| Photography has become an increasingly popular | | | | Flash |
| hobby in recent years. With advances in technology, | | | | Flash can add a lot of depth to your photos if used |
| today's digital cameras make it possible to quickly and | | | | properly. When shooting in "auto" mode your camera |
| easily take good photos. Many people however are | | | | will determine when to use flash. If your setting is bright |
| stuck in "automatic" mode (or rather their cameras | | | | enough, the flash will not be used. This is a great |
| are). Armed with a little knowledge about your digital | | | | convenience if you're just taking quick snapshots but if |
| camera (and some practice) your photos can go from | | | | you want to add more life to your photos switch your |
| good to outstanding. Following are some tips to help | | | | flash to "flash on" or "fill flash". This will allow your |
| you get started. | | | | camera to use existing light for its exposure and will |
| White Balance | | | | add flash to fill in dark shadows giving a softer feel to |
| White balance is what determines the color | | | | your photos. When shooting outdoors try to use the |
| temperature of your photo. Think in terms of warm | | | | sun to light your subject from the side (never have |
| and cool. Most photos taken with a digital camera will | | | | your subject face the sun) and use the flash to fill in |
| have a cool feel to them or in other words will have | | | | the shadows on the front of your subject. Check your |
| somewhat of a blue tint to them. This is generally the | | | | camera's manual to determine the maximum distance |
| result you get when your white balance setting is set | | | | that your flash will operate at. |
| to auto. Photos with a warmer feel however, look | | | | Macro |
| more natural and thus are more pleasing to the eye. | | | | Your digital camera probably has a setting called |
| To achieve this affect locate the white balance | | | | "macro" or "close up". This mode is best used in |
| adjustment on your digital camera. Most cameras will | | | | creative photography to achieve great detail in close |
| have several different settings for white balance. You | | | | up shots. What this mode does in essence is allow |
| want to choose the "cloudy" setting. This will add more | | | | you to focus at a much closer distance to your |
| red and yellow hues to your photo and in effect | | | | subject than in your camera's normal mode. For |
| warms the tone of the shot. | | | | example, if your camera in its normal mode has trouble |
| Polarizing Filters | | | | focusing on subjects closer than 2 feet, you can |
| A polarizing filter is a great tool for adding a little extra | | | | switch to macro mode and you may be able to focus |
| "pop" to your photos. Polarizing filters actually serve | | | | as close as 6 or 8 inches. This can make for a very |
| two purposes; they reduce glare and unwanted | | | | dramatic shot. Be careful when using macro however |
| reflections and they brighten up the colors in your | | | | because macro mode gives you a very shallow depth |
| photos. A polarizing filter is especially helpful when | | | | of field leaving a lot of your photo out of focus. Just |
| shooting outdoors. It will enhance landscapes with | | | | experiment a little and you'll be taking great close up |
| beautiful vibrant colors. Polarizing filters just screw right | | | | shots in no time. |
| on to your cameras lens and you can find them in | | | | These are just some basic tips and tricks to spark |
| many sizes to fit most digital cameras. However, if you | | | | some creativity in your photography. Always |
| have a camera which doesn't accept filters (some of | | | | experiment with your camera to find new and creative |
| the smaller point & shoot ones do not) there is a trick | | | | ways to express yourself. That's the great thing about |
| you can use. Sunglasses will create the same basic | | | | digital photography you can experiment to no end |
| effect. Just hold a pair of sunglasses as close as | | | | without shelling out big bucks for film and processing. |
| possible to the lens (make sure the glasses are not | | | | Happy shooting! |
| seen in the shot) and snap the photo. | | | | |