“Taking better pictures may not require you to purchase a better camera or more lenses.”
Beginners constantly flood the forum boards with questions about which DSLR or lens to buy. A little probing by smart (and helpful) forum members reveals that the OP (Original Poster) is not satisfied with the image quality their compact digicams produce, especially when compared to the images from digital SLR cameras.
We all tend to believe that better equipment will somehow give us better results. Oh, they will, but probably not to the extent you expect. Most of the fantastic pictures you see on the Web are not straight from the camera: they have been post-processed to bring out the best in them.
Post-processing is akin to the darkroom processing we used to do when developing film and enlarging prints. If there was an area of our picture that was too bright, we “dodged.” If an area was too dark, we “burned.” We used a piece of cardboard, we used our hand — and we peered intently in the developing solution until we thought the picture came out just right.
In the digital world, we do not have to commandeer the family bathroom for hours anymore, or breathe smelly solutions, or work in the dark with a red bulb as the only (safe) lighting. We can do all that work — and much more — in the comfort of our well-lighted “digital darkroom” by pressing a few keys on our personal computer running a photo editing software.
If you do not have a copy of Photoshop (or another photo editing software), I would recommend that you purchase one. And no, you do not need to buy the full version. Adobe just released Photoshop Elements 8, which should cost you about US $100. Earlier versions cost even less but are equally good; newer versions tend to add album features that do nothing to help you produce a better picture.
You do not even have to buy anything. Most digital cameras already come with a viewing software that also allows some limited editing. To begin with, most of what you will really need your photo editing software to be able to do is adjust brightness, contrast and sharpness. Just learning how to do these three things will already improve your pictures tremendously.
Get a good book that will teach you about exposure. Practice taking good pictures. Then spend time in your digital darkroom to really make your pictures shine.
After you have done all of that, then you will be in a much better position to consider upgrading your digicam to a DSLR. A new world of discovery and possibilities will open up to you photographically — not only because the equipment is better — but because you, the photographer, will also have become better.
A few recommendations:
– Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera (Updated Edition)
– Photoshop Elements
– Digital Photography Tutorials
– Your Most Important Piece of Equipment Is Your Brain
