Lights, Camera, Action!

Although prices have come down in recent years, there are so many models that it can be confusing. You want to get the best quality for the price you can afford. Here's what you need to know:

Megapixels

Make sure your camera has at least 3 megapixels. In simple terms, the more megapixels the better. More megapixels means higher quality, so if you want to be able to blow up your pictures and hang them in your living room, you need lots of megapixels.

Most websites where you can upload photos (to sell or not to sell, that's up to you) insist on at least 3 megapixels for minimum quality. Many cameras are available these days with 5 megapixels or more, so be sure to get what you need.

Lenses

Again, get the best quality lens you can afford. There's no point having a 6-megapixel camera with a cheap lens in it.

As you'd expect, some cameras will include lenses made by the manufacturer. So a Canon camera might include one of Canon's own lenses; likewise with a Kodak. That makes it easier for you to know what you're getting. But it's not always the case, so be sure to ask when you buy.

Other Options

Depending on what you want to shoot, there's an almost limitless supply of camera accessories out there. But you don't need it all. In fact, I would suggest that simplicity is probably the key, at least in the first instance.

A zoom lens is handy for shooting things you can't get too close to, such as wildlife or distant landscapes. A tripod is essential for taking close-ups, portraits, or when you want to take a shot of something over longer period of time than normal. A steady hand is not always possible, so take the work out of things and buy yourself a cheap tripod.

Taking great pictures is all about capturing the light. That's why the best pictures are taken at dusk and dawn, when the natural light is at its best.

If you need to take a picture when the sun is high in the sky, even if it's just to remind yourself about a place you've visited, that's fine. But remember to go back to the spot if you can and take another picture either last thing at night or first thing in the morning. The difference it makes is worth the extra effort.

Another thing to remember is to use cloudy weather wisely. You might think an overcast sky would be lousy for taking pictures, but actually it's just the opposite. Just as the sun at noon is too bright for most pictures, these cloud formations help give the exact amount of light needed for clear, sharp pictures. But I wouldn't take any snaps in the rain.

Also keep in mind that a cloudy sky isn't always much to look at. A far better use of your time is to take the picture on a cloudy day, but keep the sky out of the frame. That way you've got a good picture focused on the subject and not overwhelmed by all those different cloud colours and shapes.

And speaking of focus...

They say the eyes are the windows of the soul. I don't know if that's true, but I do know that they can help you take better pictures.

When you take pictures of something with eyes in it, human or animal, always focus on the eyes. If the eyes are in focus, you'll get a great picture. If the eyes are out of focus, your picture will be ruined.

It's one of those things: it makes perfect sense to me, but not to everyone. But it works, and that's all you really need to worry about.

There are lots of other tricks to taking good portraits, but this is one of the most important things to remember. Focus on the eyes and your shots will always turn out well.

Ask yourself which of these two pictures would make a better shot:

a) someone about to jump out of an airplane
b) someone who's just jumped out of an airplane

(Assume that the jumper IS wearing a parachute.)

Which do you think is best? If you guessed the second one, you're right. That's because actions speak louder than words. A pic of you or your friend about to jump isn't as exciting as a shot when the jump is in progress.

One picture shows a dog standing next to a frisbee: another shows the same dog leaping into the air and catching the frisbee in its mouth. I know which of these I prefer.

Action tells a story all on its own. Seeing the dog jump and catch the frisbee is exciting. It's interesting and demonstrates what's going on. Words are not necessary, because the picture tells us what we need to know.

The picture with the dog standing next to the frisbee, on the other hand, is static, stagnant, and uninteresting. There's nothing happening, even if it's just about to happen. But the moment of excitement hasn't been captured.

Most digital cameras these days have automatic focus and settings to make picture-taking as easy as possible. Often these include a sports or action setting, so you can take pictures of moving things with confidence.

If you like this lens, you can find out more about taking great pictures in my book Travel Writing Secrets.

The book comes with a bonus file entitled The A-Z Guide to Taking Photos that Sell.

Enjoy!