Point-and-Shoot Camera Tips

With the holidays in full swing it’s a prime time for family snapshots with the trusty point-and-shoot digital camera.  I used to think that I could only take truly great pictures if I invested in a digital SLR, but photographer friends always tell me that it’s less about the camera and more about who’s behind it.  There are several simple things anyone can do to improve their digital pictures. David Pogue –who is in the middle of finishing up his digital photography book–offered a sneak peek into some of his best tricks in last week’s NYTimes.  My favorite:

Force the flash outdoors. It might not occur to you to use the flash when you’re taking pictures of people on a bright, sunny day. It certainly wouldn’t occur to the camera. Problem is, the camera “reads” the scene and concludes that there’s tons of sunlight. But it’s not smart enough to recognize that the face you’re photographing is in shadow… The solution is to force the flash on–a very common photographer’s trick. The flash can provide just the right amount of fill light to brighten your subject’s face–without affecting the exposure of the background.

Lifehacker, using these as a jumping-off point, added a few more.

Get behind something to shoot more candidly: …it’s hard to walk around with a lens pointed and not be noticed. For more candid shots, try shooting over someone’s shoulder, or shooting through or around something that you don’t mind being in the actual photograph for a voyeuristic effect—tree branches, window frames, and the like.

I’ve had a lot of luck getting candid shots by pulling the camera out, taking a shot or two, then keeping it out while the conversation moves on.  After a while people forget the camera is there or on and I can get off a few shots without them noticing.  This is particularly effective if the camera has a large LCD screen.  You can line up a shot without looking like you’re doing so. Inspired by these two posts, amatuer photographer Jeremiah Tolbert added several great tips of his own.

Shoot in Aperture Priority Mode Your camera probably has a million modes that you may or may not have played with.  Some might be icons, and some are probably just letters like “A”, “P” and the dreaded “M.”  Your camera may not have any of those settings.  If that’s the case, I suggest you find one that does.  They’re getting cheaper and cheaper.  So what is aperture priority mode?  It’s probably “A” on your mode dial, to start. Aperture mode is 50% of what you need to make your photos look more professional.

These are all great tips that will work with any decent point-and-shoot.  What are your favorite tips for making frame-worhty pictures?