With the advancements made in technology, point and shoot cameras are able to produce images that far surpass images made in the film world by what would be considered their equivalent! Often users of these cameras assume they are just a point and shoot device and never take time to read the manual or change the settings for optimal shooting. This leads to pictures that are well made, but often could have been better. Here are a few tips to ensure you get the best images possible from any camera without regard to make or model:
1: If you can control the aperture, try shooting in aperture priority mode. This allows you to control the depth of field. A wide open aperture creates a shallow depth of field, which is often used for portraiture. When only the subject is in focus, it will stand out and be notice better. A closed down aperture creates a very wide depth of field with as much of the scene as possible kept in focus. This makes for a better landscape image.
2: By controlling the shutter speed, you can decide whether to capture single drops of spray from a fountain, or to create a milky texture from the water. You may be able to stop the action of a race car, or let it blur a bit to indicate a fast object.
3: In the days of film, ISO was set strictly by the film maker and could be manipulated through processing. Modern cameras allow you to change the ISO on the fly. The ISO determines how sensitive the sensor will be to the light hitting it. A high ISO charges the sensor so that it responds faster and with more intensity and noise than a low ISO at the same light level. IT is by manipulating the ISO that one can make the adjustments of aperture and speed fall into a range that creates a good image.
4: White Balance is probably the most misunderstood adjustment modern cameras have. In short, it adjusts the sensor’s idea of what white looks like. The human eye can recognize a white object at many different light levels. The films sensor can not do this. A bright day with lots of sunshine has a color temperature of close to 5000 degrees kelvin. An object that looks white in that light will look more yellow-red than white if viewed under tungsten light. It might also appear a bit green under older style fluorescent lights. A white balance control enables you to compensate for the lighting conditions at hand.
By taking the time to learn about these controls on your camera, you can start creating better images.