Setting up your camera to get the best photographs Part I

A lot of people got new cameras for the holidays.  Because all the technology in the new digital cameras can be a bit daunting, this seems like a good time to go over some basics that will help you make the best possible pictures.

Many cameras have an Auto mode that allows you to simply pick up and camera and shoot.  This can be great in that anyone can start making images right from the get-go.  The downside to this is that the camera is making all the decisions, and they may not result in the best photograph from the technical or artistic side.

For example, the camera is deciding on the ISO rating (a measure of the sensitivity of the chip), the White Balance (what it considers to be a pure white in the scene), and what shutter speed and aperture to use (shutter speed can affect whether a moving object is sharp or blurred, and aperture can determine whether objects near or far from where you focused are sharp).  Additionally, the camera has decided what format the picture will be taken in, at what resolution, and in what color space.

Again, this is great if you are a beginner and just want to shoot as soon as you take the camera out of the box. But with just a few adjustments, you can insure you are actually getting what you want rather than give that decision making power away.

Over the next few days, we'll go over all the settings in detail.