Digital Photography for Beginners

Are you thinking of purchasing a digital camera, but don't know where to start? Read on for some beginners' basics.

How to Pick a Camera

One of the most important things you'll need to do is decide on which camera to purchase. Cameras have different levels of quality but when it comes to making a good decision, it all boils down to four main features: lens aperture, resolution, lens quality, lens zoom range and the software that you receive with your camera.

Resolution is the first thing you should be looking for when purchasing. Resolution refers to the number of pixels per image and that translates in camera resolution. Basically, the higher the resolution, the more detailed and clear your photos will be.

Lens zoom range is next. This refers to the amount of distance you will have to maintain between you and your subject when taking the picture and how far in your lens will zoom at that length. Most digital cameras come with a 3x zoom and that will allow you to come in really close on your subject without getting a blurry result. You will be able to stand at a distance, and the lens will zoom in so that it looks like you're standing up close.

How to Get Started

When you've chosen and purchased the camera, that's when the fun starts. Take some time to get to know the camera - play around with it a bit to find out all of the bells and whistles that the camera has. Take some fun shots of your pets or just go outside and take some pictures of the passing scene. Try taking pictures of trees, flowers and the like. In this way, you'll start learning to manage the camera's settings so that you can get better pictures.

Transferring Images to Your Computer

Once you've taken a fair amount of photos, you're going to want to transfer them either for printing or display. With a regular camera, you could expect about one in twenty-four shots to be good. When you sent your film to the shop, or started developing it yourself, you'd have to remind yourself not to be disappointed that what you saw in your head didn't transfer to the shot.

With the introduction of digital photography, all of that changed. Because photography is now digital, and results are shown immediately on screen, it gives any photography the opportunity to have total control over what shots are saved and which ones are ditched. Essentially, when you take a shot, if you don't like it, you can just delete it and move on.

Periodically you'll want to download all your pictures onto your computer. This means that digital photography often results in a bigger collection of photos than you would have otherwise. You can file them all on your computer and then print off the ones you like on your own printer. Or you can take your memory card to a store that offers photo printing services and have your prints made there.

Photo retouching software will help you touch up your images prior to printing like shading, increasing crispness of the image and getting rid of the dreaded red-eye which is the bane of every photographer.

Many people still find that printing out their photographs is the best, while others rarely print out their shots, opting instead for keeping photographs digital in the form of slideshows and screensavers. Most people share photos with friends and relatives through photo sharing services, email and by building small websites where they can blog and post photos.

Digital photography is a flexible, exciting new method of taking pictures. Once you get started, you'll be taking shots of everything. Digital photography will bring out the creative person in you.

Article Source: http://www.rightarticle.com

Jason Mann is editor of the Technology Basics Section at i-KnowHow | Information for Life, where you'll also find ideas and tips for hobbies, home and garden, personal finance, family and much more.

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