Photography is slowly emerging as a separate art. However, the chemistry is quite complicated for those commoners as achieving a great output means going through the tedious process of development. As you all know, films are made of thin strips filled with photosensitive “salts”. This made film photography a relatively “adult” genre.
But now anyone could try photography, thanks to the opportunity to learn digital photography.
So how exactly do we learn digital photography? Well, you have to try to take it literally to understand – it’s about taking light in to become pictures, sent as a file. Yes, your movie storage is your computer! That means you don’t have to worry about your films getting mold elements and the like. Another advantage is that digital photography allows you to make larger prints with clearer and sharper results. This is because digital photography operates at the megapixel level, where the resolution could exceed the conventional capacity of film prints, usually estimated at 5 megapixels when scanned through a film scanner.
So how do we learn digital photography?
Well, it’s very simple! Your camera has a built-in screen where you can preview the images you’ve captured. So every time you shoot, you could access it right away with the “play” button (a tailless arrow pointing to the right). Here you can also change the settings in an easier way.
Speaking of settings, digital photography, like traditional photography, is guided by the fundamental settings – aperture and shutter speed. Aperture is like your camera’s “apprentice”, controlling depth of field, the smaller the f-number, the wider the range. A handy tip when learning digital photography using aperture, take priority when you open it wide (largest possible f-number), you can get quick shots with less blur. Another is the shutter speed. Shutter speed is the shooting time your camera uses to capture an image, so if you want a more detailed image, use a slower shutter speed. Photographers use this feature when shooting lights in the dark.
But if you don’t believe the idea of aperture and shutter speed, you can always use the automatic function. With this feature, you don’t have to dive into the menu and set your desired setting because the camera would choose it for you.
A distinguishing feature in learning digital photography is the post-processing. This feature allows you to manipulate the color level of your image as well as sharpness, contrast, brightness and the like. Photographers use this feature to achieve the best possible result. You can even remove unwanted blemishes such as pimples, excess elements, vignettes, and so on.
In post-processing, keep in mind that raw files are better because the gamut is much more extensive. Raw files are equal to your “negatives”, making your photo editing program your darkroom. What could be better now? So go ahead and learn digital photography.
With this boost in innovation in the art of photography, photography purists are crying because they believe this form of photography takes the shine out of traditional photography. Well, this is not the case. Photography made easy is not indicative of incompetence because in the end it all comes down to the photographer. Many have even switched to digital to make their lives easier.
So what are you waiting for? Learn digital photography.
Digital cameras are sold almost everywhere and all you need to do is shoot. But if you want to take your hobby to the next level, DSLRs are available for you. DSLRs offer a wide range of settings that make your images look better.
Hi, I’m Gaylene Slater, the author of Living the Good Life in Love, Life and Family. Living in a small town in rural Western Australia has its challenges, although it was here that I also found the inspiration to write my first book! During our many travels I have been lucky enough to take part in many photo opportunities and it really came to a head late last year as I tried to master the art of photography. So I decided to help a few other people and do a few articles on digital photography about how to use it, how creative it can be, but most importantly, how to really enjoy taking good quality photos. To really enjoy photography you have to really understand it and be able to use a camera as an extension of your body, mind and soul, only then will the photos really show what you want to see, feel and enjoy.