phewse photoblog

This is the third installment in the series, “How to Buy a Point and Shoot Digital Camera.”

You’ve picked out a digital camera, but what should you buy with it? There are endless choices of what accessories to get with your camera, here is my list of essentials:

• Memory Card (or Two)
  This one is a necessity, as you won’t be able to use your camera without it! Many cameras will with one, but typically they are small cards that only hold a couple of pictures. Find out what type of memory your camera takes, and get a card that will allow you to take plenty of photos before running out of space. To decide what size card you need, use a table such as the one here at DigiCamReview to approximate how many photos you can fit. I generally recommend at least a 512mb card—they’re fairly cheap, and you can store a good number of photos on them.
• Case
  I strongly recommend this one. Get a small case to toss your camera in. This way, if you ever happen to bang against something or accidently drop it, there is less chance you will ruin something.
• Extra batteries
  Although not a necessity, these can come in very handy. If you’re out taking photos, the last thing you want to see is a dead battery. If you buy an extra, you always have the option to swap it out and keep on shooting.
• USB Card Reader
  A card reader allows you to download photos directly from your card, instead of having to use the camera and the cable it came with. This method generally has faster transfer times, but it does require taking the card out of the camera first.
• Tripod
  If you’re going to be doing any sort of night photography, this is an absolute must-have. A tripod allows you to stabilize your camera during any long exposures (which are necessary at night due to low light levels) and it can come in useful in many other situations as well.

There are plenty of other helpful accessories, and the items in this list are by no means the only accessories you should consider, but they are a starting point, and if I were to only get five accessories, they would most certainly be the ones above.

Make sure to read the next installment in the series, entitled “How to Buy a Point and Shoot Digital Camera: Where should I buy the camera and accessories?”

Online photo communities have helped me improved a lot over the years, as they are generally home to some very knowledgeable people and are great places to post photos to for critique. Here are a few I’ve been part of:

• Flickr
  Without a doubt, this is my favorite—I’m planning on writing a full post on it at some point, but for right now I’ll leave it at the basics. Flickr is an excellent photosharing community complete with everything you would want from one; it’s very easy to use, there are some very knowledgeable people to help you, and it’s fun!
• FredMiranda.com
  This is a great resource for any type of photographer, beginner to professional. With forums for all different topics, you can post images for review and also ask gear related questions. There is a huge userbase, so questions are generally answered very quickly, and there are loads of very photo-savvy people to help you out. There is strong base of digital users, although there are plenty of film users as well.
• Photo Takers
  I just joined Photo Takers, but so far it seems to be great. Once again, some very intelligent people and there’s a large userbase, although it doesn’t seem quite as big as fredmiranda. The people seem very helpful, and if you’re more of a beginning photographer, this may be a little better for you, as they have more boards dedicated to photographic techniques as opposed to just putting photos up for critique.

As I find more communities, I’ll definitely post them, but these three are my favorites right now.

In no particular order, here are my top 5 ways to improve your photos that have definitely helped me in the past.

• Use a prime lens
  Get yourself a prime lens (one that doesn’t zoom), or, if you can’t switch lenses, set it to one focal length and don’t change it. This will force you to move around and try new angles and perspectives. It will push you out of your comfort zone, and it will give you a little different view on the world.
• Go somewhere new
  There are only so many times you can take photos of the flowers in your backyard—try going somewhere new for a change! Whether it’s the next neighborhood over, a new town, or a new continent, it will make you adjust your photography to accomodate new subjects and will give you a chance to break out of any habits you’ve gotten stuck in.
• Learn how to use your camera
  Now, this one may seem kind of stupid, but it’s not. Even the greatest cameras in the world won’t do a darn thing if you don’t know how to use them. Read your manual and know everything your camera does; that way, when you’re out in the field you don’t need to worry about pulling out your manual to, say, set your exposure compensation or set the aperture, you can just concentrate on taking photos.
• Pick a theme
  Pick something to take photos of, and do it! One book I read said that he had an ongoing theme of trying to find letters of the alphabet in nature. Maybe you can take pictures of red boats, or one room houses. Either way, by choosing one thing to take photos of, it will make you keep trying to find new ways to photograph it.
• Photograph, photograph, photograph
  With the advent of the digital age, it barely costs anything to take hundreds of photos as compared to one. Instead of taking one photo of a person, take fifty! By taking more photos, you’ll learn what you like and what you don’t and your photography skills will increase immensely.