I currently use a Kodak 5MP camera with (Kodak Easyshare C530) to take pictures of all the AV events I am part of and all the pictures for my fun website, simplyannoying.com. I bought it for less than $100.00 about two years ago or so and I don't want another one right away - it has everything I need, even though it's pretty tiny. It's a user-friendly camera aimed at the consumer, not pro.
No matter who a camera is designed for, never let that get in your way of taking great pictures; even someone who has a 10MP SLR can take bad pictures, if they don't know how to use it. With knowledge of a few simple principles and techniques, anybody can take decent pictures with an inexpensive camera.
I once took a picture for a restaurant owner to be published in a major newspaper and, after following guidelines, the owner loved it, it was printed and the rest is history. I am not in the business of taking newspaper photos, but that just proves that the 2MP camera I had at the time was, in the right hands, capable of taking great pictures (I am a videographer/filmmaker and I am very particular when composing/shooting images).
So, here are the guidelines to follow if you want to take great pictures with an inexpensive digital camera:
1) Say no to digital zooming! In my experience, I've never had a good shot with digital zooming from either a still camera or video camera. The specs might read: 30X Digital Zoom, but that means the resolution of the pictures will go down significantly as evidenced by excessively pixilated pictures. Optical zoom, where the lens itself moves, is the way to go when zooming. If you need more zoom, get a camera with a higher zoom capability or interchangeable lenses.
2) Use a tripod instead of a flash indoors. Tripod and flash in the same sentence? Yes, because when a camera is hand-mounted, the environment must be sufficiently bright in order to take blur-free images. If it is not so bright, a tripod will allow you to open up the iris (f-stop) and keep the picture still. I have a tripod that I got for $20.00 and it folds up into a small carrying case, is lightweight and has a removable wedge plate for quick mounting.
A flash does have it's place, though, when taking quick vacation photos or happy-time pictures at a social event or when taking pictures of people outside on a bright day - the flash will fill in their faces nicely.
3) When taking product shots, get up close and light the scene. But don't get too close if your camera can't focus up close. I use a technique called 'three-point lighting', where I set up a 'key light' in front of the product (on an angle, not straight on), a less intense light, called a 'fill' light (to fill in undesirable shadows and reveal detail) and a 'back light' (to add light from above in order to separate the subject from the BG or fill in shadows from above - also called a highlight or rim light, depending on how high above the back of the subject it is shining down from).
(See below for lighting techniques)
4) Monitor your temperature (of your color, that is) when taking product shots. When using more than one light, be sure they are the same color. Color temperature means that you should mix the right color values from lights to create even color reproduction. Daylight has a much higher color temperature than a standard light bulb. Even the new CFL bulbs are available in different color temperatures.
One of my favorite lights is the halogen, available in any hardware store. Try lighting techniques to see which works best for you. Check out these comparisons - taken with the EasyShare C530 for my eBay listings (by the way - the backdrop was bought at a fabric store for about six dollars! When put over my Ikea chair, there is no horizon line).
5) The rule of thirds - compose your shot so that you balance the frame with the subject. The product shot below (the first DaVinci photo) has the front corner of the VHS box just off center because the longer portion of the box occupies the left side of the frame. Picture your frame containing 9 boxes of the same size (two horizontal lines, two vertical lines) and balance your subject within those boxes.
Key, fill and highlight - the finished product shot!
Key light only.
Fill light only.
Highlight only.
Key light and highlight (no fill).
Flash only.
Flash and 3-point lighting. (The big difference between this shot and the first shot is the shadow around the left edge on this shot - the flash, from directly in front, causes that shadow and doesn't separate the subject from the background very much - you can also see the flash lighting up the edges of the tapes on the right side).
A picture of my workstation (2007) - I was trying to capture the lighting I use when I work at night recording and editing.
A product shot of Bodum cozies (aka 'French press').
One of my favorite shots - from a an AV gig the first time I went to Las Vegas. I held the camera still on an overpass garbage bin to get the steady shot with no blur.
A picture I took of an event I worked at in Toronto, in early 2009 (I take these for my website at www.presentation-av.com)
Hope this helps!!
- Buck Moore
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