Basic Digital Photography Techniques

The first area we need to cover is your digital camera. Your camera is a tool! You need to know how your camera works – its functions and capabilities.

Familiarise yourself with your digital camera by trying out each of the features and read the manual as you go.

Don’t be afraid to take lots of pictures – this will help you understand the camera more.

In order to make best use of these digital photography techniques, you need to be able to have manual control over your camera's functions – this gives you a lot more creative control over the resulting image.

The types of digital photography techniques you can apply will be different depending on the type of camera you have – smaller point-and-shoot cameras typically will have fewer options - or limit you to common presets.

More advanced digital SLR's will give you greater flexibility over how the picture is taken. These ‘Prosumer’ and ‘DSLR’ models also have interchangeable lenses that allow for further creative photo options.


Before we look at some of the more advanced digital photography techniques, I want to quickly recap on some of the basic skills that will make a huge difference to your amateur photographs in minutes.

Frame Your Shot. A frame focuses attention inside the picture. Your photos can include their own frame to add drama and draw attention to the subject. Try taking a picture through an archway, through a window or even out of a cave.

Get Closer. One of the most important rules of photography is to get closer to your subject. By getting closer to the subject, there is less chance of the surroundings distracting the viewer's eye when displaying your photograph.

To acquire a good camera technique and gain an excellent digital photography education, you should sign up for an online photography class at one of the many online schools.