The digital revolution has made great strides in photography. digitally recorded images have replaced film to record the scenes. today's user friendly cameras adjust setting for you and capture your composition as an analog image and then convert it to digital information so it can be transferred onto the storage medium.

You've heard this before: Digital cameras do all the work. You just push the button and great pictures magically appear. The better the camera, the better the photos. Isn't that right? Heck no!

The truth is that you can make great photos with a simple consumer point-and-shoot camera, or take lousy shots with the most expensive Nikon. It's not the camera that makes beautiful images; it's the photographer. With a little knowledge and a willingness to make an adjustment here and there, you can squeeze big time photos out of the smallest digital camera.

Image Size

Resolution is the number of pixels in a liner inch (ppi). Because an image is made up of pixels, the more pixels per inch, the higher the resolution, and therefore better image quality. A 4"x6" image at 72 ppi (internet pictures are at 72 ppi has pixel dimensions of 1200x1800 more pixels=more definition.

One of the quality factors for a digital camera is the number of megapixels it is capable of handling, simply put more pixels=more definition. As an example, a 2.0 megapixel camera is capable of producing a printable 4x6 image at the recommended ppi, and a 5.0 megapixel camera can create a printable 6x9 image at 300ppi.

Warm up those tones

Have you ever noticed that your shots sometimes have a cool, clammy feel to them? If so, you're not alone. The default white balance setting for digital cameras is auto, which is fine for most snapshots, but tends to be a bit on the "cool" side.

When shooting outdoor portraits and sunny landscapes, try changing your white balance setting from auto to cloudy. That's right, cloudy. Why? This adjustment is like putting a mild warming filter on your camera. It increases the reds and yellows resulting in richer, warmer pictures.

Outdoor Portraits

One of the great hidden features on digital cameras is the fill flash or flash on mode. By taking control of the flash so it goes on when you want it to, not when the camera deems it appropriate, you've just taken an important step toward capturing great outdoor portraits.

In flash on mode, the camera exposes for the background first, then adds just enough flash to illuminate your portrait subject. The result is a professional looking picture where everything in the composition looks good. Wedding photographers have been using this technique for years.

High rez all the way

One of the most important reasons for packing a massive memory card is to enable you to shoot at your camera's highest resolution. If you paid a premium price for a 6 megapixel digicam, then get your money's worth and shoot at 6 megapixels. And while you're at it, shoot at your camera's highest quality compression setting too.

Final thoughts

Most digital cameras, even the consumer point-and-shoot models, have a tremendous amount of functionality built into them. By applying a little ingenuity and creativity, you can take shots that will make viewers ask, "So what kind of camera do you have?