Photo by Gail Bjork

I was recently complimented by a photo forum participant about a photo I took with a true point-and-shoot camera, the Canon SD700. The reason I use the word “true” is that it has no manual controls.

The person wrote:

“You accomplish such wonderful results with your SD700 and this photo (of the sunrise) is yet another great example! You’ve got to share your secret.”

Secrets?!

I really don’t have any special knowledge that other seasoned photographers do not possess. But I can share some of how I think and what I do.

Photo composition

As the famous photographer, Ansel Adams, said: “A good photograph is knowing where to stand.” It sure is!

Composition plays an important role in distinguishing between just a snapshot and a photograph. Not that you have to get it perfect at the scene but close enough so you can get a good crop when editing. Cropping, like all photo editing, is quite subjective. But with a careful eye, cropping can improve composition.

There are many principles of composition that can be used as guides, not hard and fast rules.

When shooting a scene like a sunset, I always try to include a foreground object. The scene looks more interesting and gives it context.

Exposing a photo

I decide how I want a photo exposed. Why leave it up the the camera?!

I frequently use the two step-shutter release button to lock exposure and then recompose. If necessary, I use AE-Lock and/or AF-Lock, very useful exposure features found on a number of digital cameras (check your manual)

In the sunrise photo, I locked exposure near the sun not on it so the area wouldn’t be too blown out. Depending on the lighting and subject, I try to expose for the brightest or near brightest part of a scene.

The resulting image may be a bit underexposed but that can be adjusted with image editing software. I much rather have an underexposed image that retains detail than one that contains blown areas with none.

Focus

As soon as I get a new digital camera, I switch focus to single area focus mode. Most are factory pre-set to continuous or some other new-fangled auto focus mode. Single area focus mode lets me focus on the subject where I want to.

The other focus modes may be okay such as when shooting video or faces, but I’ve rarely found them useful for general photo taking. Once I change to single area focus mode, “I set it and forget it.”

Luck and photography

For a number of my best shots, I simply got lucky. I was at the right place at the right time or something entered the image that I didn’t expect.

In the case of my sunrise photo, it was the bird flying in the sky. Darned if I saw it when I snapped the shutter button. It looks nice. I lucked out.

Keep shooting

With digital cameras, you can take plenty of photos and not worry about extra costs like when using film. So I always take lots and lots and lots of shots.

I move around and watch the subtle changes in composition and exposure on the LCD. If it looks good, I snap the shutter-release button. Just to make sure, I take more photos of the same scene, sometimes varying the angle.

Practice, practice, practice

I’ve practiced these techniques for a long time. Now they are second nature and I rarely even give them a thought. They are well-worth learning so practice them too.