More and more people are enjoying photography and it is rapidly becoming a large part of our lives. Whether using our mobile telephones, compact camera's or DSLR's, we are taking photographs all of the time, it can be a simple snap shot that encapsulates a certain moment or memory that would otherwise be forgotten over time, or a more structured photograph that holds a certain place in our hearts that will be remembered forever.
In order to better understand your camera, which in turn will hopefully enable you to produce a better photograph for you to enjoy for a long time to come, I have broken down the main functions of most, if not all, compact camera's to hopefully have an easy to understand and to the point guide that you can refer to time and again.
The first part of this guide will encompass the following three points.
AUTO MODE:
When using a compact camera there are certain situations that the auto focus will not operate correctly, despite the fact that the subject area is in focus. These situations are;
To combat the above situations it may be that you will have to press the shutter-release down half way to refocus several times. Alternatively, focus on a different subject and use the focus lock. If using the focus lock be sure that the subject focused on is at the same distance from the camera as that of the subject you wish to photograph.
FRAME A PICTURE:
Remember to hold the camera with both hands, this will decrease the potential of camera shake, which will likely leave your photograph looking blurry. To prevent this and eliminate it completely, consider using a tripod. Make sure that your fingers and any other objects are away from the lens, flash and self timer lamp.
If holding the camera in a vertical position, hold it so that the built in flash is above the lens.
When shooting human subjects their face will be framed by a border (this may vary from camera to camera, depending upon manufacturers specifications). If more than one face is recognised, the face nearest to the camera will be framed by a double border and the rest by a single border.
When peoples faces are recognised the camera will focus on the face surrounded by a double border. Once focus has been locked the double border will glow green. Again, this is dependent upon the make of the camera and the manufacturers specifications.
When shooting non human subjects or when no faces are recognised the camera will automatically select to focus on the closest thing to the camera. Always double check that the subject in focus is the main focus of the shot, otherwise what may be a one time opportunity to photograph a great moment will be spoilt by poor framing.
By pressing the shutter-release half way down the camera will automatically focus on the subject, as explained above. By pressing the shutter-release down fully the picture will be recorded on either the camera's internal memory or, should you have a memory card, it will be recorded to the card.
USING THE FLASH:
The AF (auto focus) assist illuminator can be set to off manually, although in this case the camera may not focus when lighting is poor.
The camera has a certain range when the camera is zoomed out all the way. With maximum optical zoom applied, the range is much shorter. These ranges will depend on which camera you are using and it's manufacturers specifications. Refer to your owners manual for the correct ranges specific to your camera.
Most camera's have the same flash modes available, those being;
Auto - Flash fires automatically when the lighting is poor.
Auto with red-eye reduction - Reduces "red-eye" in portraits.
Off - Flash will not fire even when the lighting is poor.
Fill Flash - Flash fires when a picture is taken. Use to "fill-in" (illuminate) shadows and back-lit subjects.
Slow Sync - Auto combined with a slow shutter speed. Flash illuminates the main subject; slow shutter speeds are used to capture background at night or under dim light.