Digital Photography Tips: Know Your Camera

One of the most important digital photography tips I can give you is this: get to know your camera. If you are like me, you probably want to dive right in and start shooting right away. The minute you got it home you may have tore open the box, figured out how to put a battery or a memory card in and started looking for subjects to photograph. It doesn’t have to be the very first thing you do, but my advice is to spend a little time reviewing the manual. Force yourself if you have to. You do not want to be fumbling with the controls and trying to figure out what each setting does while you are out trying to capture memorable moments.

As you go through the manual, find the parts and familiarize yourself with the settings described. Know what each part does and learn how to access all of the settings. Experiment with different features and combinations of settings. One of the great things about digital cameras is that they allow you to see your results and note the subtle and not so subtle differences right away. The time you spend getting to know and learning how to use your digital camera will pay off constantly so do be sure you make the effort to do it. It is unrealistic to expect to take great digital photos or blame the camera if you do not know your camera well.