Digital Photography Tips To Save Your Sanity

September 25, 2008

Coming up with solutions for problems while out taking pictures isn’t always possible.You can avoid that problem!As you’ve no doubt often heard, “The best defense is a good offense.” And the best offense here is to avoid problems with your digital camera in the first place.

That’s not to say things aren’t going to happen that are unexpected and unavoidable.Many of the common problems photographers have when out shooting pictures, however, could easily be remedied with just a little prior planning.

Dead Batteries

There’s nothing worse than missing that great picture because the camera battery died.The answer is to absolutely always have extra batteries in your camera case.Makes no difference if you use rechargeable or regular batteries, you need at least one spare..

Also, bear in mind that if you’re outside shooting in cold weather, your batteries will die a lot quicker.Low temperatures kill digital camera batteries quickly, so if you want to keep your camera going, more than one spare battery might be a good idea.

Yes, batteries are expensive, but it’s worth the spending a little extra money to keep from beating your head against the wall because a dead battery made you miss that once in a lifetime shot.

When Cards Go Bad

A while back I went on vacation and took all my pictures on one card.There wasn’t a doubt in my mind I’d got lots of great pictures.I’d filled that card with loads of pictures from a memorable trip.

The scenery was indeed breathtaking, but what really took my breath away was when I tried to load the pictures onto my computer and got one of those dreaded “ERROR” messages.The card wasn’t any good and all the files were corrupted.With no way to access the files, all those wonderful pictures were gone, gone, gone.

While it doesn’t happen often, cards can and do go bad.When that card goes bad and ALL your pictures are on it, that’s when it would have been better to have two or more smaller cards instead of just one big one.Get a couple of 1-GB cards, for example, instead of buying a 2-GB card.

Yes, it’s cheaper to buy a huge bunch of gigabytes on one card.But what are your pictures worth? If you lose that one card, you’ve lost ALL your pictures.Avoid that trap like the plague.Saving PART of your pictures is better than losing ALL your pictures.

Remember, two cards are better than one.

It’s Raining, It’s Pouring

The weather isn’t cooperating, or maybe you just like pictures of rain.Or perhaps you like to go boating. Or walking on the beach. Just somewhere there’s a lot of water around.It’d be great to get some pictures, but not so great to ruin your camera. What to do?

Well, you can buy protective gear to keep in your camera case for such times. Places like B & H Photo or Calumet Photographic stores carry waterproof cases. However, if it’s just an occasional thing, you might not want to spend money for such equipment.

For a make-do solution, carry a clear plastic bag in your camera case to keep water off your camera.If you’re on the road and forgot to tuck a plastic bag in your camera case, look in your motel room for one of those disposable clear plastic shower caps.

Planning Ahead Saves Your Sanity

If planning ahead doesn’t save your sanity, it will at least improve your chances for good pictures with your digital camera.You at least have an opportunity to take lots of pictures if you have charged batteries, extra memory cards and a dry camera.

And that’s why you bought a digital camera in the first place, right?