I think these tips are a very good idea-in fact I produced a crash course on the potential of Point & Shoot digital cameras,which you may find useful-you are quite welcome to use this as you may-if it is applicable.

I have a level 6 diploma in photographic imaging from U.C.O.L in New Zealand, and here is a little information package I have put together to help beginners understand just how creative you can be with a point & shoot digicam-

Realising the Potential of Point & Shoot Digicams

Contents:

1. Creative elements

2. The first thing you need to know

3. Halfway down

4. From autopilot to creative genius:

- The outdoor portrait
- Action!
- Macro
- Nature
- Travel
- Landscape
- Studio Technique - Product shots

6. Learning to “SEE” creatively

Chapter1. Creative Digital Camera controls (Elements)

1. White balance :
- Auto
- Sunlight
- Cloudy
- Tungsten
- Fluorescent

2. Scene Select:
- Auto
- Portrait
- Landscape
- Night
- Self Portrait

3. Flash mode:
- Auto
- Red-eye Reduction
- Flash on
- Flash off

4. Exposure:
- Auto
- ESP
- Spot Metering
- Compensation ; -2.00; -1.5; -1.0; 0; (0) +0.5 ; +1.0; +1.5; + 2.00

5. Shooting mode:
- Single frame
- Sequential shooting

6. Macro mode:
- 20mm - 50mm

7. Self-Timer

8. Zoom lens:
- 35mm - 105mm

9. Colour/Black & White/ Sepia

10. Auto focus

The First thing you need to know……

Let’s determine the difference between a “Snapshot” and a Photographic Image: If you let the camera do all the work automatically, ( PHD - “Press here, Dummy” )This is taking a photo,
On the other hand, when you take control of how the camera sees the subject, this is making a photo - Being creative. So, if you really want to be creative with your digital camera, the first thing you need to know is: “ Where is the “All-Reset” button?” When you find it, put it in the off position, and you can start being creative. This button, or control, if left on, automatically resets the camera to “auto” or “programme” each time you turn the camera on.
Your camera is not just a point & shoot machine, but a very creative box of tricks, once you learn how. The next thing you need to do is to familiarise yourself with all the little controls your camera has- Read, and re-read your camera’s instruction manual, until you know where everything is. Here are a few simple things you can do already:

- Go through the white balance options
- Go through the flash modes
- Set the macro mode on and off
- Set the resolution
- Go through the scene select items

When you can do these actions without fuss or fumbling, you are on the way to creativity.

Assignment 1 If it’s a bright sunny day outside take a shot of anyplace with camera in auto, (or programme) mode.

Then set your camera’s White balance to sunlight and take another shot of the same subject.

Now set the white balance to cloudy, taking a third shot of the same subject. Compare the
three and decide which you like the best.

Assignment 2 If You are making a portrait between the hours of 10am-2pm on a bright and sunny day, take a photograph of a friend with the flash in off position. Get close, keeping just head and shoulders in the shot.

Now put flash in flash-on mode and take the portrait again. Note how the flash has filled in the shadows under the eyes and chin. If your flash is too powerful and flattens facial features, either place a piece of tissue over the flash window, or use a piece of white medical tape.

Assignment 3 Find a scene to photograph and using auto mode, take a shot. Take a second shot from the same position, but put your sunglasses lens in front of your camera lens. Note how the sky darkens and clouds become more prominent. Not too hard to be creative, eh?

Halfway Down (Focus & Exposure)

You will have noticed that there is a definite amount of time between pressing the shutter button and capturing a picture. This happens because the camera needs to wipe the last image from the memory card, automatically focus and set exposure. One way to overcome this problem, is to pre-focus on your subject, or something the same distance away, if you intend a candid shot, the press the shutter button halfway down. - This lets the camera pre-focus and pre-set exposure, then all you need to do is to press the shutter the rest of the way down to take your shot. While we are in the realms of exposure, here’s an experiment:
Get a piece of white paper and a piece of black paper ( A4 sheets) take separate photo of each sheet, in the same lighting conditions, using the camera’s meter on auto (Programme) setting - Surprise, Surprise! They both came out mid-grey. This is because the camera’s meter averages out the scene, giving an average exposure for the scene at 18%grey. This is okay for the average scene, but if you are viewing a high contrast scene, you will lose detail in both the highlights and the shadows. If you use the spot meter on your subject, your subject will come out fine. Your camera will have a 5 stop exposure compensation facility in 0.5 increments:
( -2.0;-1.5; -1.0; -0.5; -0- + 0.5; +1.0; +1.5; +2.0) where zero is average 18% grey and -2 will give detail on black, and +2 will give detail on white - on a grey scale.

How much light is needed to make a photograph? That will be determined by the camera's built-in metering systems or by using a hand-held incident light meter which is used to measure the amount of light that is falling on the subject.
To aid in pre-visualising your finished photographic images I include a simplified “zone system” which you may find useful.

Tone Value
Meter Reading Appearance
1 Plus2 White with minimal detail
2 Plus1 Dried grass, bright-coloured flowers
3 0= Meter as read 18% grey - Green grass/Dry tarmac /tttarmactarmacadam
4 minus 1 Dark foliage
5 minus 2 Black with some detail

Tone Valuation is my simplified version of the Adams/Weston “Zone System” for pre-visualising perfect negative/transparency exposure ( Gamma 0.7 ).
To see how it works take your camera (manual Mode) and meter off green grass or dry tarmac, to get a control tone. (18% grey) Set camera to this setting. Now try to guess what other objects in the scene around you, are the same tone. Check by metering these objects close up. Check control tone often to allow for changing light. By doing this frequently, you will soon be able to accurately guess an 18% grey. ( Tone value 3 on chart above)

By assigning a tone to parts of a scene that are not of tone value 3, is the key to controlling how dark or light things are to appear in the photograph. If you take a meter reading from the darkest and lightest parts of a scene, and find a difference of 5 stops, you should be able to capture minimal detail in all parts of your frame. if your scene goes beyond 5 stops difference, then you must decide where detail is to be lost - is shadow detail more important?, or highlights? As you can see. tone valuation takes guesswork out of the picture, and leads towards a Gamma 0.7 density negative/transparency. you should easily be able to determine which parts of an image will possess some detail, checking that they show at least +2 for white and -2 for black.
The Process

a) Give a tone value to some object in your frame-probably the cental subject-based on how you will want the finished photograph to look.
b) Set exposure according to the chart above
c) Check other parts of the scene to determine their tone values, adjusting exposure as necessary.

From Auto-pilot to creative genius

Now we get down to the nitty-gritty - coming off of auto-pilot and getting creative with exact subject matter.

The outdoor portrait

a) Position your subject so that the light comes from 45 degrees to his/her face. If the day is overcast you will have no problems, but if the sun is shining brightly, your model will very likely squint, and you do not want this to happen if you are going to make a flattering image.
b) Using an assistant, get them to hold a white sheet, or translucent diffuser if you have one, between the sun and your model. To bounce light up into the subject’s face, get them to hold a white reflector, or white sheet of paper in their hands, but out of the frame, to fill in any facial shadows. If it’s sunny set your white balance to sunny, if overcast set to cloudy ( asking for more light). If in doubt use the pre-set Portrait Programme of your camera.
c) Set metering to spot, take a reading from your model’s face.

d) Hold your camera vertical, and take your shot.

Action photography

Action photography isn’t easy with digital cameras, due to the time taken from pressing the button to recording the picture on the memory card- known as shutter-lag. This can be overcome to some extent by pressing the button halfway down, pre-setting exposure and focus-then wait for the moment (-at the height of a swing’s momentum, -when a high-jumper, or basketball player reaches the peak of activity, etc.,) then press the button down fully to take the picture. The other thing is to practice “panning”- press button halfway down as before focussing on where the subject is going to be when you take your photo- then as subject approaches, you follow the subject by swinging your body in the same direction, pressing the button in mid-swing, but following through. This will take a bit of practice getting used to, but the end result will be a sharp rendition of the subject against a blurred background-giving the illusion of speed. Or blur the subject to imply speed.

Nature, Travel & Landscape

I have grouped these three aspects together because they are related and interlaced. Choice of lens-zoom are important for these aspects of photography-wide angle settings show depth and expanse, while telephoto and macro settings pick out detail.

Studio Technique -Product shots/still-life.

If you want to put photos on an online auction, they need to clearly show the condition of what you are selling, and there are right and wrong ways to photograph these items. The biggest problem is with bright metal items-watches, rings, etc ., How to reduce the reflections and glare? Either use a tent made from some translucent material- even a white lampshade, or a large white polythene bowl turned upside down with a hole for your camera lens. By using one of these methods you can use desk lamps to place where you need to direct light through to your item from outside, until glare and reflections are reduced

Learning to “see” creatively

Developing a creative eye is about seeing things in a different way. A personal visual opinion rather than obvious point of view. When we first use a camera we take pictures of all the obvious things around us, landmarks, people we know, family pets, Uncle George etc., This is all a very necessary part of learning photography, and after repeatedly taking these pictures, boredom starts to creep in. If we get bored enough, we tend to look further than the obvious for our photographic subjects, hopefully encouraging us to interpret these subjects in a different manner - but, as we so often see, some people continuously take boring pictures, until they become experts at doing so. The problem is that we all have pre-conceived ideas about how something should look, and that is what we photograph, so if we want to be creative we must drop these pre-conceptions, and start looking at things from a small child’s innocence. What would a worm see- if it looked up? Spend a day taking photos of everyday things from a height of 600mm to 800mm, how a small child would view them. isolate part of an overall scene, using the camera’s viewfinder -Show things how they are not normally viewed. Use light creatively, to show texture, give mood or to produce silhouetted shapes. Use telephoto lenses for landscapes-wide angle lenses for portraits - take photos into the sun - take pictures while jumping in the air -
Place horizons where you want them to be. After a while creative vision becomes as natural as breathing, and when this occurs, you can concentrate on capturing the moment : The peak of action -a fleeting glance- certain lighting conditions. Learn all the “Rules” of composition-then see how many you can break, while still communicating powerful images. Try not focusing on the point of interest, instead focus on shape, or form. Decide what you want to emphasise-what message you want to convey to the viewer. Look for pictures within pictures. try looking at a scene through a 28mm wide-angle lens, change to a 100mm telephoto lens, and see how many different pictures you can isolate within that scene.
When you possess the ability to creatively “see”, you will never again have to worry about the problems encountered in photography or anything that may have to do with your camera equipment. But how will you know when you have reached the level of being an “A-1” Lens-person, with the ability to see things from a photographic perspective?"
Practice, practice, practice and apply everything you have learnt from photography to your shooting sessions. As they say, practice makes perfect, and as I say: “ Perfect Practice makes Perfect”. And you must learn how to utilise all the techniques required until they have become second nature to you.
You need to know how and when to utilise the required techniques of photography and camera and lenses to create the images you want, finally providing the answers to those questions which you have kept asking yourself .

To know whether you are doing things right: Are you asking yourself the three basic questions before you embark on a shooting session or assignment? Remember They are:

1. What is the main subject of the photograph?

2. How do I highlight the main subject of the photograph ?

3. What do I leave out?

You can't expect to master all the basic techniques simply by reading everything written here and hoping for the best. You have to put them into practice and improve the mistakes, and there will be plenty of these. Only then can you really learn how to see things from a photographic perspective. And use this know-how to apply the required techniques of photography to all your shooting needs.
Have a camera with you almost everywhere you go, and you’ll be ready to shoot anything interesting that may crop up. Never believe that you will go back later or tomorrow to shoot the scene you just noticed because you left your camera at home. It just doesn’t happen that way.
Using the techniques in conjunction with the three basic questions, you can shoot virtually anything anytime. Try an unusual angle if you feel the normal way is too formal for you -Who knows? The unusual method may produce better results than the conventionally accepted method.

Enhancing your images

If you only purchase one filter, then make it a polarising filter. This is the single most important filter you should own.

Choosing the best camera angle.

Having the best camera angle has to do with the composition and framing methods - getting it right for the image you have in mind. When it comes to photography, most people, eager with the urge to record the image, do not bother to examine or think about the best possible camera angle . The subject might look great in reality but the problem usually encountered is how to transform this into the pictures you have in mind.

Don’t try to remember all the techniques. You only need to know the Three questions that professionals always ask themselves prior to pressing the shutter button, as well as knowing the Basic Techniques of Photography.
Knowing your exposure is essential in getting the photos perfectly exposed. You need to know what effects your lens zoom lengths are capable of. Lighting is another important technique of photography-without light, the film cannot be exposed, and you will have no images to look at.

Lighting

For many photographers, the sun is the main source of illumination. There is nothing wrong with relying solely on sunlight, but you do have to appreciate the different qualities of light available. Time of day and angle of light are the two essential considerations to be made about using sunlight as the main source of light. Photographers talk about late afternoon ( golden) light. Things do seem to photograph more beautifully when the sun is low on the horizon, that is, at dusk. You can get a similar feeling early in the morning although morning light tends to be more pink ( Cooler) while afternoon light is redder (Warmer).While shooting photographs between 10am and 4pm is not generally recommended, sometimes certain subjects will work fine, especially when you want a high degree of contrast between highlight and shadow.
For portraits of people that are photographed under harsh lighting conditions, you may need to compensate for the harsh shadows that form on faces. This is achieved by Fill-in flash ( Just select the “flash-on” setting) You can also shoot portraits under such conditions by placing your subject under the shaded area, like the shadows of buildings, trees or other large objects, or by use of reflectors, directing the reflected light into the facial shadows. Realise, that your subject may have a slight greenish cast if photographed under the shade of a tree.
There are four main ways to use sunlight creatively in your photography. They are known as:

Frontal Lighting - also known as Flat Lighting

45° or “ 3 - O’clock” Lighting - also known as Natural Lighting

90° Side-lighting - also known as Texture Lighting or split lighting

Backlighting - also known as Rim Lighting or Contre-joure

Front lighting

is actually the worst type of lighting condition to be used in most form of photography. That is why it is also known as Flat Lighting. It makes most images rather flat in appearance..
Front lighting is also the most popular form of lighting despite its flat tendency, because it is the easiest type of lighting to use. With full frontal, bright sunlight falling on your intended subject, what more could you ask. Using front lighting is like having a fully charged flash on all the time - a bright picture is recorded on film. Direct flash is not the ideal type of lighting for your subjects, although certain subjects can look better when using front lighting, especially architectural subjects, that have unique textural components.

.
45° Side Lighting --

This form of lighting is also known as “3-O’Clock” lighting. Whether you are shooting your subject using natural sunlight, or indoor studio lights, the 45° side lighting is the major type of lighting placement used in the majority of portraits, still-life or commercial photography. To use this type of side lighting with natural sunlight, just position your intended subject with the sunlight coming from a 45° angle, ( both from horizontal and vertical directions) regardless of
whether the light is coming from the right or left side of you. If the lighting is for use in portraits, the shadow of your subject's nose will form a small triangle on either side of the cheeks as with the example shown in this portrait. The effect will be the same when shooting in the studio using studio flash as a substitute for natural sunlight.
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90° Side Lighting -

This type of side lighting is mainly used for highlighting the texture of the subject especially in architecture photography and other similar objects having repetitive designs and structures.
For people photography, this form of lighting is highly recommended for portrait photography for men. It is however, not suitable for photography involving women. The strong side lighting effect will not produce flattering images of women. This is the kind of lighting used by Yussuf Karsh, the famous portrait photographer based in Canada.

Backlighting -

This is considered the most creative lighting effect for any subject, especially on portraiture. A portrait shot using backlighting will have the halo effect on the subject’s hair. Use it on other subjects like buildings, street signs, cars, close-ups or still-life, and they will all have that touch that makes the images more vivid, compared to using front lighting. Backlighting effects can be used with studio flash, too but it is usually as an added light source to enhance the subject's shape against the background. In addition, backlighting does not necessary means that the light source has to literally coming directly from behind the subject. When using the sun as backlighting a portrait outdoors, you will need to open up one or two stops to allow detail in the face.
It can come from above, below or at a 45° direction from behind the subject, depending on how you position your subject against the light.

Composition & Framing

As mentioned earlier, three questions form the basis for your images in photography. They are the forces behind the "eye of the photographer". A trained photographer looks at things differently from the normal person.
Here are the three main questions again:

1. What is the main subject of the photograph?

2. How do I Highlight the main subject of the photograph?

3. What do I leave out?

Framing

If you have understood the meaning of the three essential questions, it is time to learn what framing is all about in photography. While composition is about composing the subject and surrounding elements within the frame of your cameras, framing in photography uses supporting elements to complement your main subject.
The supporting elements must not be used to divert attention away from the main subject. If this is the case, then your framing techniques have been incorrectly applied.
With the meaning of framing in photography explained, it's time to focus on :

Composition:

What attracts us to great photographic images?
- They make us
- wrinkle our brow -
- smile -
- feel happy -
- feel sad -
- feel peaceful -
- feel disturbed -
- feel angry -
- feel like laughing -
- feel shocked.

If a photograph can evoke any of these emotions, it can be said to have Impact. The basis of impact in a photographic image is placement and possibly enhancement of that subject, within the viewfinder frame of the camera. Academic Tutors talk about rules of composition, but if that were true, and if all rules were followed to the letter, everyone would be a great photographer, and we know that is not the case. There are no rules to photographic composition - only compromises, or there would be no creativity.

Elements of composition

Composition refers to the arrangement of line, shape and contrast within the frame of the photographic Image. Effective composition arranges the elements, ( objects, colours, horizons, patterns, etc.,) that show the viewer your personal world view of the subject. It is a matter of knowing what to leave out of the image. The greatest influence on our reaction to a photograph is the position of the main centre of interest. This should almost never be placed at dead-centre in the frame, any sense of implied movement dissolves. The result is usually static and boring. There are no set-in-concrete “rules” about composition, only compromises, and the first compromise you should look at is the Rule Of Thirds . This infers that you mentally divide the frame into 3 equal sections, both vertically and horizontally, so you end up with the nine squares of a noughts and crosses layout.

If the main point of interest is a static spot, place it at one of the intersections
If the main point of interest is horizontal, place it at a horizontal third
If the main point of interest is vertical, place it at a vertical third
In the above, the main point of interest will be whatever you want your viewer to pay most attention to. Other factors that exert a strong influence over the impact of your photographic images are:
Position of horizon
Framing
Line
Perspective
Depth
Balance
Colour
Contrast
Shape
Pattern
Tone
Viewpoint
Brightness
Scale
Shock
Some subjects, notably landscapes, contain a strong line that divides the image into separate areas. In landscapes, ( and virtually all outdoor shots) that line is the horizon.
The horizon divides the subjects, or events that take place in, or are framed by the sky, and those that take place on the ground, or sea.
Basically, if you want the photo to be wispy and dream-like, use a low horizon line where the horizon is below the mid-point of the frame, to include more sky. If you want to depict more down-to-earth feelings, use a high horizon line- where the horizon is above the mid-point of the frame, and focus on those things that are grounded and that provide a feeling of depth in the image because people are more in touch with the relative sizes and atmospheric differences among those things that share the earth with them.
The photographic image’s frame doesn’t just come from the edges of your viewfinder. Be careful that framing the things surrounding the main subject doesn’t trap the subject, or detract from it. Don’t use if the image doesn’t require it. Lines, in the image have a certain effect on how the viewer’s eye travels through the photograph.

Implied lines, always straight, between interacting objects, or between an object and whatever is ahead of it.
Upright lines give feelings of strength and balance throughout the image. Curved lines convey peaceful movement, but the steeper the curve, the more tension and force.
Diagonal lines give feelings of action and dynamism.
Perspective lines show dynamic movement in the direction of the lines
Jagged lines convey unhurried and peaceful movement.

It’s the control of composition that determines the “WOW” factor in photography, and it is very important, if you are going to take worthwhile photographs, to master that control. Where Lighting and Exposure, are pure technique, or the science of photography, Composition is the art of photography. Creativity is the understanding and manipulation of composition elements within the frame of the camera’s viewfinder.

Simplify your photos

One of the most obvious things about photos taken by an amateur or beginner, rather than a professional photographer is the amount of distractions that divert attention away from the main subject.
Distracting elements can spoil an otherwise good subject matter in your pictures.

How to shoot candid photographs

.A snapshot is a photo where you simply snap at whatever subject that attracts your attention, without having to worry much about composition or techniques. And in most cases, the subjects in snapshots are aware that their photos are being taken.
Candid photography, on the other hand, is somewhat more specialized than a snapshot; the photographer has to capture the fleeting moment with the subject not being aware of being photographed. In more than 90 per cent of candid shots, the subjects have no idea that their pictures are being taken.
Unlike snapshots, which can include anything from still-life, close-ups, people, architecture to Landscapes, candid photography requires live subjects.
Successful candid photography is defined by what the subjects are doing in the shots, which means your photos need to inform the viewer what the subjects are doing and their locations.

Regards, Kenneth William Caleno (Dip.Phot.)

Posted by Kenneth William Caleno on 03:02, April 21 2006