Learning your digital camera settings by trial and error is the best way to understand new photo technology.
Digital photography settings vary slightly from settings on a film camera, allowing a smooth transition to digital. The best way to learn is to work with the settings and test the outcomes which serve your purposes. A short review of main camera settings is relevant to all photography, regardless of the type of camera you own or the pictures you produce.
Instructions
1. Turn your camera on and go to the "Menu" option on the LCD, or digital screen, on the back of the camera. Select the icon which resembles a tool box or tools and press the enter button. Each camera will vary slightly in the icons and selection buttons and most cameras will use an arrow button to indicate the enter function for your menu.
2. Scroll through the menu and select the "White Balance" settings. White balance tells your camera the type of light source that dominates the image and will adjust the digital settings in the camera to create a "true white" when the image is captured. Most settings are represented by an icon which reflects the situation. For example, a sunny day will have a white balance icon of the sunshine and a shaded setting will have an icon of a sun partially covered by a building. If your image's white tones seem off color, such as a yellow tone to a white wall in an office, check the white balance settings first to correct the problem.
3. Select the image size using the menu on the LCD. When a digital image is taken, the photo is stored in the camera at a certain size setting. Choose the least compressed setting at the largest pixel size your camera can handle. The icon which shows a pie wedge with a smooth edge is an uncompressed image and will not lose any image data when stored. As a rule of thumb, shoot your images at the largest size possible. An image may be re-sized for a smaller output in a digital imaging software program, but you can not make the image bigger if you need to enlarge it for a print and are working from a small file size.
4. Choose either a JPEG or RAW image file format for your photos. A JPEG photo will serve 90 percent of your photographic purposes and slightly compresses the image when it saves the file to a card. This format is easier to work with as the files load quickly and can be used in all photo editing programs. RAW file formats are used mainly by professional photographers and allow the artist to return to the original state of the image and recreate the settings under which the photo was taken. For example, if you shot an image under florescent lights and accidentally used an outdoor white balance setting thus creating a blue toned image, you can open the RAW image in an editing program and change the camera settings to reflect the proper white balance.
5. Format your digital media card after transferring your images to your computer. The digital media card replaces film as the image storage device for your photographs. Formatting the card after downloading the images will allow you to free up space on the card for future images. Avoid formatting the card in the computer, as the settings placed on the card by the computer might interfere with the camera's communication ability with the card to store your digital photos properly.
6. Test your digital camera settings by choosing an object and photographing it at various settings, adjusting the white balance, the image compressions and file formats. Open the images in a photo editing program and check the file settings in the program and compare the image outcomes of the different settings.
