Many people seem to feel that the only setting on a digital camera is the “Auto†setting and that everything else is just so much technical stuff they don’t need to bother about. While this will generally produce good photos, there will be times when faded colors, shadows and reflections, among other things can ruin what would otherwise be a great picture. It pays to be able to take control of the camera when you need to and these few simple digital photography techniques will help you to do that – and once you have mastered these, there is a lot more to learn that will make leaving the “Auto†setting off a lot of fun.
Colors that lack warmth are a common problem with digital cameras – the white balance (the balancing of the colors) is the cause of the problem. When a camera is set to “Auto†the camera is programmed to balance the colors in a specific way and in the case of pictures taken in bright sunlight this may results in a balancing that makes some of the darker colors look faded. If this is a problem you face, a simple way out is to change the setting form “Auto†to “Cloudy†as this will change the balance ratio and allow for more color and contrast resulting in deeper hues and better color tones.
Outdoor photography with varying degrees of light in the frame can result in images that are lacking in sharpness – using a polarizing filter will compensate for this and allow for much greater sharpness in your photos. A polarizing filter will also produce more saturation and crisper color definition – an example of this will can be seen in the blueness of the sky when a filter is used. Polarizing filter work best when the sunlight is falling directly on the subject so try and take photos with the sun over your shoulder.
Shadows and bright sunlight in the same frame are a major problem with outdoor photography and the use of the flash can help to overcome this. Using a flash in bright sunshine may seem odd, but digital cameras will automatically adjust the flash to compensate for the dark areas caused by the shadows. Since the flash will not work if the camera thinks that it will result in over exposure, this is a problem you do not have to worry about. Even if your camera does not have advanced functions, try using a flash outdoors and see the results – you will soon be able to judge when to use the flash.