Clever Digital Photography Ideas - Extending and enhancing your camera skills and more clever ideas

Introduction

There was a time, not so long ago, when photography was in serious decline. Armed with more and more sophisticated kit, amateur and enthusiast photographers were shooting away as they had always done. But the wider picture was quite different. Although cameras were becoming easier to use and more proficient at delivering great shots, people just weren’t buying them as they once had. It seemed that they didn’t like hassle: the hassle of carrying a camera and film; and the hassle of taking films for processing, then waiting patiently for the prints. It seems results were required immediately and, unless you were willing to wield a bulky Polaroid camera, cameras just didn’t deliver.

However, technology was about to change this situation dramatically. As needs changed and demands for more immediate results became more pressing – in every walk of life – the digital camera came of age. What had been something of an expensive toy for computer enthusiasts only, now became mainstream. Taking digital photos became straightforward and viewing them, immediately, just as easy. The change within the camera market was dramatic; in a very short time cameras began to fly off store shelves again. Digital cameras had restored photography’s popularity; in fact, camera use was now greater than it had been at any time in the past.

Waterproof cameras: these give you the means to take your camera almost anywhere

Today, camera ownership has never been higher; each year the record for the number of photos shot is smashed. And of course, cameras are now more than just cameras that take basic photos; they can shoot video or even 3D shots. Indeed some ‘cameras’ aren’t actually cameras at all: mobile phones are equipped with potent cameras that shoot movies, too. This means that not only do we shoot more photos now, we also shoot subjects we may never have contemplated as subject material in the past.

Camera with flip-out viewing screen: these are great for taking photos at any angle

When cameras used film every shot cost money and, unless you carried copious amounts of expensive film, every shot you took would have to be carefully considered. Today those limits are gone and everything has become – in a photographic sense – fair game for shooting with your camera. We can use our cameras not only to record treasured memories, but also to record more mundane events that may still be pictorial, and do more besides. In this book we’ll explore some of the many ways we can use cameras and camera phones today. Some ways you may have already explored; other ways will seem a little more off the wall.

Camera phones: ideal when you want a small, pocketable all-purpose device

Whatever camera you own, we hope you’ll find some surprising and useful ways to use it better in this book.

Peter Cope

Using this book

Directly beneath the title for each idea, you’ll see one or more icons; these denote the following:

The idea is suitable for a digital camera

The idea is suitable for a camera phone/smart phone

The use of a phone app is suggested

The use of computer software is suggested

An easy, medium or hard difficulty level

Although we have done our best to avoid extensive photography jargon as we explain the ideas, sometimes this has been unavoidable. Please refer to the Clever Jargon Buster to reference any unfamiliar terms.

Extending and enhancing your camera skills

This chapter is all about pushing your camera skills that little bit further. We’ll be looking at how you can shoot when conditions get a bit extreme – and the relatively simple precautions to take to ensure your camera survives the experience. And did you know your camera probably includes some cunning features that will let you shoot brilliant photos across a wide range of situations? Mastering them is easy and you’ll soon be shooting like a pro. Except without the years of study and practice.

We will also take a look at how we can move beyond shooting what we might call ‘normal’ photos. For example, we’ll explore how simple it can be to create breathtaking panoramas, and even three-dimensional photos. And what about movies? Just about every digital camera today has a movie mode that can record short clips of movie footage, but what if your movie ambitions are a bit more ambitious or you want to be a bit more creative? We’ll suggest a couple of ingenious ideas that will enhance your abilities in the movie-making arena.

We’ll conclude by taking a look at how we can protect our investment, as this is a vital part of camera know-how. A digital camera makes it simple to shoot a large number of photos, and your collection will become part of your treasured memories in years to come. They could even become a valued asset for future generations. So we’ll discover how we can guarantee those images will still be there for future generations to enjoy and, somewhat speculatively, how we can shoot photos today that could