A digital camera is a standard tool for a serious photographer/artist today. Digital Photography has made life easier than the 35 mm camera, in that pictures are instantly stored on the camera’s memory card. Pictures are then easily transferred over to one’s computer, enhanced, and printed out on special camera quality printer paper. You can shoot pictures, view them on your camera and print them out in a matter of minutes. Or you can simply take your memory card to a store and have the pictures printed out on shiny photographic print paper just like you do with your film camera.

Since there is no film to load and you can set your camera on a complete automatic setting, many people who previously shied away from photography are now entering this exciting area of art. Community Colleges now offer classes in Digital Photography as well as local libraries to make this medium user-friendly to the beginner and advanced artist. There are books available at your local bookstores that teach the basics of how to use a digital camera as well as manipulation of computer software for dramatic artistic results.

A digital camera should go with you everywhere because you never know where a great shot may be waiting for you. Make sure your camera is fully charged when you take it out and you may even want to carry a set of spare photocell batteries in your camera bag. Here are just a few times that could produce creative photographs:

• Family Outings
• Vacations
• Portraits
• Kid’s Athletic Events
• Nature Trails & Along Streams
• Sunrise & Sunsets

I got a shot of a Great Blue Heron while walking my dog. Don’t underestimate the value of having your digital camera with you at the right time, at the right place. Otherwise, you’ll kick yourself.

The nice thing about putting your photos on your computer after you’ve taken them, even given the camera’s zoom capabilities, you often can zoom in and enhance the photo even more. Keep in mind that you may lose some quality if you try to zoom in too much on the computer. However, the greater the magnification and zoom capacity of your camera, the more you’ll be able to zoom in on your subject without losing any quality in your photograph. Each step up in quality on the camera will be more out-of-pocket expense for you. I recommend the high end of the mid-range in cameras. A 5X magnification and a 10X zoom is a good choice for the average photographer.

Photograph manipulation using computer software is the creative pallet of a digital photographer. Microsoft Office Picture Manager^R or Kodak Easy Share^R are both easy programs for adjusting your color contrast or brightness. PrintMaster^R has an “Edit Photo” feature that allows you to do all kinds of fun things to your photos such as give them a psychedelic or neon effect. If you want to do really advanced creative manipulation of your photography however, Photoshop^R is the cream of the crop. It allows you to do most anything you can dream of such as layering multiple photos on top of one another & combining graphic illustrations in with photography. The sky is the limit with Photoshop^R. You will definitely want to get a book on Photoshop^R.

As an artist, photo manipulation, is a bit like painting on a canvas. You can make a choice to alter your photograph, and if you don’t like it, you simply “undo” your selection and start over. It’s all at your fingertips. You may decide the photograph is best left untouched by any computer enhancement at all. That’s priceless!

Lastly, get a memory card that holds 300+ pictures, that way you have the freedom to shoot at will and as much as you like. With digital you can afford to be creative. You can take that extra shot to try a different artistic angle or play around with your camera’s settings a half a dozen different ways. It doesn’t matter because you’re not wasting any film. Just shoot and if you don’t like it erase it out of the camera’s memory and poof, it’s gone. Nothing is more creatively freeing than digital photography. Point. Click. Shoot.