Given below are some guides and tips on digital photography. Compiled by Print Camp’s photo-experts, these words of wisdom will enlighten you in your quest for perfect digital photography.

1. Indoor Photography
2. Outdoor Photography
3. Photo Resolution
4. General photo tips and tricks

1. Indoor Photography

Some people say that indoor photography is one of the easiest kinds of photography there is. Because, when you shoot indoors, you have complete control over your surroundings.

Shooting indoors is all about matching your photographic skill with your taste for interior decoration. Remember – It is your will that prevails indoors.

Indoor Lighting

When indoors, the luxury of being able to use, as much or as little, light as you need is in your hands.

Natural light streaming-in from windows or skylights is soft on the eye; this provides you with a great platform to experiment your photographic talent. As you begin to experiment with different lighting techniques you will eventually find one that is most suitable to you.

By using various sources of light, you could highlight objects that would normally pass unnoticed in your photo. On the same note, you may also mask areas of your choice that you don't wish to make prominent, by re-positioning the light sources that are highlighting them.

2. Outdoor Photography

Most photographers claim outdoor photography to be “most challenging” as a wide variety of elements affect the outcome of a photograph. When you shoot outdoors, you seem to be at the mercy of your surroundings.

No matter how good you are at photography, one thing is certain: Nature’s will prevails outdoors.

Outdoor Lighting

When outdoors, photographers are slaves to light. Unable to adjust the amount of light in their surroundings, outdoor photography is a tricky affair. There is no need to panic. Just follow Print Camp’s guide and start taking pictures like a pro.

Myth: Many people believe that landscape photographers shoot from dawn to dusk, waiting for the right kind of light to show up.
Fact: Experienced photographers will choose to shoot right before sunrise and after sunset to achieve a perfect picture.

When selecting the proper light to photograph in, an equal amount of consideration needs to be given to your subject., as s mall details can become lost if the picture is not lit properly. While scenic landscapes always look better with low, soft lighting; images of wildlife can display greater detail when shot in the bright, contrasting mid-day light.

Gear and Perspective
When photographing outdoors, make sure you carry a tripod. Tripods keep your camera still and thus, avoid shaky images. If you don’t have one, rest your elbows on a sturdy base or better still, make use of a remote-controlled timer.
The camera’s flash bulb is a very interesting device. Use it. Make use of flash to improve your pictures in broad daylight. Lighten-up those shadows and make your subjects stand out.

During landscape photography, people find it difficult to portray a sense of scale of the landscape. Think of ways of measuring the landscape, by comparing it to a measurable object say a plant, an animal or even a person. People play a very important part in outdoor photography, besides carrying your gear that is. Shoot a person in the landscape you’re photographing. Anyone can relate to a person’s size, so putting your friend in your landscape will illustrate how grand it really is – the landscape, not your friend!

Zoom-in now and then and zero-in on some of the less-noticeable elements that are absent in your previous pictures. Such photography creates beautiful memories of the places you visit.

3. Photo Resolution

If you thought taking good photographs is all there is to good photography, think again. One fool-proof technique to increase the quality of your photographs is to choose the highest resolution when saving your image. While these images eat up your memory card, the results are worth the space.

When you order a print you should pick a print size which in accordance to the resolution of your image.
The following table shows the ideal image size (in pixels) for each print size (based on the longest edge).

4. General photo tips and tricks

Interested in taking high-quality digital photographs without spending a dime? Read on to find out more.

Tip #001:
Follow the rules of Photography

Shoot your images only with a camera. Help protect our wildlife and preserve our natural forests and landscapes. Don’t forget to use bio-degradable goods while camping.

Tip #002:
Be level-headed

Get down or look up to your subjects to catch those wonderful glazes they have to offer. If your subject is short, then shoot downwards and vice versa.

Tip #003:
Eliminate those NPCs

Clear your subject’s background for obstructions. Fewer NPCs (Non - Photographic Characters) make a good picture better. See Tip #009.

Tip #004:
Close-up

Let your subjects fill-up your photograph. Subjects dear to you will lay in the center of your photographs, the rest being clutter. To get a cleaner shot, zoom in or move closer. Effectively fill your photographs with objects of high detail.

Tip #005:
Flash @ your Range

Know the limits of flash. Use your flash to lighten-up subjects within ten feet of you. Any attempt to exceed your flash’s range leads to a dark photograph.

Tip #006:
Use the Focus

Focus your subjects in the center of your camera’s focus. Re-frame till this happens and only then, click the picture.

Tip #007:
Be Creatively Inclined

Shoot your photos using different angles. Be creative and you’ll end up with unique photos to show off. Do think about a picture’s caption before clicking. You should be able to relate to them somehow.

Tip #008:
Back up your photos

Make sure you show your surroundings in your photos. People get a bigger picture that way. If your surroundings aren’t worth showing, see Tip #004.

Tip #009:
Stay in control
Make the most of your composition by rearranging your subjects. Re-position them to get out their personalities or re-position yourself.

Tip #010:
See and Shoot

If you see a good photo, shoot it. Don’t waste your time trying to get one perfect shot. Keep experimenting and take as many as you can. Sometimes these “instant shots” are the ones that you’ll remember more.

Tip #011:
Digital cameras don’t provide good images, people do!

Capture people. Try capturing a moment. Search for a memorable expression or happy moment. Capture them in such a way that they bring back to you the same feeling when you clicked the photo.

Print Camp’s Glossary of Terms

Given below are some common terms you will come across over and over again in your quest for digital photography:

• Aperture

The opening behind a camera’s lens, that allows light into the camera. The size of an aperture can be varied to allow more or less light to pass through it. F-numbers express aperture size. Cameras with small apertures have large f-numbers and pass less light and vice versa. See also: Exposure

• Background

The area behind the main subject, in a photograph. See also: Foreground, Subject

• Byte

A unit of data that holds a single character. 1 Byte=8 Bits. See also: Mega byte

• Camera

An electronic device through which photographs are taken. Parts of a camera include: shutter, lens, flash, etc.. See also: Aperture, Flash

• Color Profile

A profile that consists of information about color, hue, saturation, and brightness, needed for translating the values, of a wide range of colors. See also: Hue, Saturation


Close-up Refer: Zoom
• Composition

The variety of subjects within a photograph. Composition also refers to the range of colors used in a photograph. See also: Subject, Color Profile

• Crop

Cutting out edges or parts of an image for editing. See also: Resize

• Darkroom

The dimly-lit room in which negatives are processed to obtain photographs of the same. See also: Negative

• DPI

DPI is short for Dots per Inch. It is the standard used to measure screen and printer resolution and is expressed as the number of dots that a device can display or print per linear inch. DPI is what your printer will recognize when it prints your image. The greater the number of dots per inch, the better the resolution. See also: Resolution

• Exposure

The amount of light exposed to the camera film. Three factors actively participate in controlling exposure. They are the camera’s aperture, film speed and shutter speed. Giving your film more exposure than necessary will result in overexposure. Pictures will be pale or light with poor washed out colors. Giving your film less exposure than necessary will result in under exposure. Pictures will be dark with poor detail in shadow and dark areas. See also: Shutter, Aperture

• Flash

The amount of light thrown at a subject. Typically, flashes are used to brighten-up images. See also: Subject

• Finish

The texture of a digitally printed photo. Pictures with a glossy finish look sharper and appear to sparkle. Matte finish pictures are better for hiding photographic imperfections. See also: Resolution

• Foreground

The area before the main subject, in a photograph. See also: Background, Subject

• Hue

Hue refers to the position of a color along the color spectrum. For example, the hue green lies between yellow and blue.


Image Resolution Refer: Resolution
• Image Size

The size of a digital picture. In digital terminology, image sizes are measured by their resolution and weight (in bytes). See also: Resolution, Byte

• Image Resolution

The size of a digital picture. In digital terminology, image sizes are measured by their resolution and weight (in bytes). See also: Resolution, Byte

• Kilobyte

A Kilobyte refers to thousands of bytes. 1 KB=1,024 bytes. See also: Byte, Megabyte

• Landscape

The Horizontal orientation of an image with respect to the paper layout. Landscapes are printed sideways on vertical sheets of paper. See also: Portrait

• Mega Pixel

The word mega pixel means "million pixels." 1 Mega Pixel = 1,048,576 pixels. See also: Pixel

• Megabyte

A Megabyte is a unit of data, interpreted as approximately one million bytes. 1 MB = 1,024 kilobytes or 1,048,576 bytes. See also: Byte, Kilobyte

• Memory card

Digital storage media where data is stored. Most digital cameras are capable of storing images on memory cards. See also: Byte, Pixel

• Negative

The inverted image, captured on film. Negatives may be used to reproduce images by passing light through them. See also: Darkroom

• Portrait

The vertical orientation of an image with respect to the paper layout. Portraits are printed vertically, on sheets of paper .See also: Landscape