Shoot like a pro with your digital camera

Reader invite:

Everyone likes a good photograph. But not many of us know how to take one!

If you happen to be a photography buff and know everything there is to know about cameras tell us how to make the most of our photography equipment, tricks and tips to make a good photo look great.

Share with us your expertise on how to push the limits of your digital camera or the one on your phone and make the most of the features available.

Write in to getahead@rediff.co.in (subject line: 'Shoot like a pro') and we will publish the best responses right here!

Read the tips from Lifeblob.com below on how to shoot like a pro with your digital camera:

We all get awed when we see the wildlife and landscape photos on National Geographic, or the dramatic photos of people and places in TIME magazine. But all we have at our disposal is a 'Point and Shoot' digital camera.

Fear not! Here are some tips on how to get the best out of your digital camera.

Control the flash

A hobbyist generally doesn't give too much of a thought while using flash in his/her photos. Though the flash brightens up the image in a low lighting situation, it results in unnatural skin color and harsh glares with unflattering shadows. One nice hack to reduce the harsh light and get a softer natural looking photo is to diffuse the light from the flash.

The cheapest way to get this done, is to cover the flash with a translucent cellophane tape. Make sure that some light comes out of the flash; else the whole purpose is defeated.

There is one other nifty use of flash which most beginners are not aware of. Flash can be used to light up the subjects in the foreground while shooting directly into sunlight, thus helping bring out the details rather than the silhouette.

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Now that you have learnt the basics of using flash while shooting pictures let us now discuss another important setting in your compact camera that can be used to get amazing shots.

Macro mode

When I started shooting photos as a hobby, the first thing that came to my mind were flowers. That is because, photographing flowers was the easiest and the most non-intrusive way to take good snaps.

The best way to take these photos is by using the Macro mode in your camera (usually depicted by a "flower" icon). However, this feature has its limitations which need to be adhered to, to take sharp, in-focus snaps.

Click NEXT to read tips on how to make most out of Macro mode.

Reader invite:

Everyone likes a good photograph. But not many of us know how to take one!

If you happen to be a photography buff and know everything there is to know about cameras tell us how to make the most of our photography equipment, tricks and tips to make a good photo look great.

Share with us your expertise on how to push the limits of your digital camera or the one on your phone and make the most of the features available.

Write in to getahead@rediff.co.in (subject line: 'Shoot like a pro') and we will publish the best responses right here!

Given below are some tips to get the most out of Macro mode:

The macro mode works within a particular part of the zoom range. By trial and error, check the cameras optimal range. Better still, leave the camera "unzoomed" and try to get as close to the subject as possible.

Increase the ISO of your camera to 400 or above. Make sure that this doesn't increase the visible noise in your photo.

In Macro mode, the camera takes longer to focus on the subject and hence you need to hold the camera steady for a longer duration. If your camera has an aperture-priority mode you can switch to that and select a smaller aperture to get around it. Otherwise shoot with a tripod.

Tripods are one of the essential items in a macro photography kit bag. But, what if we don't have one? Keep your camera on a flat dry surface such as a stone, or a bench near the subject. If you can't find such a surface, its better to switch off macro, and try shooting the subject in your normal mode.

Macro photography is a very interesting field in which a lot of professional photographers spend their entire careers. If you are serious about it, you should plan to buy a DSLR camera with a special macro lens.

Note: Technically 'macro photography' involves capturing subjects at life size (or bigger) with a 1:1 ratio. Most of the compact cameras don't achieve this. However, for the purpose of keeping it simple we have used this in the article.

Reader invite:

Everyone likes a good photograph. But not many of us know how to take one!

If you happen to be a photography buff and know everything there is to know about cameras tell us how to make the most of our photography equipment, tricks and tips to make a good photo look great.

Share with us your expertise on how to push the limits of your digital camera or the one on your phone and make the most of the features available.

Write in to getahead@rediff.co.in (subject line: 'Shoot like a pro') and we will publish the best responses right here!