Shooting your photos digitally can be fun and easy but to get constant and consistent results you will need to learn how to sett up your camera properly. If you just starting out in with digital slr cameras we suggest starting out with a used digital slr camera, the cost to entry is more less and you get a better options than your traditional point and shoot digital camera. Every digital SLR camera is different but they all have camera setting as a menu items. We have created eight general tips that should help you start towards to road of constant and consistent results with your photography. So if you want great shots out of your used digital camera learn these seven tips backwards and forwards.

1. Adjust white balance manually to account for lighting conditions (especially fluorescent light)
2. Carry a small gray or white card with you to help you set the white balance.
3. Use a higher ISO rating to account for lower light conditions (Be careful not to go to high because the higher the ISO the higher/more the noise/grain)
4. Use Aperture and Shutter Priority modes to keep backgrounds in focus (aperture mode) or freeze fast-moving action shots (shutter priority)
5. Use Full Manual Mode to set both aperture and shutter modes together (though this can get complicated, use your histogram to judge the sweet spot)
6. Try burst mode to capture a bunch of shots, rapid-fire
7. Use histogram displays to quickly check if you have overexposed a shot
8. Use exposure bracketing to try the same shot at different exposure levels to find the one that ultimately looks best.

These tips will take some time to master. Be patient, persistent, and experiment you will be happy that you did.

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I’ve just been playing with "flauntr" and I’m impressed. Here’s what the creators say about it:

flauntR is a free online photo editor and effects software. Apply 1000s of digital photo effects to your images with just one click. Get images directly from FlickR or your PC. Use the online photo album feature for photo storage, and access your albums online. Share your creations by email, edit pictures online for embedding on your web page and blog. With flauntR you can apply cool digital frames and effects to your photos, for communities like Facebook or MySpace. Do new stuff to your photos everyday!

Give it a try for yourself here: flauntr.com

Unless you have a high end DSLR, most digital cameras these days come with an array of shooting modes (including portrait mode) for a photographer to choose from when out using their camera. These shooting modes are designed to help camera owners to quickly tell their camera what type of shot they are taking to give the camera a hint at what type of effect you want.

The results that your digital camera will give you in these modes is often quite good – however they are do take the chance to be a little creative with your photography away and if you’re someone wanting to improve your photography you’re less likely to learn how to use your camera effectively by sticking to them.

So how do you set up your camera to get great Portrait shots without having to use Portrait Mode?

As with almost all questions that we explore here at Digital Photography School – this one will have a variety of answers depending upon your photographic style, the camera that you’re using and the type of portraits that you’re hoping to achieve – however let me share a few starting points that will hopefully give you some good results so that you can then start experimenting (note: it might be helpful to have read my previous post on Exposure if you’re a beginner – hopefully this will help you get some of the concepts I’m explaining below a little quicker).

Switch to Aperture Priority Mode

When I’m photographing portraits I generally switch my camera away from any of the Auto modes into Aperture Priority Mode. This enables the photographer to choose the aperture that they want to shoot at while still allowing the camera to make decisions about shutter speed (to ensure well exposed images). If you’re a more experienced photographer you might want to try out full manual mode – but Aperture Priority mode will probably do for most of us.

Choose a Large Aperture for Nice Blurry Backgrounds

The actual aperture setting that you choose when in Aperture Priority Mode will vary from situation to situation and between camera/lens setups – but in most cases you’ll probably want to start with a fairly large aperture as this will decrease the depth of field in your shots (this is what portrait mode generally does). This will help to ensure you have a nice blurry background. The beauty of this type of setting is that it leaves your subject as the only element in focus – highlighting them as the main focal point and removing any other distracting elements (read more on using aperture to get blurry background).

Keep in mind that if you have a very fast lens that choosing the maximum aperture available can decrease the depth of field to a point where some parts of the face of your subject are in focus while others are not. Also the very maximum aperture might mean you are not shooting in your lenses sweet spot. Pull it back a stop or two and you might get a slightly sharper image – the key is to do some experimenting if you have the time to do so.

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One more quick tip of my own for those wanting to try black and white landscape photography:

When shooting black and white landscapes look for ‘active skies’. I was given this advice by a photographer a few months ago who showed me some examples of his own black and white landscape work. The skies in his images were breathtaking with wonderful cloud formations and what often looked like storms about to break. Having skies with so much ‘action’ in them added mood and a really dynamic look and feel to his images. Without this active element the images looked rather empty and dull. I think the same principle could be applied to most types of black and white images that have large parts of them dominated by any one thing. If a large part of your image is all the same tone the image can look quite lifeless (unless of course you’re going for a more minimalist look.

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Here are 4 ‘key ingredients’ of that will help you to visualize whether a scene will work as a black and white image or not. The titles below are from the article – the thoughts are mine.

1. Look for Contrast

One of the elements that can give interest to a black and white shot is contrast. Because you can’t use color to distinguish one element of your image from another the tonal variances become all the more important. This doesn’t mean you need to look for stark contrasts in every shot you want to convert to black and white – the subject matter will come into play here – but you should ponder how the contrast will come into play when composing your shot.

2. Wait for the Right Light

Linked to contrast, the lighting in a black and white shot can be very important. For example – h3 or direct lighting will often add to contrast. Side lighting will reveal any texture that a subject might have (and in portraits will accentuate features) and light from any one direction will create shadows. All of these techniques can add interest to a black and white image – however they can also be distracting – so play with light with care.

3. Shapes and Patterns

Patterns or shapes that can sometimes almost go unseen in color (due to the color itself drawing attention) can come alive in a black and white shot. Black and White shots that rely upon pattern can often take on an abstract quality.

4. Capture Texture

I’ve already mentioned this above when talking about side lighting – but revealing the texture of a subject can add a new dimension to an image. The sidelight does this by creating shadows.

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