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If you are just starting out or at digital photography these three tips should be kept in mind to get the best photographs with your digital camera.
No Noise
Noise is a problem that is unique to digital cameras. It happens when you use a high ISO setting on your camera. Noise appears as speckles or grainy texture on your photos. Here is a good example of a “noisy” photo:
To avoid noise, check your manual to see if your camera can be adjusted to a low noise setting. If your camera is not equipped to reduce noise, try to avoid long exposure times or high ISO settings. If all else fails, purchase noise reduction software that can edit your digital images to smooth out the noise.
No Shake
A close relative to noise is camera shake. It is caused during long exposure times and high ISO, as well, and can also create terrible results.
Many digital cameras have a system that prevents some camera shake. To avoid it completely, watch the digital readout on the screen. If it shows an icon that is a red hand, you’re probably shaking the camera. Place the camera on a tripod or steady object to reduce the camera shake. For the best results, use your camera’s timer to get rid of all of the camera shake. Set your camera on a tripod, set the timer, and half-way depress the shutter button to focus. When you’re ready, fully depress the shutter button and stand back while the camera takes the photo.
No Washout
To keep your subjects from being washed out or overly bright from your flash, there are a few simple tricks you can use. First, stand back from your subject so that the flash is a bit more defused. Next, make sure that your settings are compensating for a flash. For example, if your camera is on manual mode and you have a very short exposure time, then adjust to a longer exposure time to compensate for the flash. Third, if you have a detachable flash, bounce the light coming from the flash off of a white object back onto your subject.
Using these three tips will get you on the way to taking much better pictures with your digital camera.