Perhaps a better question might be: “Are you familiar with all of your camera’s options?”
My inspiration for this blog comes from a playgroup date my daughter and I had earlier this week. The mom who was hosting our playgroup had family visiting from another state-—her brother and his wife. While her brother was waiting for his wife to get ready for a day of sightseeing he grabbed our hostess’ camera and started taking of shots of the kids playing. He got a great shot of one of his nieces jumping rope. When he showed his prize shot to his sister she asked him how he was able to capture the image without it being blurry. He told her he used one of the manual features to help stabilize the shot. Her comment: “I didn’t even know my camera could do that.”
I would be willing to bet that most people only use about 15% of their camera’s features. Generally speaking, most amateur photographers simply want a camera that shoots great pictures with as little effort (on the part of the person pushing the shutter button) as possible. I know. I used to be the same way until I realized how many great shots I was missing by underutilizing my camera’s features.
If you have a digital camera and are not familiar with all of the functions I would suggest setting aside a couple hours one day this week (I know; easier said than done), get out your camera’s manual and test some of the features you haven’t previously experimented with. Better yet, drive down to your local camera shop and ask for help. Nine out of 10 times the person behind the counter will be familiar enough with your camera that he or she can give you a quick tutorial on some of your camera’s more unique functions. (It worked for me in the past.)
If you are in the market for your very first digital camera, my best advice for you is to not go overboard. Aim to purchase a quality camera that offers standard features and is easy to use. I will list some of those features in my next blog.
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