Digital cameras: Getting the most from your digital camera Taking photos

Our handy hints will show photographers of all levels how to take perfect portraits every time, and see the Which? digital camera reviews to find the right camera for you.

1Getting it right

Where possible, take your portrait outdoors.

Household lights can show up as dull or yellow, which can’t always be corrected using image-editing software.

Natural light in the early morning or late afternoon is best.

Don’t be afraid of cloudy days; harsh midday light will cause your subjects to squint into the sun.

2Limit your use of flash

At times you’ll need your camera’s built-in flash to fill in shadows and darkness (eg under a hat, as shown in the pictures) but only use it to enhance your portrait.

Using the startling, unflattering flash on its own, particularly indoors, will make your subjects shine – in all the wrong places.

3Use a reflector

If you want to reduce your use of flash even further, you could buy a small portable reflector (from £9, Jessops).

This is a type of panel that bounces light on to your subject to remove distracting shadows.

Experiment with controlling the surrounding light by positioning the reflector to one side of the subject’s face.

They can even hold it for you!

4Backgrounds

It’s easy to focus on your subject’s expression only to realise, later, there’s a pole sticking up behind their head.

Make sure the background is relevant to your subject, but doesn’t distract from it.

A plain background can work if the subject is compelling enough.

5Where’s the focus?

To do this you’ll need to reduce your camera’s depth of field by opening its aperture (also known as the f-stop).

Many cameras have a portrait mode (shown by a person’s head) for this purpose.

Check your manual to find out how to manually adjust the aperture to a suitable setting such as f/3.5.

6Children and animals

The beauty of digital means you can take as many pictures as you want without worrying about the cost of developing them. You may have all the technical elements right, but capturing a child’s expression may take several attempts. Keep snapping away – you might only get one good photo out of 100, but it’ll be worth it.

Many recent digital cameras have a setting to let you take continuous shots - useful for taking pictures of subjects such as children and animals whose movements can be unpredicatable!

7Close ups

Unless you own a powerful telephoto (zoom) lens and a steadying tripod, don’t home in on your subject from miles away. Make the effort to walk up to them, instead. Otherwise, your portrait may lack fine detail or become blurred due to exaggerated camera shake, as with the picture on the right.

Don’t get too close either; otherwise your subject’s features may look out of proportion.

8Black and white

The simplicity of black and white can bring out a portrait’s essence in ways colour can’t, and in many cases it adds timelessness and a classic appeal to a photograph. Try using image-editing software to convert a picture to black and white (a simple way is to put it in grayscale mode).

Avoid a washed-out look by experimenting with contrast and brightness.

9Shutter speed

For fast-moving shots, adjust your camera’s shutter speed (the length of time the shutter stays open) to freeze the action.

A photograph of someone jumping in mid-air at 1/500 of a second will freeze them mid-jump; 1/8th of a second will blur the jump. The man in the picture is deliberately blurred by using a slow shutter speed.

Good results depend on how much light there is though; and your aperture settings.

Refer to your camera manual for instructions on how to manually adjust shutter speed.

10Depress the shutter

To help keep your subject in focus if they’re not standing in the middle of the shot, you can depress your shutter halfway and point it at your subject’s face.

You’ll probably see an indication on your camera’s LCD screen that it has ‘found’ or ‘locked in’ your subject.

Then move the camera where you want it. Your subject should still be in focus. Many new digital cameras have a face recognition feature that will find and focus on faces.

More tips

• If you’re keen on taking a studio portrait, consider hiring a studio for the day
• When taking photos of kids, get down to their height
• Rules are made to be broken – keep trying different techniques

For advice on using a compact digital camera, as well as editing and sharing your photos, see also our book Digital Photography Made Easy.