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If you’re like me, you may have taken tons and tons of digital photos with your trusty digital camera, but never took the time to organize them. It’s certainly not a good idea to have thousands of photos lying in your hard drive totally disorganized. For one thing, it’s going to be very tough to find a specific photo for viewing purposes.

So what can you do to put those photos into some semblance of order? Well, this article will show you how, so read on. We’ll assume Adobe Photoshop Album is used as the photo management program of choice.

Step 1: Get a Good Photo Management Program
The first step in organizing your precious photos is to get a good photo management program. Some people maintain that you don’t need a dedicated program to organize your photos – they prefer to use native Windows XP features to do the organizing.

Personally, I think a dedicated, commercial grade program is better since they is usually more user friendly and there are a host of extra features (e.g. the ability to catalog and backup your photos). Currently, my favorite program for organizing photos is Adobe Photoshop Album 2.0. You can also consider an alternative option, Ulead Photo Explorer 8.5, which is equally good.

Step 2: Bring your Photos into Photoshop Album
Now the next thing you need to do in the organization process is to import those pictures into Photoshop Album. If your pictures reside in your camera, then make sure you hook up the USB cable between the camera and computer. Then click on the Get Photos button with Photoshop Album. If your pictures are already in your computer’s hard drive, then click on From Files and Folders in the menu.

I guess it’s appropriate to introduce my folder structure for digital photos. I use a very simple folder hierarchy. In my computer’s C: drive, I have a folder called ‘Photos’. Under ‘Photos’, I have 3 subfolders.

* Raw photos
* Edited photos
* Unsorted photos

The ‘Raw photos’ directory stores all original versions of my pictures. This means they have been untouched by any image editing program. Assuming I had 50 photos in my collection, I’d name the photos here in running order using filenames like PIC0001.jpg, PIC0002.jpg, PIC0003.jpg … PIC0050.jpg.

The ‘Edited photos’ directory will contain only the edited versions of my images after perform edits like cropping, sharpening or red-eye removal. Following the above example, if I only edited PIC0001.jpg and PIC0003.jpg, then only these two files would appear in this folder.

The ‘Unsorted photos’ directory is sort of a temporary area I use to store any new pictures imported from the camera. After I import the pictures, they may have funny names like IMG001.jpg, IMG002.jpg, etc. What I usually do is to rename them according to my convention in the ‘Raw photos’ folder. In the above example, I would name the photos in the ‘Unsorted photos’ directory as PIC0051.jpg, PIC0052.jpg, PIC0053.jpg, etc.

Step 3: Tag your Photos
With your pictures imported into Photoshop Album, you can begin the tagging process. What’s that you ask? What’s tagging? Well, tagging is a cool concept found in photo management software. What you do is to attach descriptive text called tags (e.g. ‘Uncle Joe’, ‘Robert’s Birthday’, ‘School Play’), to each photo in your collection. When you do this, you no longer need to worry about a picture’s filename, folder or date. All the need is the tag that you entered.

For example, if I had a tag called ‘Uncle Joe’ attached to 30 pictures in my hard drive (regardless of their filename, which folders they were in or when they were taken), all I need to do is to search for the tag ‘Uncle Joe; in Photoshop Album. The program will automatically locate and retrieve those 30 pictures for my viewing pleasure.

OK, back to Photoshop Album. If you have existing tags, you can attach them to your photos by dragging and dropping them on individual photos. You can tell that a photo has been tagged if there is a small icon shown in the photo’s thumbnail.

If you don’t have an existing tag, you can create a new one choosing the Tag > New Tag option from the menu. You’re allowed to specify the category of the tag (e.g. People, Places, Events) and can enter the actual tag keyword, along with a note for describing the tag.

Step 4: Move Your Photos to Appropriate Folders
Once you’ve tagged all your photos in Photoshop Album, it doesn’t matter where they reside in the computer’s hard drive. If you’ve just imported a new batch of photos, you can proceed to now move your digital photos to whichever folders you want. For me, I’d first rename any new photos in my ‘Unsorted Photos’ folder, then proceed to move them into the ‘Raw Photos’ folder.

Step 5: Edit Your Photos If Necessary
You can perform basic image edits like rotation within Photoshop Album itself. Basic image editing functions like rotation, cropping and red-eye removal are readily available at the click of a button.

Step 6: Backup All Your Photos Regularly
Within Photoshop Album, there is a function to regularly backup your entire photo catalog. All database information (in particular, tag information) will be backed up as well. You will want to get a CD burner, DVD burner or even an external hard drive to cater for this purpose.

Conclusion
Taking the time to organize and clean up you digital photo collection is a worthwhile investment. By tagging your photos properly, you’ll be able to retrieve images in a snap. No more sifting through folders and image files to locate that specific photo. Try the above organization tips out and I’m sure your digital photo experience will be that much more rewarding. Good luck and have a great time organizing!

Gary Hendricks runs a hobby site at
www.basic-digital-photography.com. Read his tips on digital photography and learn to shoot better photos with your
digicam.

The Kodak EasyShare CX7430 is an excellent point-and-shoot digital camera that is currently selling very well. Just consider its features: 4 megapixel resolution, 3x optical zoom, 16MB of memory, as well as a movie mode. Given it’s low price (around $190), it’s an amazing deal. This camera is most suitable for beginners – it has all of the basic functions you need in a simple digital camera. Let’s have a look at its various features:

Design and Construction
Like all point-and-shoot digital cameras, the Kodak EasyShare CX7430 is designed to be compact enough to fit in your pocket. It’s silvery finish will certainly attract lots of attention too. Its dimensions are 4.0 inches by 2.6 inches by 1.25 inches (weight-height-depth), and it weighs only 6.3 ounces. There is a little 1.6 inch LCD screen behind the camera for viewing images. Initially, I found the LCD screen a tad on the small side, but I got used to it after snapping a couple of photos.

Optics and Resolution
The Kodak EasyShare CX7430 is equipped with a Kodak Retinar lens and offers with a 4 megapixel resolution. There’s also a 3x optical zoom for taking subjects faraway. What is interesting about this camera is its wide range of scene modes. Most point-and-shoot cameras have a handful (maybe 5) scene modes for photography under different conditions: macro, landscape, night photography, etc. The Kodak EasyShare CX7430 has 9 scene modes to choose from, which is much more than the competition.

I didn’t expect much in terms of manual control in the camera’s optics. If you’re looking to play around with shutter speed, aperture, white balance and other photography options, then this camera is not for you. Sure, there are some basic exposure controls but they are nowhere near the fine settings allowed in advanced digital SLR cameras.

That being said, the quality of photos taken by the Kodak EasyShare CX7430 were nothing short of outstanding. The photos, when printed out, were of extremely high quality. So if you’re the type you just whips out a camera and takes quick shots, with a minimum of fuss, then this camera will be great for you.

User Controls
The user controls in the Kodak CX7430 are located on both sides of the LCD and also on mode dial at the top surface of the camera. Those more accustomed to Canon or Sony models will find that the controls take a little getting used to. However, I did not have any problems reaching commonly used functions like flash control or image viewing.

Movie Mode
If you like to shoot some spontaneous movies with your digital camera, then you’ll be glad to know that the CX7430 comes with a movie mode. You can capture video at 13 frames per second (fps) at VGA size 640 x 480. The movie mode is continuous, meaning that the camera allows you to record movies up to the memory limit of your memory card.

Storage and Transfer
In terms of storage, the Kodak CX7430 comes with internal memory of 16MB. You’ll certainly want to purchase a SD or MMC memory card to add on to the amount of memory available. In terms of image transfer, the camera supports USB 1.1 ports. This is enough for fast image transfers between the camera and your computer.

Battery Life
The Kodak CX7430 uses AA batteries. The ones that come in the box are alkaline batteries – I’d recommend that you get some NiMH rechargables. They will pay for themselves very quickly. The support for AA batteries is a great bonus because AA batteries are easily found in any convenience store, even when you’re overseas.

Shortcomings
The bad points about the Kodak EasyShare CX7430? Well, here’s a few shortcomings I’d point out – Kodak would sell many more units if they were corrected:

* Videos taken by the camera are at very low frame rate
* The door covering the memory card slot doesn’t latch strongly
* The bundled software isn’t very impressive

Conclusion
Despite its shortcomings, the Kodak EasyShare CX7430 is one heck of a good camera. If you’re just starting out in digital photography, this it the camera to buy. Take it with you anywhere you like, snap many photos and immerse yourself in the world of photography. You can always upgrade to a better camera when you grow in your skills.

Gary Hendricks runs a hobby site at www.basic-digital-photography.com. Read his tips on digital photography and learn to shoot better photos with your digicam.

Let`s say you`ve taken a bunch of beautiful digital photos and you want to share them with friends and family. What`s the best way to do this? There are many options, from printing and burning onto CDs or DVDs, to emailing and uploading the photos.

This article will walk you through some of the best options for sharing your treasured digital photo collection. Essentially, there are four main ways to share digital photos:

* Printing the photos
* Storing the photos on CD and DVD
* Emailing the photos
* Uploading the photos to a website

Printing the Photos
Just like film-based photography, you can share your pictures by having a hardcopy printout. All you need to do is get a good photo printer and some quality printing paper, then print away! I usually print my photos from an inkjet printer (the Canon Pixma iP4000) using glossy photo paper. The prints I get are very high quality – you can`t discern them from those you print at photo kiosks.

Of course, if you don`t have a printer, you can still approach a photo kiosk to do the job, or even submit your images to an online photo print website. These websites usually print your pictures and are able to deliver them to your doorstep. Make sure you do some shopping around first – digital photo printing services don`t come cheap.

Storing the Photos on CD and DVD
Storing your photos on CD and DVD is a very good option for sharing photos, particularly if you have a immensely huge photo collection. The downside, of course, is that your family and friends need to have a CD player or DVD player to view the content.

These days, CD burners and DVD burners are very affordable. A single CD-R stores 650MB and a DVD stores 4GB. That is an amazing amount of storage space for your photo collection.

Emailing the Photos
Of course, one option for sharing photos is to email them to to a friend or family member. I do warn you to be careful though. Make sure your recipient would like to receive the photos first. Bombarding him or her with a 10MB email containing photo attachments is not a very nice thing to do – it`s best if you obtained permission to do so first.

A good alternative to emailing photos is to upload your photos to a website, then simply email the website link to your friends or family. This avoids the problem of huge email attachments.

Uploading the Photos to a Website
One of the best ways to share digital photos is to upload them to a website. There are many online photo storage sites available. Here`s a list of sites you may want to look at:

* Ofoto is one of my favorite photo sharing sites. It allows you to upload photo albums and determine who can view those albums.

* Shutterfly is another good site. The site allows unlimited photo upload, but you`ll find that their print prices are higher the competition.

* Yahoo! Photos is a good photo sharing site with a clean, professional look. There is a limit of 300 uploaded photos per member.

You should know that there are limitations to using photo sharing websites. Some of them charge a fee for their services, while others require you to order prints to keep your account active. You also may not be able to customize the presentation of the website easily.

My personal recommendation is to set up your own web site to host your own picture gallery. If you`re looking for a good web hosting company, I`d suggest you try Yahoo web hosting. I`ve used them for years without any problems and their customer support is first-rate. Transfer your files

Conclusion
There are various ways to share your digital photos with friends and family. Personally, I tend to burn my images to CD or DVD and pass them around. I also like uploading images to websites for all to see. Do try one of the above techniques the next time you want to share photos!

Gary Hendricks runs a hobby site at
www.basic-digital-photography.com. Read his tips on digital photography and learn to shoot better photos with your
digicam.

If you’re looking for an ultracompact digital camera, you’ll be pleasantly surprised that many of these models offer great picture quality and excellent optics. A good ultracompact digital camera is not only lightweight and stylish to carry around, it should also have the ability to take great pictures.

I’ve compiled a list of the top 10 ultracompact digital cameras that are market favorites right now to help you do your research. These cameras offer the best combination of features and value in a small, lightweight package.

Sony CyberShot DSC-W1
The Sony CyberShot DSC-W1 is selling like hotcakes out there. It has a 5.1 megapixel resolution, 3x optical zoom and a huge 2.5 inch LCD. Throw in support for optional lenses and great manual options, and we have a winner.

Canon PowerShot A95
Oh no, not another Canon model! Well, the fact is, Canon does manufacture great ultracompact cameras. The Canon PowerShot A95 is very new on the market and offers 5 megapixel resolution, along with a 3x optical zoom. While it’s a great choice for beginners, it also has good features for more-experienced users. Highly recommended.

Nikon Coolpix 4800
The Nikon Coolpix 4800 has 4 megapixel resolution and a whopping 8.3x optical zoom (the highest optical zoom of any camera in this list). There’s also a huge array of 15 scene modes, making it a great value camera.

Kodak EasyShare LS743
The Kodak EasyShare LS743 camera has a very nice and clean design. The 4 megapixel resolution and 2,8x optical zoom, coupled with great battery life and a good burst mode, make this little wonder a hot seller.

Canon PowerShot S500
This amazing little camera has always been one of my favorites. At 5 megapixels, this the S500 series camera captures very high quality images, yet is small enough to slip into your pocket.

Casio Exilim EX-Z55
The Casio Exilim EX-Z55 is a very compact 5 megapixel point-and-shoot camera. It comes with 3x optical zoom and has great battery life. I did find that the photo quality outdoors is a bit poor though.

Pentax Optio S5i
The Pentax Optio S5i is a stylish ultra-compact camera with a 5 megapixel resolution and 3x optical zoom. This camera takes good pictures but its extremely small size may be a problem for large hands. It also boasts a useful preset button for accessing your most frequently used feature.

Canon PowerShot SD20
The Canon PowerShot SD20 series comes in a variety of funky color (including midnight blue, garnet, zen gray and silver). Obviously targeted at the young and hip, it boasts a 5 megapixel resolution and a full set of interesting camera options.

Kodak EasyShare DX7630
The Kodak EasyShare DX7630 boasts a 6.1 megapixel resolution and 3x optical zoom. A generous 2.2 inch LCD screen and nice manual controls keep this high on the sales charts.

Konica Minolta DiMAGE G600
One of the highest resolution ultracompact cameras in this list, the Konica Minolta DiMAGE G600 offers a 6.3 megapixel resolution and a 3x optical zoom. The start-up time is an amazing 1.3 seconds – very fast indeed, compared to other compact cameras. Interesting buy if you aren’t very much of a Canon or Sony fan.

Conclusion
We’ve covered a lot of ultracompact cameras is the above list. If you place me in a camera store, I’d probably pick the Canon PowerShot S500 or Kodak EasyShare LS743 as my favorites. Your own mileage may vary, of course. Remember to do your homework before settling for a camera – understand your needs and expectations first, before shelling out cash. Happy shopping!

Gary Hendricks runs a hobby site at
www.basic-digital-photography.com. Read his tips on digital photography and learn to shoot better photos with your
digicam.

If you’re an intermediate level digital photographer, you might be looking for a good advanced digital camera. I know it’s very tough to decide on which one to buy – given that these models usually cost a bomb. A good advanced digital camera should be pretty rugged and also give you as much control over the photography process as possible. I’ve compiled a list of the top 10 advanced digital cameras that are selling like hotcakes in the market right now.

Canon EOS 20D
The Canon EOS-20D is one of the best digital cameras for the advanced user. With an 8.2 megapixel resolution and a bewildering range of manual modes, this digital SLR will deliver professional looking photos.

Canon PowerShot G6
The Canon PowerShot G6 has a 7.1 megapixel resolution, a 4x optical zoom, as well as a wide range of scene modes and manual controls. Even though it lacks a digital SLR body, the images shot with this camera are nothing short of outstanding. It’s also one of the cheapest advanced digital cameras out there.

Olympus C-7000
The Olympus C-7000 zoom offers a 7.1 megapixel resolution and 5x optical zoom. It also boasts 5 scene modes and full manual options. A very attractive buy, although the optional lenses are not allowed.

Nikon D70
The Nikon D70 is one of the best-selling entry level digital SLRs. It has a solid design, a bewildering range of options, powerful speed, as well as great photo quality. With its cheap price, this 6.1 megapixel SLR is one of the best value cameras for serious photographers looking to upgrade their camera.

Canon Digital Rebel
The 6.3 megapixel Canon Digital Rebel is a direct competitor to the Nikon D70. It targets photographers at the lower end of the advanced digital SLR market. Its low price, excellent image quality and speed give the Nikon D70 a run for its money.

Sony Cybershot Pro DSC-V3
The Sony Cybershot Pro DSC-V3 is a decent advanced camera which is light and easy to use. With its 7.2 megapixel resolution and 4x optical zoom, it’s a great buy. Do note the colors can be a bit poor in some shots.

Canon EOS-1D Mark II
The Canon EOS-1D Mark II is a new digital SLR aimed at professional photographers who want excellent customization options, great photo quality and impressive speed. This 8 megapixel camera is high on my list of recommendations.

Olympus C-8080
With its 8 megapixels and a 5x optical zoom, the Olympus C-8080 represents great value for those hunting for a digital SLR. While it doesn’t sell as well as the Canon and Nikon SLRs, I think Olympus comes up with pretty decent advanced cameras too.

Konica Minolta DiMAGE A2
The Konica Minolta DiMAGE A2 is a hot favorite amongst professionals. From a feature and function point of view, it’s one of the best digital SLRs I’ve seen. However, the build quality lacks that nice and heavy SLR feel.

Sony DSC-F828
Featuring a whopping 8 megapixel image resolution, the Sony DSC-F828 comes replete with a powerful 7X zoom lens and great camera optics. Very nice camera indeed.

Conclusion
There are lot of cameras suitable for the advanced digital photographer, but the list above covers some of my favorites. I particularly like the Nikon D70 and Minolta DiIMAGE A2. One shopping tip to remember is that the camera above tend to be more expensive than the average point-and-shoot model. So do consider carefully whether you need to features before buying the camera. If you`re just starting out in digital photography, you may want to try a simpler and cheaper model first.

Gary Hendricks runs a hobby site at
www.basic-digital-photography.com. Read his tips on digital photography and learn to shoot better photos with your
digicam.

If you’re really on a budget, you will be glad to know that there are many free photo editors out there ready for your download. These programs give you basic image editing features to perform standard photo enhancement tasks. I’ve compiled a list of 5 free photo editing programs for Windows which you may like to look at. Do take note, however, that some of these programs may be limited in features unless you buy an upgrade version.

The GIMP
The GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is an open-source program originally developed by two university students in 1996. It has now morphed into a powerful image editor with a huge user base. The latest version, the GIMP 2.0, has a revamped user interface that places it up threw with mainstream image editors.

Picasa
Picasa is a powerful and free software that helps you instantly find, edit and share all the pictures on your PC. If you always had problems keeping track of your pictures, Picasa will help you do that by sorting them into visual albums. Moreover, if you want to quickly touch up your photos, Picasa offers many one-click fixes to do just that. What’s more, the program allows you to easily share those photos through email, printing or CDs.

VCW VicMan`s Photo Editor
VCW VicMan`s Photo Editor has a host of features similar to Adobe Photoshop. With this program, you can easily zoom into and pan within your image and perform standard image editing. The color adjustment options are also very extensive. The program comes in a limited free version, as well as a commercial Pro version which sells for $30.

ImageForge
ImageForge is a freeware image editor gives you a great set of tools for painting and editing images and photos. Whether you want to touch up your photo shots, or add a creative effect to a boring photo, ImageForge can provide you with the tools to do it. You can even share your photos easily by creating photo albums and simple slide shows.

Paint.NET
Paint.NET is an on-going project at Washington State University, with features that match commercial applications, including support for layers. It is provided as freeware and is readily available for download. Besides standard image editing features, there’s also a special Effects API for you to create your own special effects. The program also has a strong user forum that supports its progress and development.

Conclusion
I hope you`ll learnt a thing or two about the best free photo editors for Windows. Using a free photo editor is a great way to save money, while satisfying all your photo manipulation needs. However, I do advise that for serious, long-term photo editing tasks, go for commercial grade software such as Ulead PhotoImpact 10 and Jasc Paint Shop Pro 9.

Gary Hendricks runs a hobby site at
www.basic-digital-photography.com. Read his tips on digital photography and learn to shoot better photos with your
digicam.

If you’re just starting out in digital photography, you may be worrying a lot about which digital camera to get. While that is important, do remember that there is another element – image editing. After digital photos are taken, they can (and should) be cleaned up using an image editing program. In this article, we’ll take a look at the various types of photo software available in the market.

Beginner Photo Editing Software
If you’re new to editing digital photos and images, a basic photo editing software is what you need. These programs tend to have standard image editing features and allow you to perform basic image editing tasks like rotation, sharpening, cropping and the like. You can refer to my list of the top 5 beginner photo editors for more information.

Personally, I rely on a great tool called Ulead PhotoImpact 10. This program allows you to all sorts of image effects to your photos using clean, simple-to-use wizards and menus. What’s more, it’s one of the cheapest commercial grade photo editing packages I know of.

Advanced Photo Editing Software
If you need more power in your photo editor, you need to turn to advanced photo editing software. Examples include Adobe Photoshop CS and Corel Painter. These programs have high-end features not found in typical lower-end packages and are used by professional photographers. Their prices are also much higher – so do your research first if you’re thinking of buying one.

Free Photo Editing Software
There are, in fact, many photo editors available for free download on the Internet. These programs offer basic image editing features and are usually written by individuals. If you want to have a feel of how to edit your photos, try one of these programs out. You can refer to my list of free photo editors for more information.

One of the best programs I know of is the GIMP. It’s a nice, clean image editor originally used under the UNIX operating system but has now been distributed for Windows. You can download it here.

Photo Management Software
This class of photo software has been gaining importance in the last year or so. As a digital photographer, you’ll certainly take many, many photos. How do you go about organizing and maintaining your photo collection? That’s where photo management software comes in.

One of the best programs for this purpose is Adobe Photoshop Album 2.0. It’s my program of choice and I really like the easy to use drag-and-drop capabilities, as well as attractive, clean user interface. Other good options include Ulead Photo Explorer 8.5 and Google’s Picasa.

Conclusion
I hope this article has helped you understand what types of photo software are available in the market. Personally, I like to combine a good photo editing program like Ulead PhotoImpact with organizing software like Adobe Photoshop Album. This way, I have extreme flexibility when its comes to editing or organizing my digital photos.

Gary Hendricks runs a hobby site at
www.basic-digital-photography.com. Read his tips on digital photography and learn to shoot better photos with your
digicam.

Train the ear. Lack of ear training is the inevitable road to lack of interest, lack of progress, lack of success.

Train the mind. Mechanical perfection is merely the first and least step in music.

Train the senses. Music without interpretation is music without meaning.

Appreciation must show through your playing if it is to have a soul; and anything without a soul is ugly.

Put dreams into your playing.

Beautiful practicing. Beautiful playing.

Do not play just sound, play music.

Get the big idea in your piece and develop it.

Make your music active, real, alive, enthusiastic, and your audience will take fire.

Practice as regularly as you eat, and think all the time you are doing it.

Practice all your lesson. The teacher assigned nothing to be omitted or overlooked.

Music courses are so arranged that they form a smooth level path to the summit of efficiency. But if you leave the path or try any short-cuts, you will be exhausted for nothing and will expose yourself to rough, open, untraveled country.

This article, written by Mrs. W. B. Bailey from 1923, is featured at http://www.thepianopages.com, along with other articles, free piano lessons, sheet music, products, and lots more.

Are you looking for a good point-and-shoot digital camera? If you are, one camera to consider is the Sony Cybershot DSC-W1. This little compact camera is currently flying off the shelves. With good optics and a large 2.5 inch LCD screen, in addition to great looking pictures, the DSC-W1 is one of the more popular cameras around.

Design and Construction
The Sony Cybershot DSC-W1 is one stylish looking camera. A direct competitor to the Canon PowerShot S500, the DSC-W1 has been constructed to be a compact, travel ready camera that you can use to take quick snaps. Its dimensions are 3.5 inches by inches by 1.25 inches (weight-height-depth) and it weighs only 7.0 ounces.

One aspect of the camera I found especially impressive was the large 2.5 inch LCD screen. Most compact cameras have small LCDs so much so that you have to quick to look at the postage stamp sized images. Well, not in the Sony DSC-W1. The large screen makes it a joy to do on camera image editing or to show off your pictures to friends and family.

Optics and Resolution
The Sony Cybershot DSC-W1 comes with a 5.1 megapixel resolution, as well as 3x optical zoom and 2x digital zoom. There’s a built-in Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens to allow quick focusing in a wide variety of photo environments.

The optics in this camera are also superb. There are comprehensive focusing options available if you’re more adventurous and want to play around with advanced manual camera options.

If you want to customize the camera to take photos at night, for example, you can change the shutter speed or play with the size of the aperture quite easily. If you need to take a quick shot in the middle of a vacation, you can switch back to auto focus and exposure so that the camera does everything for you. In short, the Sony DSC-W1 has features which give you extreme flexibility in taking photos.

User Controls
The user controls in the Sony Cybershot DSC-W1 are found next to the LCD and on a mode dial at the top surface of the camera. I found the controls easy to use. Whether you want to zoom in on an image, or change to a different scene mode or focus setting, the controls are always within easy reach.

Movie Mode
I also like the availability of a movie mode in the DSC-W1. You know, sometimes when you’re out in the park or on a vacation, you get those moments when you know a video will be more appropriate instead of a photo. That’s where the movie mode is useful. You can capture video at 30 frames per second (fps) at VGA size 640 x 480 – that roughly translates to 90 seconds of video on the included 32 MB memory card.

Direct Printing
As with many new digital cameras, the Sony DSC-W1 supports PictBridge direct printing. This is tremendously useful if you want to quickly print out photos without having to import them to a computer first. Of course, you will need a printer that is PictBridge compatible as well – the Canon Pixma iP4000 is my personal choice.

Storage and Transfer
The Sony Cybershot DSC-W1 comes with a 32MB Sony Memory Stick – which is hardly enough for serious photo taking, since each image is potentially 5MB in size. I’d recommend getting at least a 128MB Memory Stick to complement the camera. In terms of image transfer, the camera supports USB 2.0 ports. This means that you’ll experience lightning transfer of data between the camera and your computer.

Battery Life
One thing I love about the Sony Cybershot DSC-W1 is the battery system. The camera supports standard AA batteries like those from Energizer. This is pretty rare in digital cameras – most cameras need to use a proprietary battery. The ability to support AA batteries is great because you need not worry about the batteries running out – AA batteries are easily found in any convenience store.

Shortcomings
There are some quirks I noticed in the Sony DSC-W1. Though not serious problems, they did serve to mar my experience with this camera somewhat. What are these quirks? They include:

* Lack of a panorama-assist mode
* Lock of white-balance calibration options
* No way to adjust the camera`s automatic power-down time.
* Lack of a good photo editor in the bundled software

Conclusion
I do hope this review of the Sony Cybershot DSC-W1 has been of help to you. If you’re looking for a good travel camera to take fun shots with, this Sony model is tough to beat. I personally own a Canon PowerShot S500, but I’d also recommend this Sony because many of my friends have been raving about it.

Gary Hendricks runs a hobby site at www.basic-digital-photography.com. Read his tips on digital photography and learn to shoot better photos with your digicam.

You`ve read all the `best digital camera` articles, got the best price on your first digital camera, and even glanced at its owner`s manual. Are you itching to take some shots of your family, or what?

Slow down, soldier. Before you take 200 shots that seem great at the time, but then upon review of the final picture are less than what you expected, let`s prepare. Prepare?!?! I`ll bet you thought charging the battery was the hardest part of taking great photos, didn`t you? Sorry to disappoint you, but if you want to improve your photo results 50% in 2 minutes, let`s review some basic advice of the pros.

There are two categories of GENERAL ADVICE which applies, regardless of whether you`re using a digital camera to take family portrait poses, baby pictures, pet portraits, group pictures, funny photos, or even maternity portraits. The first category is…

1) Prepare For The Event

Prepare for the event by thinking about every photograph you want to take and what kind of photography pose or poses you would like to capture. Consider who, where, how, and the type of environment.

2) Take Multiple Photographs

Take multiple shots of each pose (remember, digital memory is reusable, a.k.a. `free`). Regardless of what you say or do, people will blink. And don`t count on spotting small problems on the tiny camera LCD screen (even on full magnification); which leads to…

3) Check LCD Screen

Check the digital camera`s LCD screen for general framing of the picture, any movement, visibility of faces, and the histogram. Note that you can think up a fantastic photography pose; arrange everyone perfectly; and, have the photograph `frozen` (no blinking, and no shaking of the camera)…but, when you check it out in the LCD, you see 2 drunks fighting in the background! And, my favorite…

4) Funny Phrases

Have some funny phrases handy to use just before you take the photo. Don`t use it when setting up for the shot. And, don`t use the same phrase all the time. Throw in funny anecdotes, phrases, names, words that you know your family will find more amusing than `cheese.` A natural smile looks four times better than a fake one. The second category is…

Taking indoor family photography, is very different than outdoor family photograph (duh!). For INDOOR pictures…

1) Wide Angle

You will tend to use the wide angle more often than your telephoto setting. Pay particular attention to your `end people` (those farthest to the right and the left in your viewfinder), and verify there is enough space in picture, so that if cropping is required, the end people don`t have to lose a limb.

2) The Flash

Flash considerations are critical. Do not be outside your `flash range.` For example, if at ISO 100, your flash can properly illuminate 12 feet, don`t attempt any photography pose that requires anyone to stand at 14 feet (unless, of course, it`s evil cousin Ira who you want to appear in darkness).

3) Plan `B`

If you need to be further away than your flash allows, here are 2 things you can try…First, increase the ISO setting (but not so much as to produce to much noise), or second, move to a significantly brighter location.

4) Watch Your Background

If there are distracting features, change your settings to blur the background (see the Techniques page). The best photography pose in the world won`t look right with a distracting background. And finally…

5) Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall

If there are mirrors or reflective surfaces in the background and you can`t find a different location, only take the picture in such a way that the flash is not perpendicular to the surface, but at an angle (unless you want a nice photo of your flash).

Outdoor family photography has completely different issues. For OUTDOOR photography…

6) The Sun

Avoid photographing in direct sunlight, or in mixed light and shade, especially faces. Optimal lighting results from a slightly overcast sky.

7) Shade

When photographing in shade, use fill-flash (see terms) when necessary. And, really finally…

Beauty

If practical, take the picture at one of the beautiful natural settings near you. Imagine the result of a creative photography pose captured in a stunning environment. Can you say: `Over the mantle!`?

To see 5 different categories of poses with tips, scroll to the middle of Photography Pose.

Article courtesy of Best Family Photography Tips.com, where you can see some sample pictures including more photography tips.

Copyright 2005 Robert Bezman. All rights reserved.

Robert Bezman is a professional photographer and owner of Custom Photographic Expressions. Robert has created www.best-family-photography-tips.com to help the digital photography users create better photographs. Robert has a blog at
http://www.best-family-photography-tips.com/family-photography-news.html