Shooting Tips

Read these 9 Shooting Tips tips to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Each tip is approved by our Editors and created by expert writers so great we call them Gurus. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about Photo Sharing tips and hundreds of other topics.

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Why Should my Resolution be High When Taking Digital Pictures?

Make Your Resolution Higher

If you want to make your digital camera shooting experience one of the best, remember to make the resolution of your camera higher when taking pictures.

If you use the highest resolution your camera has while shooting pictures, you will have an improved image when printing them out on your computer. If you want to email your pictures, you can lessen the resolution before doing so, but using the highest resolution when snapping pictures is better. Getting clear shots or sharper looking pictures is easier to accomplish when you are using a higher or the highest resolution available on your digital camera. If you aren't sure what resolution is available on your digital camera, read the manual to find out exactly what your camera offers!

   
Do my Subjects Always Need to be Centered?

Perfectly Posed Isn't Always Best

If you are looking for a great digital camera photography tip, keep this one in mind! Forget the "cheese" that comes with those posed pictures and just start snapping. Perfectly posing each and every subject in your pictures isn't always best. Sometimes just letting the person's personality shine through and getting those photographs while that occurs is the best! If your children are playing in the swimming pool, don't stop them and tell them,"Look at Mommy and say cheese!" Instead, take their pictures when they aren't paying attention. Sometimes not posing turns out the best pictures!

Another idea to keep in mind is that the center of the frame isn't always the perfect place to have your subject pose. Why do people always assume the middle of the frame is the place to be? By simply moving your subject to the side of the frame, you may be able to capture even more. Let's say you are taking a picture of your dog running through a meadow with a large mountain the background. Do you really want your dog as the center of that picture and miss out on the mountain shot? Try moving your dog to the side of the frame and capturing the beautiful mountain in the background. Your picture will turn from a dog running in a field to a large mountain with a dog running through a field.

Your placement of the subject is important to remember; center isn't always best!

   
How Can I Snap Great Vacation Pictures?

Photographing Your Vacations

Planning a trip? Do you want to take your digital camera along to capture each moment as it happens? There are some tips to remember for capturing those perfect digital camera pictures during your travels.

Most people who take trips or vacations do so in the summer months when they can be outside enjoying nature. If you are taking outdoor shots, such as at the beach, try taking pictures that show the action that is happening with your family or traveling companions. If you see your son lying in the sand buried by his sister, get down on that level, and snap a picture of it. By getting down to the level where the action is taking place, the picture will bring the audience into what is happening.

Another fun way to capture the best pictures possible during a trip is to start taking pictures the minute you get to each specific destination, take a photograph when you arrive, take photographs during your visit and take photographs as you are leaving. This way, you have a sequential order of pictures that show all the action!

One last thing to remember for snapping the perfect vacation photos is to find the perfect angle or position in which to shoot. This means if you have to stand on a picnic table to get a shot of your husband riding a wave in the ocean, then do it. Don't worry about others looking at you funny! If you truly want that great moment captured, you must find the great angle in which to take the picture!

   
How Can I Take a Great Digital Picture?

Plan Your Picture

If you want to shoot that great digital picture, you may want to plan it out beforehand. Candid photographs are great, but sometimes a great digital picture needs a detailed plan.

First, you will want to imagine the photo in your mind beforehand. Can you visualize the outcome that you want? If you don't know what you want to accomplish going into the shoot, you won't know exactly what you want out of it!

Second, get your camera zoomed in properly. If you're very far from the subject or very near, then let your camera do the zooming for you by using the automatic zoom feature, if your digital camera has it. Having the zoom prepared for the shoot is important! Your pictures may turn out fuzzy or distorted without the zoom prepared properly.

Having an idea of what you want and seeing the results in your mind are important to snapping a great digital photograph and having your camera ready to snap is essential!

   
How Can I Prepare my Body for Taking a Picture?

Keep it Steady

Did you know that one aspect of taking a great digital picture is to actually hold that camera steady? Yes, you must hold your camera in a steady grip to get the best photo possible.

If you aren't steady, your picture may be fuzzy or blurred. Your body should be solidly placed and be sure to keep your elbows tucked near your sides as you shoot. Put your camera nice and snug against your face and then click a picture, making sure you don't take a deep breath as you are snapping or your camera could move.

If you just feel like you can't hold still long enough to get that great shot, then it's time for the tripod. After all, the tripod wasn't created to just sit in your closet! Use it whenever you know you can't hold the camera steady enough to get a great shot!

   
How Can I Best Photograph Special Occasions?

Capturing Those Special Occasions

So you want to take digital pictures at that special occasion. Whether it's a wedding, a birthday or class reunion, you want your digital pictures to be the best!

First, be ready and able to snap pictures at any given moment. This means, have your camera ready! If you have your camera ready to shoot, you can capture the groom smashing the cake into the bride's face and her reaction as it happens. You want to capture the reactions to things as they happen, so have your camera ready!

A great way to get a cool picture on a special occasion is to use the lighting available to you. If it is a birthday and the cake is rolled out, turn out the lights and snap the picture of the person's face blowing out the candles. If it is a wedding and you see the bride and the groom standing near candles, snap a picture of them illuminated by the candlelight. These types of pictures make for beautiful results!

Turn your red eye reduction on! Yes, you can edit out the red eye when downloading your pictures to an online photo album, but you can avoid red eye altogether if you utilize your red eye reduction on the digital camera!

Taking pictures at a special occasion can be a lot of fun, just remember to have your camera ready to go!

   
How Should I Take Pics of People and Animals?

Taking Pictures of People and Animals

Many people want to capture that perfect digital picture of their child, their pet or a beloved relative or friend. However, as it turns out, many people end up with poor lighting in their pictures, a head cut off or even things in the background that they don't want.

Keep in mind when you are photographing these subjects that the ultimate result is a picture that you love, but you need to have fun while doing it! If the shoot gets too stressful or you have unhappy subjects, nix the shoot until a later time. There is no sense in taking pictures of someone or something that just won't cooperate.

If you take a close-up photograph of your subjects, your picture may turn out even better. Try this: zoom in on your subject and snap a shot after you have a pose you want. By zooming in, you are getting everything in the shot you want -- the people or animals, and nothing else!

Another fun way to photograph these types of subjects is to snap a candid shot of them. This means catch them interacting with someone or something or just doing something they typically do. Snap the picture when they aren't expecting it! Often times, candid shots are the best, because they portray the reality of the person or the animal.

Last, but not least, to take truly great pictures of people and animals, try using natural light. Yes, take them outdoors when it is cloudy and snap a candid photo. Think about it: when you are outside on a sunny day and someone yells: "Say Cheese," you squint or need sunglasses to see the person taking the picture. You can avoid this by taking photos on a cloudy day. Using natural light is a great way to get a great photo!

   
Should I Always Leave My Flash On?

Use or Lose the Flash

So many people just leave the automatic flash on at all times on their digital cameras. They think that the digital camera will "decide" when is an appropriate time to use the flash and it will go off just when absolutely needed. That isn't necessarily the case. Shut your automatic flash off and step away from your camera!

You don't need to leave the flash on at all times. It's best to learn just when a picture you are snapping may need a flash. If you are outside, people often assume that natural sunlight will replace the need for a flash on a digital camera. Did you know that you might want to use your flash outside? If your subject is sitting or situated in a darker area outside, turn your flash on to get a great picture. It will brighten up the picture, even if the day is sunny. If your subject is in a darker spot, such as under a tree, turn that flash on!

If you are indoors, people often assume that the flash needs to be on. However, using a flash inside can sometimes affect the subject's skin color in the photo and it can also produce a glare. Move your subject to a well-lit area of the room and skip the flash for a perfect picture!

What is important to remember is that you can always try to experiment with your flash. Take pictures outside in different areas with the flash on and off and do the same inside. Compare the pictures and see which ones turn out the best.

   
Is it That Important to Know Everything my Digital Camera Does?

Get to Know Your Camera

One very important aspect of taking great digital pictures is to get to know your camera. Many people purchase nice digital cameras with all the bells and whistles, but never really learn to use those wonderful extras.

Therefore, if you want to take great digital photos, get to know that digital camera of yours! Read the manual, but do more than just read it. Try it out. As you're reading your digital camera manual and it explains what each feature does, have your camera in your hand and practice what is told to you in the manual. Learn how to work with different exposures, try to use the flash and then not use the flash, play with the timer and take pictures close up and far away. Before you can really take great pictures, you need to know your camera and everything it does so when you do start shooting pictures, you are ready and know what to do!

   
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Sheri Ann Richerson