Digital Photography Tip: Read the manual

This is such an obvious statement... but is often something that new camera owners tend to take lightly in their excitement to try out their new equipment. Not only is it worth your time to thoroughly review the manual that comes with your new camera, but most likely you will find that you'll refer to it again and again because it is simply not possible to absorb all that information in one or two read-throughs. The more features your camera has, the more often you'll find yourself referring back to your manual... so make sure to keep it handy.

The other thing I've found is that the manuals produced by the manufacturer are often sadly lacking and can leave you feeling confused or even lack the information on a feature that you need. Once you feel comfortable that you have a grasp of the information contained in the manual, you might want to check if there is a "Magic Lantern Guide" or "field guide" for your particular camera model - Amazon has a good selection of these very popular and informative guides. Everything you'll ever want to know about your camera is included. There is also a cheat sheet guide with the Magic Lantern series that you can tuck right into your camera bag.

The Dilemma of Creative License in Photography

Where is the line between photography and "art"? Photography is art, but when you edit the image and alter it dramatically does it become something other than a "photograph"?

This is a dilemma that I wrestle with all the time - how much is too much when editing an image? Should an image that is seriously altered from the original be labeled as such?

Many times in the job that I do, I alter an image to reduce the appearance of a double chin, whiten the teeth, remove a distraction from the background, etc. For the most part I think that the only person that knows they are altered is me - unless I tell someone, the changes are not that obvious. In general I think that if you can alter an image to make it more flattering to the subject or to really help showcase the subject, then by all means, you should "go for it."

I think where I get hung up is that until recently, my idea of photography was always that it was intended as a "record" of fact. In reality, most photos are altered in some way - even if just cropped to enhance the subject. While I think that most of the altering I have done to photos falls within a mix of creative license and a "record" of an event or person, I still wrestle with "when to say when." What are your thoughts?

There are a great number of programs that can help you learn the secrets of digital photography, click here to learn about one of the best I've found!

Digital Photography for Fun & Profit

If you're anything like me, photography has gone from being a part time diversion to a full time passion pretty quickly. That isn't to say that I'm doing photography full time... far from it. But I have begun to think more seriously about ways in which I can take my photography to the next level. As anyone who's delved seriously into this hobby knows, photography is probably one of the most expensive hobbies there are. So logically one begins to wonder... "are there ways I can do digital photography for fun AND profit?" Well, the short answer is "yes" there are, but like any worthwhile endeavor you must be willing to put in the time and work at it.

What are some of the ways which photography can support itself without an additional (and often substantial) investment? With a little know-how and some creativity, you can turn your hobby into a money-making business. There are a great many ways you can put that camera to work to generate an income.

To get started all that's really needed is a little imagination, a flair for showmanship, a bit of salesmanship and the willingness to do some work. The equipment needs are also fairly minimal - a digital camera, ideally with features equivalent to an SLR film camera, a tripod or two for certain picture-taking occasions and a printer capable of printing excellent quality photographs, or a printing service.

For more information, see my free article "How to Turn your Passion for Photography into Profits" and learn how you can do digital photography for fun and profit.

Take Great Photos

Photography is art. It is the creative aspects of composition, lighting and the subject itself that make it an art form. However, there is also a technical side to taking a great photo. There really are two aspects to photography - the knowledge of how to use the camera - choosing the right settings like ISO, aperture, white balance, etc. Then there are the Artistic aspects - how a photographer chooses to express his or her creativity.



In order to be a good photographer, you must conquer both the technical aspects as well as the creative aspects. If you are technically skilled but lack creativity, your photos will be boring and uninteresting. If you have the artistic side mastered, but lack the technical know-how, your photos will fall frustratingly short of the result you're after.



In order to get the results you desire, think about the message you want to convey when taking your photo - make sure you understand who or what your subject is, and that you think about the subject when composing your shots. From a technical perspective, one of the most important things you can do is simply take a lot of photos and don't be afraid to experiment - practice really does make a difference.


There are lots of resources available on the web to help you develop as a photographer. One resource I'd recommend checking into for learning how to take great photos is


Photo Techniques: Take Great Photos.


....Happy Shooting