Choosing a camera:
The first thing you should ask yourself is how your new camera will be used? 'For taking pictures' I hear you cry. Yes well obviously, what you need to determine is what kind of camera fits your purpose and fulfills your needs.
For instance, are you a complete beginner and need a camera that you can just point and click and fit in your pocket or are you an experienced amateur looking to take more professional shots and require a SLR or indeed somewhere in-between.
Consider where your camera will be most of the time too. Is it going to spend a lot of time in your pocket, handbag, glove box or perhaps size doesn't matter and you require more functionality.
The next thing that should be considered is of course megapixels. Digital cameras are getting cheaper as the technology gets better. Anything between 6 and 12 megapixels will give you excellent results and is advisable when buying a new camera.
Next you have to consider the lens. There are many different lenses and it really makes a difference so make sure you get a good one. Leica are probably the best but Cannon and Nikkor lenses are excellent too.
OK we are getting there. Next thing to look out for would be zoom capabilities. Now there are 2 types of zoom, optical and digital. Don't be fooled by cameras that seem to have a huge zoom, especially if its digital zoom! Digital zoom when used reduced the picture quality so get a camera with the highest optical zoom you can. I'm not saying digital is bad I'm just saying optical is better.
As a side consideration, consider the storage media used by the camera. Sony rather annoyingly use their own Memory Stick, boooo. Most of all the others use more global storage types; most use SD cards or micro SD cards. These days I would advise buying 1-4GB cards.
Quick re-cap of considerations:
1. What type, size and functionality do you need?
2. Megapixels? The higher the better!
3. The lense? Leica, Cannon and Nikkor = excellent choice!
4. The zoom. Remember the higher the optical zoom the better.
5. Storage. You can always buy more cards, get the biggest you can afford.
'I don't need accessories, I just need my camera!' OK that's fair enough if your not taking the whole taking pictures thing too seriously but what if you are on holiday and you run out of storage space on your card or you run out of batteries! Some spare 'accessories' sure would come in handy huh!! Remember your charger too!
All I'll say is if you want to carry some accessories get a bag, its not only a handy place to have your spare batteries and memory cards, it also keeps your expensive camera protected from bumps (it does also cry 'hello expensive equipment inside' to thieves). It really is a must if you have an SLR with different lenses though.
Tripods are handy too. Especially if your looking to create certain light effects or are using a lot of zoom or just need a fixed point for a steady image. I don't know, maybe you have really bad shakes because your a bit of an alchy! Whatever, they are definitely a handy accessory to have.
The key thing when taking good photos is knowing your camera settings, making sure the settings you have chosen compliment the picture you are taking and of course being able to handle the camera well and utilise it's functionality efficiently. This will help when photographing difficult objects that don't stay still for long.
Holding the camera:
Hold the camera firmly in your hand to prevent the camera from shaking or shifting when the shutter button is pressed. Watch the placement of your other fingers so that they don’t interfere with the lense, flash or viewfinder. One trick is to wrap the camera strap around your fingers so that you will be more conscious of where they are.
Another tip, especially with smaller cameras, is to hold your eye up to the optical viewfinder to capture the image, rather than the view screen. This not only helps you see exactly what your capturing but will also help to stabilise the shot between your hands and your face for less camera shake.
Focusing:
Digital cameras have a tendency to take slightly longer to focus than film cameras. An important tip is to half depress the shutter button until the camera has had time to lock the focus. Then completely depress the button to take the shot. This can often make the difference between blurry, out-of-focus shots and clear pictures.
With normal picture taking, shutter speeds are fast enough that a small amount of shake won’t affect the resulting image much, plus the technology is getting better all the time to combat this issue. However, there are times when you’d want to use a tripod to compensate: when taking pictures in low light, where the shutter speed will slow down enough to potentially make drag lines, when using a long zoom, where distant objects are susceptible to blur. In each case, the tripod will settle the image and let you forget about shaking the image and focus on capturing what’s in your mind’s eye.
Preview:
One of the main advantages of a digital camera is being able to preview the pictures after you’ve taken them. If you are trying to capture a specific scene, you can review the shot and see if it looks the way you wanted. If it doesn’t, you can delete the shot and retake it to get it right. Why keep a picture if it’s blurry or if someone’s eyes are closed or a person is obstructing part of the view?
Archiving:
To take that one step further; there is no worse feeling than seeing the perfect kiss, smile or sunset, reaching for your camera and clicking the button. Only to realize that your storage is full and you’ve missed your chance. It’s happened to everyone,but you can prevent it by vigilantly clearing off your old pictures daily, weekly or monthly. Bring a second memory card/stick with you when you go on a trip even if your primary card/stick is large, just in case you need the extra space. There are also portable storage products available that allow you to offload and archive your photos to keep your main storage free, ranging from iPod adapters to portable drives/CD burners. If you have internet access you can setup an account with lots of sites i.e. Kodak and upload your images to your account there, this means it clears your storage and keeps your shots safe and easily accessible.
There are lots of people that comment on certain photographers having an eye for taking good pictures. In part, that is skill and experience you are seeing. Another part is the expression of art with an understanding of some basic rules and a bit of common sense too. Like any artist, you can take some great shots that bend or indeed break all the rules. However, it is safe to say that taking into consideration the following six items will help improve the quality of your pictures and create more interesting images.
KISS - Keep it simple stupid:
Ask yourslf one question: 'What am I taking a picture of?' and keep that in mind. Identifying the subject of interest and avoiding distracting backgrounds will help to keep the picture clear. Zoom in to clear out irrelevant parts of the scene and capture just what you're looking for, avoiding objects like signs, buildings or people that take the viewer's eye away from the point of focus.
Rule of thirds:
Imagine a knots and crosses board: two horizontal lines intersected by two vertical lines. This creates an easy formula: line up the horizon of the shot with either of the two horizontal lines and line up the subject (either a person, building or the focus of your picture) with either of the vertical lines, ideally where the lines intersect. When viewing a scene try to overlay this map into the viewfinder. With only a little adjustment, you can quickly create more visually interesting images by simply adjusting what you see to line up with these invisible markers. When dealing with a moving subject or a person, it's often preferable to have them looking or moving into the picture from one of the two sides.
Lines and shapes:
Remember your old math lessons, dominated by circles, triangles and snake-like curves. Applying these simple shapes to your subject matter can help to simplify complex scenes and add visual interest. Consider trying to capture an image of a person walking down a long, straight street. Instead of shooting straight down the line, move yourself five or ten feet to the side and shoot that road at an angle. making that line cross through the intersecting lines of the imaginary knots and crosses board from the rule of thirds can create the illusion of movement as they lead the eye through the picture. S-curves are even more dynamic, while repetitive lines can also create movement of the eye through the picture, like repeating waves of sand on a beach or parallel row houses along the side of a road.
Vantage point:
Most images taken by amateur photographers are taken at eye level. This means most of these pictures are taken from the narrow range of 5 to 6 feet in height. Taking a picture from a lower vantage point (for example crouching or even lying on the ground) can add grandeur and significance to the subject, while getting more height (from climbing up a tree, fence or steps) will reduce the significance of the subject in your scene. Examples of using this could be taking a picture of your children playing looking from the ground or capturing a busy marketplace scene where no one person would stand out over another.
Balance:
When considering what you're capturing look through the lense and pick out the dominant subjects like people, buildings, trees or mountains and arrange them so that they compliment each other. This can mean either symmetrical balancing, where objects of equal size are positioned on either side of the picture's center, like a manicured garden with bushes on either side or asymmetrical balancing, where objects of different sizes are used on either side of the picture's center, like a scene of a person standing between a house and a tree. Asymmetrical pictures are often more interesting and visually stimulating as the viewer's eye moves from object to object.
Framing:
Framing, as it sounds is a way of drawing attention to the subject in the picture by blocking off or framing parts of the scene using natural or artificial barriers. However accomplished this can add prominence to the subject and will help add a sense of depth to the photo. Using this concept literally, you can try taking an outdoor scene from the inside through an open window to create interest or capture a newly married couple kissing in a doorway or hallway to draw the eye to them. Other more natural ways of framing a shot are using trees (shooting through gaps in the branches and leaves), or viewing a beach from between craggy rocks.
Its all about light. The most important thing to understand about photography, whether it’s digital or film is that it’s all about capturing light. So by understanding how different light affects your picture, you can significantly change the way your pictures turn out. Ideally, where possible ensure that there is enough ambient light, the light that is already available whether it’s natural sunlight outdoors or indoor light fixtures. The more that is available, the easier it will be to take a picture without having to be concerned with aperture, shutter speed or flashes.
Indoor photos:
The most obvious area where this isn’t always possible is indoors. No ceiling light or table lamp can be as bright as the sun. So you will almost always have to add more light with a flash. Most professional photographers prefer to have more control over the lighting so they will use a variety of stronger lights to help them. By adding more light to an indoor scene, you can avoid the need for a camera flash. Which can be distracting to the subject, particularly when you are trying to capture unposed or natural shots.
Flash:
When it isn't practical to add more light to an indoor or low light scene, you can often rely on a flash to help add to the available light. A common mistake with a flash however, is to misunderstand the reach of the resulting light. Most portable cameras can only light up a subject within an average of 10 to 15 feet. So, if the subject of the photo is further away than that, then either move closer or look for an alternate light source or option. Professional photographers will often use an external flash, which can be synchronized with the camera like a built-in flash but can be much brighter, as well as having the ability to position it separately from the camera itself.
Camera adjustments:
Where lighting is less than optimum, you also have a number of options at your disposal if your camera provides more manual control over its functions. Many of these options simply allow for more light to enter the camera. By adjusting the aperture you can widen the lense opening to let more light in at one time into the camera, thereby taking more of the existing light in than you would otherwise. You can also adjust the shutter speed by using a longer shutter speed, you allow more time for the available light to enter, however the disadvantage of doing this is that your shots are more prone to camera shake and blurring. So be aware and mount the camera on a flat surface or use a tripod. Many cameras also offer the ability to adjust the exposure which can help to compensate for having either too much or too little light available. A more dramatic example of these kinds of adjustments is with night shots, where photographers will often use a combination of all three. With shutter speeds of 20 seconds or longer, you can effectively capture nighttime traffic, starry skies or unique images of popular monuments.
Controlled lighting:
As you become more comfortable with lighting, you can change the feeling of a photo by controlling the way light hits different parts of the scene or subject. For example, having the light hit the side of a subject can add more contrast between facial features and shadows, making for a more dramatic pose. Having the light behind a subject can allow the background to be lit while the foreground is dark, which can completely change the mood of the photo. If you want to ensure that everything in your photo is visible then try and ensure that the indoor or outdoor light is hitting from the front for the most even view of the scene. Many studio photographers will use a variety of techniques, including multiple light sources and bouncing a flash off of a ceiling or object to further control the lighting of portraits and other staged scenes.