Zooming, Cropping, Focus, Light

With digital camera, it is possible to zoom in and our on a subject before taking the picture.  The same can be done after the picture has been taken.  This allows for getting close-ups and wide-range
shots, but also for cropping.

Cropping simply means masking part of a picture and leaving visible the part you want. Remember that screen space is always at a premium so pictures, portraits especially, should be as simple and uncluttered as possible.  Zooming and cropping are techniques available on the digital camera used to create a tight close-up and eliminate objects in the background which might distract attention from the real subject of the picture.

If you wear glasses, make sure you have them on when you take the picture!  Fuzziness is not what you want. 

Lighting is no less important when using a digital camera than with standard cameras.  If your camera has a SLR LCD, you can see what the lens sees, and you'll know right away if there is enough light or maybe too much. 

Activity 

• snapshot or photograph
• sheets of cardboard or paper
• digital camera

This activity will give you practice in using cropping techniques.  Look at the picture you have selected, and select the one thing that is most important to the message you want to convey with the picture.  If it is a landscape, and you are writing about bodies of water, the most important element in the picture might be a pond.  If it is a portrait, and your piece is  about jewelry, it might be the person's left ear

Now look at your picture again.  Are there any objects there which are not essential, which might be considered extreaneous to the main focus of the picture?  Using strips of cardboard or paper, cover the things which are less necessary to the picture. 

Now look thru the viewfinder on the camera at your subject.  Find the zoom control and practice zooming in and out to eliminate background clutter.  Focus, check the light, focus againg and snap the picture!