around when you shoot a lot of portraits. If red-eye is much of a bother, then opt for a camera with a hot-shoe connection, that is one that facilitates the installation of an external flash. A flash that is away from the lens reduces the incidence of red-eyes.

Be well up on the internal mechanism of a digital photography camera and enjoy your tryst with it.

[techtags: Family Photography, Senior Photographers, Studio Portraits, Portrait Photography]

For many folks buying a digital camera can be a confusing and bewildering purchase since there are so many models to choose from and so many different kinds of digital cameras too. Unless you are a photography hobbyist you probably won’t be familiar with all of the acronyms and language used to describe the features of each camera either. So here is a general guide to help you know how to buy a digital camera that matches your own photographic skill level.

First of all, there is no one size fits all solution in digital cameras. It would be much easier to choose if that were the case, but it would also severely limit what each person could do with their own photography. And this means that is you aren’t a serious hobbyist, you probably don’t need to spend the extra money on digital cameras that have all the advanced features simply because you will probably never use them. And on the other hand, if you are a skilled amateur photographer, buying a simple point and shoot type of camera will not be a great decision either as it will not let you really be creative enough to satisfy your needs. So here are a few simple guidelines to follow.

If you don’t consider yourself a photographer, and you just simply want to take good pictures of family and friends, and maybe some special occasions, you can most likely do very well with a 4 - 6 megapixel point and shoot fully automatic digital camera. This will be the most inexpensive option and so will save you plenty of money initially by not purchasing features that you really don’t need. And the resolution of a 4 - 6 megapixel camera will let you make great prints on up to 8 X 10 or so.

If however, you know a little bit about photography and like to take some control yourself over the camera functions at times to create special photo effects in the composition of the photo, a more advanced digital camera that has fully manual features for exposure control, and allows you to save the image files in TIFF, GIF or RAW formats that do not lose image quality when compressed would be a good choice. Unless you do a lot of enlargements above 8 X 10 you probably can still get by with a 4 - 6 megapixel camera here too.

However, if you consider yourself a photographer of sorts and like to be creative with your photos, you probably should consider buying a digital single lens reflex camera(SLR) that uses interchangeable lenses, has full manual control capability, and advanced features that most serious photographers really appreciate. And if you like to do lots of manual cropping of photos and magnification of smaller parts of your photo images before you print, an 8 - 10 megapixel camera can be a good bet.

Of course, these guidelines and tips are just general suggestions but hopefully they can help point you in the right direction so that you can more easily select and buy the digital camera that will most closely match your photographic skills.

About the Author

You can find the best rated digital cameras and buy digital camera online by visiting our Digital Photography website.

[techtags: Family Photography, Senior Photographers, Studio Portraits, Portrait Photography]

When you are taking photos and the lighting conditions are perfect, then digital photography lighting is not a problem. Unfortunately, most of the time, the conditions are not ideal so photographers have to learn to use light to get the desired results. The first thing you want to be concerned with is the main source of light on your subject. Ask yourself questions such as where the light source comes from, do you require artificial light, is there enough natural light and will your tripod need stabilizing because of low light? You need to master digital photography lighting to get the clarity and detail in your image. Sometimes a flash is all you need, while other occasions require different lighting. Remember that a flash does not benefit all situations.

You do not want a flash to interfere artistically or socially, such as during someone?s wedding vows, as you will end up with a flat digital image. This occurs frequently on digital cameras with a built-in flash and they also only light the subject from the front. Because of this the digital photo depth is compressed, which really decreases and detracts from the digital image. One way to avoid this is by watching exactly where the light falls. Once you learn and understand about digital photography lighting, the task becomes easier as you learn exactly what does and does not work when using a flash. Use a higher ISO to help alleviate a low light problem - this is a sensor that is light sensitive - but remember that there is an increase in noise when using the ISO. Fortunately, some good software programs available on the market today do reduce the noise. Adjusting the ISO to a higher level also works great in situations where a flash is not acceptable, such as someone giving a speech, where a flash would be disruptive.

If you take many sports photographs, try experimenting with and without a flash and your camera settings, to learn what works best. A built-in flash is more effective up close, where an external flash is more powerful. Many sports stadiums remain well enough lit to take pictures without a flash and many do not allow a flash, because it distracts the competitors. One digital photography lighting technique that works well for taking still subjects in very low light is image stabilization. IS or image stabilization allows you to lower your shutter speed, which works great, but this is not suitable for fast-moving images. In any case, read your camera manual, as many digital cameras have a built-in mode for taking sports pictures. This controls the amount of light admitted, the ISO and the shutter speed, so you end up with the best photograph possible, under the lighting conditions you find yourself working in.

About the Author:

Terry Roberts is a professional translator and linguist, with a wide range of interests. To read more about digital photography, visit his website Digital SLR Photography

[techtags: Family Photography, Senior Photographers, Studio Portraits, Portrait Photography]

Digital photography is a wonderful tool to capture those special moments and events. One of the many benefits of digital photography is that it is relatively inexpensive and requires little or no additional equipment to get started. All that is needed is a basic digital camera, a computer, and possible a printer or DVD drive to capture images. Even without a printer or DVD drive, images can be transferred from the camera to the computer and emailed to others.

When shopping for a digital camera a good idea is to keep in mind what the camera will be used for and what level of skill or experience the photographer has. There are very advanced digital cameras on the market that literally have hundreds of different adjustments and settings, accessories and add-on features. Most hobbyists do not need this level of technology and refinement to create beautiful images using digital photography. Generally a good basic digital camera will have:

* Adjustable resolution - this determines the overall quality of the picture when photographs are increased in size. The higher the resolution rating, the larger the photograph can be made without sacrificing picture quality.

* Glass lens ? a glass lens will give a clearer image than a plastic lens. It does require some additional care to avoid scratching but is worth the added cost over the long run unless you are planning to replace your camera frequently.

* Various modes ? most digital cameras will have a close up mode and a distant or landscape mode. This is a great feature and will automatically keep pictures clear when used in the correct setting.

* Manual exposure feature ? if you want to work on lighting and creating new and unique pictures, consider choosing a digital camera with a manual exposure feature.

In addition to the features offered by the digital camera, there is also the consideration with regards to cost. There are many very basic digital cameras available on the market that work very well, however there are just as many low-cost digital cameras that simply don?t. Be sure to complete some online research, read product reviews, as well as talk to friends and others interested in digital photography to get an idea of the brands and models that they prefer. On the other hand, some of the very expensive cameras are often complicated to use and can make learning digital photography more challenging than it needs to be.

Starting out with digital photography using a middle of the market camera and a good quality digital photo printer is a great way to get the results that you want without investing a huge amount of money. With experience and practice you may wish to upgrade your equipment or you may find you have just what you need to complete your digital photography projects.

About the Author:

Terry Roberts is a professional translator and linguist, with a wide range of interests. To read more about digital photography, visit his web page http://www.photographyfornovices.com/digital_slr_photography.htm

[techtags: Family Photography, Senior Photographers, Studio Portraits, Portrait Photography]

Warning: Don?t Assume that DigiCams Are the magic answer!

Perhaps you have heard this before: “The better the cameras, the better the photos.” In this effect, you might have thought of digital cameras. Numerous believe that these models are just a one-click away for great photos. Do you also believe in this?

Just consider as you read this article and the appropriate answer will be revealed to you.

The rivalry between film cameras and digital cameras is relatively fresh. How come? Three mega pixels digital cameras have an array of choices for consumers, which is already comparable to a high quality point and shoot models. Nowadays, the same thing goes with five mega pixels digital models for excellent quality photographs. The thing is, quality photographs can be taken with ease using digital cameras.

Some of the main advantages to digital photography are:

* pictures can be previewed immediately on the built-in LCD screen
* costs of installing films are replaced with memory sticks or cards that are primarily reusable and can store thousands of pictures
* the stored photographs can easily be shared by copying off the images and/or sharing the memory stick or card
* images can easily be transformed into black and white and/or sepia and can also be cropped after the picture has been taken

However, photos under low light and taken using film and digital models are both susceptible to artifacts or granularity. Images taken by both cameras appear to be very similar can be further improved with the advent of software that can improve and manipulate the quality and details of images.

Furthermore, you can take lousy shots with the most expensive Nikon models and make great photos with the pass? point and shoot cameras. It suffices to say that it is not the camera that solely makes famous and even picture-perfect images. The man behind the camera can squeeze or miss a big time out of the gadget that he has.

The following presents a ten-point aid that will enable you to take photos like a pro using your digital cameras. Practice on these tips so you can maximize the expense of your gadget.

1. Those Tones Should Warm Up

Change your white balance setting from auto to cloudy when shooting sunny landscapes and outdoor portraits. This increases the yellow and red tones, thus resulting in warmer and richer pictures.

2. Use a [Sunglass] Polarizer

A polarizer should always come in handy when taking those general outdoor shooting. Polarized shots have more saturated and richer colors because unwanted reflections and glare are minimized or even removed.

If your digital camera can not accommodate a polarizer, simply place a sunglass as close to the camera lens as possible making sure that the rims of the glass will not be taken along with the image. The effect of a polarizer can be maximized when the light source is perpendicular to the object.

3. Shining Outdoor Portraits

Singularly the most useful and amazing features of digital cameras is the flash on or fill flash mode. This feature allows you to take control when to use the flash. It simply goes on whenever you want it available. This helps in capturing grand outdoor photographs.

The camera exposes for the background first then adds enough flash to illuminate the subject when you are using the flash on option. Wedding photographers have been using this technique for numerous years to create professional looking portraits where everything in the composition is simply excellent.

To come up with a more relaxed photograph, try putting the subject under the shade and use the flash to add illumination.

You can also practice on using rim lighting where the sun illuminates the hair of the subject from the side or the back.

However, you should not stand that far away when using the fill flash since most built-in models have a range of 10 feet or even less.

4. Macro Mode Frenzy

I am quite sure that you would want to look at the fine details of your surroundings but would not be willing to crouch down and lie on the ground with your belly.

In that case, you just have to look for the macro made or close up symbol, usually a flower icon, and get as close to an object as possible. Once the confirmation light signals you to shoot, just press the shutter down to record the portrait.

However, using the close up mode allows you to have a shallow depth so you can concentrate on the part of the subject that you want to emphasize and let the rest go soft.

5. Chaos of the Horizon Line

There are still photographers who become disoriented when lining up their shoots. In other words, once they look at their cameras monitor, images that are erect seem to be a little tilted or bowed inward.

The most appropriate way to take care of this matter is to take your top shot at a straight picture, then take another picture after repositioning the camera. Afterwards, you can delete the others once you feel you captured a perfectly aligned image.

Also, just practice level framing your shots until you become acquainted with the process.

6. Massive Media Card

You have to have an extra memory card especially when you want more moments to preserve. The following suggestions should be considered before buying a memory card:
a. for 3 mega pixels - a 256 MB memory card
b. for 4 mega pixels - a 512 MB memory card
c. for 6 mega pixels - 1 gigabyte memory card

Then you do not have to miss another shot because your card is full.

7. Not High Resolution All the Time

It is more advisable to squeeze more images by shooting a low quality and resolution settings than taking shots with a high resolution all the time. This way you can reserve a space and a 2272 x 1704 resolution on the next famous image of the century and enough for the portrait to be printed on a 8″ x 10″ inch paper suitable for framing.

However, if you have enough memory (and you should), there is no reason to shoot at a lower resolution and risk missing the chance to display your work the big way.

8. Tolerate that Tripod

Tripods are “unnecessarily bulky” for some so seldom do people like to bring them around.

Nowadays, there is an ingenious way to settle the dilemma whether to bring a tripod around or to do without it. The UltraPod II developed by Pedco fits in your back pocket and holds your camera steady in various situations.

You can use the Velcro strap to attach your camera on a tree limb or an available pole. Its legs can be opened on any flat surface or even on a boulder.

Now, you can be a real photographer without carrying a heavy burden.

9. The Fun with Self Timer

Another under-used feature on almost every digital camera is the self timer. This function can be used to save the photographer for missing the picture by delaying the firing of the shutter up to 10 seconds.

You can attach your UltraPod to ensure that your camera will not be taken away that easily by some strangers. Of course, you need to aim at the subject and not at a distant background before setting up the timer. Also the depth of the subject should be checked too.

By using self timers, you can also avoid accidentally jarring the camera when you are interested in making long exposures of cars driving at dusk as you initiate the focus.

10. Slow Motions

Normally, you will use an exposure of one second or a bit longer to create the flowing effect of water. In this case, you have to look for waterfalls or streams that are under the shade.

One trick is to use a polarizer or your sunglasses to darken the scene and create a longer exposure. More so, this technique can also eliminate distractions from your portrait.

For a really good photographer, which implies using creativity and ingenuity, viewers often get curious and ask, “What sort of camera model do you have there?”

Would it be more humbling for them to hear that you are using a normal aim and shoot model?

Or you can simply say, “Model ME.”

[techtags: Family Photography, Senior Photographers, Studio Portraits, Portrait Photography]

With the acceptable image quality and the other advantages of digital photography the majority of professional news photographers have begun capturing their images with digital cameras. Digital photography has also been adopted by many amateur snapshot photographers, who take advantage of the convenience of the form when sending images by email, placing them on the World Wide Web, or displaying them in digital picture frames.

Also, one big advantage of digital photography is the instant review of pictures, with no wait for the film to be developed: if there’s a problem with a picture, the photographer can immediately correct the problem and take another picture (up to hundreds of photographs on the same media device). Digital cameras have also been integrated into many cell phones. The photographer is able to color-balance and manipulate the image in ways that traditional darkroom science cannot offer, although film users can utilize the same technology with a film scanner. But digital cameras also tend to be much more sensitive to moisture and extreme cold. For this reason, photographers who work in remote areas, such as those who work for National Geographic overwhelmingly favor film SLR cameras. Many digital cameras can deliver only JPEG files.

Another format that may be encountered is RAW, which contain unprocessed image data straight from the camera’s image sensor. Compact digital cameras usually include zoom lens and flashes that cannot be changed, but digital single-lens reflex camera (digital SLR or DSLR), operates on the same optical and mechanical principles as a film single-lens reflex camera, and offers the possibility to change lenses. Recent manufacturers such as Nikon and Canon have promoted the adoption of digital Single-lens reflex cameras (dSLRs) by photojournalists. Lenses in digital photography can be Telephoto lenses, Wide-angle lenss or Normal lenss, used for landscapes, portraits and close-ups (macros). Digital anti-shake tools (also called Image Stabilisation) allow taking sharp hand-held pictures where previously a tripod was required. Digital SRLs work also with RAW images containing unprocessed image data straight from the camera?s image sensor. Since the data isn?t processed on the camera the photographer will do so on the computer in order to get it into more usable formats like TIFF or JPEG. This method offers flexibility of the results regarding exposure, lighting, white balance, contrast, colours and saturation as well as greater creative control of the image.

From Canon, good compact cameras the Powershot A series, such as A520, A620, A700 and others, main difference between them being their megapixel image resolution and optical zoom. Canon PowerShot S3 IS is a type of camera that moves a step forward from compact to dSLR. As for the SLR?s and dSRLs, Canon comes with the Rebels: Digital Rebel XT, Canon EOS 200D, and Canon EOS 30D. Nikon is considered to be as good as Canon but sometimes cheaper: Nikon D40, Nikon D200, and Nikon D70. Other notable cameras are Olympus E-330, Fuji FinePix S9100, FujiFilm Finepix E900, Sony Cybershot DSC-W100, HP Photosmart R967 and many many others. Choosing a digital camera can be very difficult and the techniques are in constant progress so that these cameras get better and better, more and more powerful but still smaller, therefore some of them received the name ?pocket camera?.

[techtags: Family Photography, Senior Photographers, Studio Portraits, Portrait Photography]

Besides an improperly exposed photo, the other most common mistake beginning photographers (and sometimes the pros) make is not getting a photo that is in sharp focus. There are times when you may want to have an intentional blur in your photo ? perhaps to show motion. But most of the time, the sharper your photo the better. The automatic exposure feature of your digital camera is often good enough to for a sharp photo. There are times, however, when you will want to take control of your camera?s settings to get an even better picture. Here are some tips to help you consistently take sharper photos.

1. Choose the right shutter speed ? Shutter speed means how long the shutter of your digital camera stays open. It?s expressed as a fraction of a second, such as 1/30th or 160th or 1/400th. The slower the shutter speed, the longer the shutter is open, and the more likely your are to get a blurred picture. If your digital camera is in automatic mode, make sure the shutter speed the camera is showing is at least 1/125th. It?s very hard to do get a sharp photo at a slower speed. For moving objects, you?ll need a setting of at least 1/400th to stop the motion. If the auto mode is not showing a fast enough shutter speed, switch the camera to the shutter priority setting and set the shutter speed manually.

2. Choose the right aperture setting ? The aperture setting is how wide the shutter opens when you take a short with your digital camera. It is a trade-off. If you increase the shutter speed to prevent blurring, the shutter must open wider to let in enough light because of the reduced time it is open. If the opening is larger for a faster shutter speed, the you may loose some depth of field, which is whether objects close to your and further away from you are in focus at the same time. To maximize depth of field, shoot with the slowest shutter speed that is appropriate to the situation. If you?re shooting an object that?s not moving, set a small aperture. But if you?re shooting a moving object, you may have to use a higher shutter speed. You may loose some depth of field, but this may not be a problem if the object you?re shooting is what?s really important in your photo and not what?s in the background also.

3. Minimize camera movements ? If you know you?ll be in a situation where you?ll have to shoot under low light conditions with a slow shutter speed, use a tripod. You can also use a tripod on a sunny day to minimize camera moment to allow you to shoot with a small aperture and a slower shutter speed for greater depth of field. Most professional nature and landscape photos you see were done with a tripod.

4. Follow your object ? If you?re shooting a moving object, try planting your feet solidly and bracing your arms tightly against your sides, and follow the moving object by turning your body. This can keep your subject in focus, although your background will be blurred.

[techtags: Family Photography, Senior Photographers, Studio Portraits, Portrait Photography]

Depth of field (DOF) is probably a term you have heard used in photography often enough, but what does it really mean, and how can you use it to make your digital pictures better?

The term depth of field refers to how much of your picture is in sharp focus. For example, in portrait shots you will notice that the background is often blurred and soft looking, while the subject is clear and sharp. Pictures like this have a shallow depth of field.

You have probably also noticed that in landscape shots everything in the picture is often sharp and clear, all the way from the dead tree in the foreground to the mountains off in the distance. Pictures like this have a deep depth of field.

There are two main things that affect depth of field:

1.) The aperture (or F stop) setting–this refers to how wide the shutter opens.
2.) The focal length of the lens–this refers to how much the lens ?zooms in? your subject.

First we?ll take a look at the aperture settings. Most digital cameras have an aperture range of about F2.8 to F8, and this range usually compresses to about F4.5 to F8 when using full zoom. These aperture ranges vary somewhat from camera to camera, but we will use F2.8 to F8, with a full zoom range of F4.5 to F8, as our example.

At the lowest setting (F2.8), the object you focus on will be sharp, but objects in the background will appear softer and out of focus. At the highest setting (F8), everything from the foreground of your picture to the objects off in the distance will appear sharp and in focus.

Now the focal length–we?ll use a digital camera with a 4 times zoom (35mm to 140mm focal length) as our example. At the 35mm end of your zoom range (no zoom), pretty much everything in your pictures will appear in focus. However, at the 140mm end of your zoom range (full zoom), only the object you focus on will appear sharp.

So how does all this translate into making better pictures with your digital camera? Well, it?s like this:

Set your camera to ?aperture priority?. Your camera?s manual will have simple directions on how to do this (it?s quite often just a matter of turning the dial on top). Once you have your camera on ?aperture priority?, you will be able to select the aperture setting that you want, and the camera automatically chooses the correct shutter speed.

If you want to take a picture where only your subject is in focus (like a portrait for example), first, zoom in rather than get close, and second, choose an aperture setting with the lowest number possible, in this case F4.5.

If you want to take a picture where the whole scene is in focus (like a landscape for example), first, zoom in very little or not at all, and second, choose an aperture setting at or near the highest number possible, in this case F8.

So, don?t be shy, take your camera off of ?auto? and try the ?aperture priority? setting–you?ll be glad you did.

[techtags: Family Photography, Senior Photographers, Studio Portraits, Portrait Photography]