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9.3: Shooting Basic Photos with a Digital Camera

  • Page ID
    306534
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    The great advantage of a digital camera is the ability to review the photo on the camera’s screen. Use this feature! If the photo is bad, shoot more. The more you shoot and the more adjustments you make based on what you see on the camera, the more you’ll improve the chances that you’ll get the photo you want.

    Lighting is critical to photography, and there are essentially three ways to shoot a photo:

    1. With natural (or ambient) light only.
    2. With a flash as the primary light source (in a low-light situation).
    3. With a mixture of flash and ambient light.

    Cloudy and partly sunny days actually provide the best light for photography.

    The best photographs are shot when nature provides the right light. But be careful not to shoot in harsh, bright sunlight, especially if you’re shooting people. If the sun is in front of the subjects, it will create face shadows and make the people squint. If the sun is behind the subjects, their faces will be dark. You can compensate by “forcing the flash” in this situation, meaning you can use the flash setting on the camera to override the automatic function and make the camera use the flash.

    Cloudy and partly sunny days actually provide the best light for photography.

    Here are some additional tips to help your shooting, courtesy of Craig Sailor, former photo editor at The Olympian and The News Tribune newspapers in Washington state:

    • Hold the camera steady: Dig your elbows into your body or place them on something. Use two hands. Lean against a wall. Do anything you can to be still when shooting.
    • Use the automatic settings: Today’s digital cameras are built with advanced automated settings. Try these first and see if they work. If not, make adjustments. Force the flash or turn it off. Adjust the shutter speed setting.
    • Fill the frame: When shooting people, don’t leave too much “head room” or space above their heads. The subject’s face should be near the top of the picture, not in the middle.
    • Focus on one thing: When shooting a person or group of people against a busy, complex background, focus on the person’s eyes. The automatic focus function can only focus on one thing in the image and a person’s eyes will make the photo look the sharpest.
    • Get closer: Most amateur photographers fail first by not changing their position. They see something they want to capture on photo and take out their camera and shoot the photo without moving around. A professional photojournalist, on the other hand, will move all over the place to get the right angle.

    Most amateur photographers fail first by not changing their position.

    • Go vertical: If the subject is vertical turn the camera into a vertical position to shoot it.
    • Shoot action: Capture moments whenever possible and avoid posing people. Find the setting on your camera that snaps the shutter at 1/500th of a second or faster to shoot anything really fast such as sports.

    Shooting mug shots

    The mug shot is the most common assignment for journalists who are not photographers. While it seems like this would be a no-brainer assignment, there are several things to consider when framing a head shot.

    • Use the right lighting. Try to avoid using a flash if possible to prevent shiny spots on the person’s face. Move the person outside or near large windows to take advantage of natural light and then make sure there are no weird shadows on the person’s face.
      • Avoid high noon sunlight and strong backlight.
      • Take advantage of overcast skies; they work well.
      • Use a flash as a last resort.
    • Pick the right background. Make sure it’s as neutral as possible and simple, not busy; and darker is usually better than lighter.
      • Don’t back the person up against a wall or you’ll end up with flash shadows behind the subject.
      • Make sure there isn’t anything like a lamp or pole “growing” out of the person’s head.

    This page titled 9.3: Shooting Basic Photos with a Digital Camera is shared under a CC BY-ND 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Mark Briggs via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.