Image quality can be effected by two different settings: resolution and file format. For greater flexibility after you have taken an image, you want the highest resolution your camera is capable of, although that does produce the largest files, which mean fewer images will fit on your memory card.
Most cameras support the following formats.
JPEG
TIFF/TIF
RAW
JPEG: This is the most commonly used format, after all JPEG comes from the joint photographic experts group. JPEG works in a very clever way, it does this by calculating what information you can do without when compressing the image.
JPEG fine: This method uses little to know compression, large file size
JPEG basic: This method uses the largest amount of compression, but still gives a decent image, small file size
JPEG normal: This method uses a percentage of compression in between fine and basic, medium file size.
TIFF/TIF: Tagged file format, this is an old format which was used for scanned images. There are different types of TIFF files and some with compression, however no information is lost during compression resulting in good quality images, but large files.
RAW: This is the newest file format, and basically records everything the image sensor picks up giving the photographer more information to work with when processing the image.
Shot Composition
Take time to compose your shots, trying to avoid any obstacles in the foreground that take the attention away from the subject that you are shooting, such as railings posts etc. It acceptable to have foreground foliage such as long grass, twigs of small branches for landscapes, as long as they don't obstruct the main feature of the photograph.
Exposure
Exposure refers to the amount of light that is allowed to fall on the cameras sensor when the image is captured, this is dependent on three areas.
Aperture
Shutter speed
ISO/ Sensor sensitivityAperture and depth of field
Small F number equals shallow depth of field (focal point in focus,foreground and background blured)
Large F number equals a greater depth of field (most of the shot in focus if not all)
If you are photographing landscapes try to use the smallest aperture possible, to give the largest depth of field (all or most of frame in sharp focus) that is the highest f number at least f11 if possible (f16/f22 or higher is ideal) The depth of field will also depend on the distance from the camera lens to the main subject of closest focusing point, the further the subject is from the lens the greater the depth of field will be. Another way of obtaining a small aperture is to use a slower shutter speed and a tripod, if the light conditions prevent you from getting a high f-stop. In contrast to landscapes If you are photographing still life such as a flower, plant/fruit or insects then use a large aperture, a low f-number such as f5.6/f4.0 will be required. Some lenses will stop down to as little as f1.8. This will give you the effect of background blur enhancing the subject of the shot. The closer the distance from the camera lens to the subject the smaller the depth of field will be. Different lenses will have varied closest focusing distances. Some specialist lenses (usually macro lenses) will have a very close minimum focusing distance, as little as 1 or 2 CM. Usually wide-angle or wide angle zoom lenses with a short focal length or focal range (for zoom lenses) will have a much closer focusing distance than a telephoto or a telephoto zoom lens. Typically a wide-angle zoom lens will have a close focus of 28 - 50 cm where as a telephoto zooms typical range is 50cm to 1.5 meters. (depending on the make and quality of the lens. Understanding depth of field is important if you are to get the effect that you want to achieve.
Shutter Speed
Try to keep your shutter speed as fast as posible for portarit and landscapes to get crisp images, anything less than 1/60 and you will need to use a tripod to eliminate camera shake. For some people even 1/60 may be too slow to eliminate camera shake. The longer the focal length of the lens the more noticeable camera shake will be. If you wish to obtain a blur effect to running water, stream or waterfall to a photograph to illustrate movement then a slow shutter speed is needed, in bright conditions a neutral density filter maybe needed to gain slower shutter speeds . Depending on the amount of flow, 1/15 - 5 seconds is usually sufficient. To do this successfully it is necessary to use a tripod to eliminate camera shake. In addition to this it is advisable to use a shutter release remote if you have one. Another way round this is to set the camera off by timer, as most cameras support this function. either way this will minimise the risk of camera shake, if you have the option you can also use the mirror lock up facility to further minimise and camera shake. If you wish to obtain a crisp image of a moving object then you will need a fast shutter speed of at least 1/250 or higher. The f-numbers will depend on your lens but most will go from f4-f22 some lenses will go to a higher (i.e. f32 smaller) or lower (i.e. f1.8 larger) aperture. More expensive zoom lenses (usually prime/professional lenses) will have a constant aperture throughout their focal length, where as cheaper lenses usual have an aperture range (typically f-4 - f-5.6)
Much of this will also depend on your camera, more modern cameras offer many features as well as better image stabilization, light metering, and auto/manual focus, giving you the choice to be more creative. Opinions vary considerably as to best method/practice. Practice almost makes perfect.
No one can get it right every time all the time. Photography is a way of life every time is different and you never stop learning. When using a telephoto or telephoto zoom lens a shutter speed equal or higher to the focal length is required for hand held photography. For example when using a 200mm lens a shutter speed of at least 1/200 is required to reduce the chance of getting blurred images from camera shake.
KeySmallest aperture = Largest f-stop (i.e. f22) Large depth of field. This will give you all or most of the frame in sharp focus.
Largest aperture = Smallest f-stop (i.e. f4) Small depth of field. This will give you the main subject in focus, background and or foreground blur to draw attention to the main subject.
Fast shutter speed = 1/125 -1/1000
Slow shutter speed = 1/60 - 30 seconds or timed (B) Bulb exposure.
ISO
ISO determines how sensitive the image sensor is to light. If you set an incorrect ISO for any given light you could find your image is too bright or to dark. The art is to use the lowest ISO possible, that still allows you to use the shutter speed and aperture that you require.
The higher the ISO the more noise or grain will start to appear on your image, some cameras are better than others with higher ISO settings usually the higher end DSLRs.
· ISO 100-200: Ideal for when there is plenty of light, example outside on a sunny day.
· ISO 400-800: Ideal for cloudy conditions , also good for indoor photography.
· ISO 800 and above Useful for the darker conditions, night scenes.
These are only guidelines, and mentioned above some cameras are better than others at handling the higher ISO levels, experiment with your equipment to find out what suites it best.
White Balance
The human eye is very good at compensating for differences in colour cast, so we don’t even notice the changes between different lighting situations. However our cameras are not so good at compensating for this, which makes colour cast very visible in our photographs unless we tell the camera to compensate for it and this is called white balance. If we tell the camera that we are going to capture an image under warm incandescent light, the camera will compensate for the warm lighting and give a more neutral look to the image
Most cameras come with preset white balance settings that represent different lighting, (the little light bulb, the cloud, the fluorescent light, etc.
If you want a very precise and neutral white balance simply take a picture of something which is neutral in colour such as an 18% grey card, and tell your camera to use this in the custom white balance settings. If you are out in the field try to find something under the same lighting conditions as your image which is neutral in colour and apply this to your cameras custom settings.
If you are shooting in RAW mode, your camera will save the image data including the full range of colour temperatures. This allows you to choose the white balance later in the processing stage, without losing any image quality. However I still try and set the white balance before hand as this makes this easier later. One thing to keep in mind, there are many types of photograph that benefit from an off white balance such as landscape shots with a sunset. Giving this kind of shot a neutral white balance would probably kill the warm mood of the image, take the camera out automatic and experiment with the different settings, this will give you a better idea of what I am talking about.
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Colour Temperature
In its simplest form colour temperature is the colour cast from a certain light source. The temperature reference comes from the way colour temperature is determined, a sunset has a warm temperature, the flash on your camera has a cool temperature. Colour temperature is measured in degrees Kelvin (K), the lower the temperature the warmer the light, red / yellows, higher temperatures are usually referred to as cooler light, green / blue.
Here is a list of approximate colour temperatures and there light sources.
· 1700K = Match flame.
· 1850 = Candle flame.
· 3000 = Incandescent light bulb.
· 3350 = Studio “CP” light.
· 3400 = Studio lamps.
· 4100 = Moonlight, xenon.
· 5000 = Horizon daylight.
· 6000 = Daylight, flash.
· 9300 = CRT screen.
