Photography is both about knowing how to use a camera and also knowing how to make decisions. Today's media projects images that can be difficult to understand, and learning photography can help you to understand what you're being showed every day on television, on the internet, and in movies. Photography is a good way to occupy your time, especially if you are a teenager, as it is fun and harmless. Besides that, it's a great way to bring a community together for a project, such as photographing activities and gatherings.

One has to be very careful when handling a camera, otherwise you can leave fingerprints on the opics of it. The problem with fingerprints on the optics is that your pictures won't turn out as clear in some parts as they could. In order for peak performance, and clear pictures, make sure you clean your camera all over reguarly with the right cloth and solution. Not all cleaning products work on the optics, such as tissue paper, fingers, saliva, or household cleaning solutions. Only use what you can get at a camera store.

Understanding how your camera focuses will help you get better pictures. Just about all digital cameras these days have autofocus with two-step shutter release. In dark lighting, you will notice that when you press the button halfway down, a red light appears for a moment, but not in areas that are lighter. Then, when you press the button down fully, there is a flash. When you hold down the button halfway, that focuses the image, and when you depress it fully, the camera takes the focused image. If you want the subject of your photograph not to be in the center but still focused, first center them in the middle of the picture and focus the frame by pressing down halfway. Without removing your finger, reframe the picture with your subject in the right position, and take the picture. Your subject will still be focused.

When you look at a picture where there are objects in the foreground and in the background, you may notice that, besides your main subject, some objects in front of your main subject and going all the way back to behind your main subject are also in focus. This "zone of sharpness" is called the depth of field. The depth of field is dependent on the aperture you are using, the focusing distance, and the size of the projected image. The depth of field decreases as you open up the lens, i.e. as you move to a larger aperture. It decreases as you move closer to your subject. And, at a fixed image size, the depth of field is the same irrespective of the focal length used. You would want to use a shallow depth of field to isolate your main subject from its surroundings, as in a portrait. You can accomplish that by moving in close, by zooming in (again, because it makes the background appear larger and more out of focus) and/or by using a large aperture.

One aspect of taking a pleasing photograph is depth of field. When you look at a picture, you will notice that all the area surrounding the focused subject is also focused. This area is called depth of field. In order to change the way the depth of field in a picture is seen, focused, and lit, you must change the width of your lens. The wider the lens is, the smaller the depth of field will be. To decrease the depth of field you can also move closer to your subject. To increase it, you can use a smaller lens or move further away from your subject.

To take a successful landscape picture, you want the whole thing to be in focus. You'll want the focal length to be as short as possible, to create a greater depth of field. You can use the rule of thirds to create a balance between land and sky. Also, having a subject, such as an object in the foreground, might give a better sense of dimensionality. When photographing water, you will want to use a slow shutter speed, giving the impression of water flowing, and when photographing the sea, add a polarizing filter and give the water a transparency effect.

A tripod is a good investment in photography, especially if you want to take panoramic pictures. You'll have to set your tripod in a place where you can swivel the camera smoothly from left to right, and not up and down. You will have to figure out where you want your pictures to overlap, so that you don't have huge gaps in your resulting picture. Once you figure that out, you can swivel your camera in one direction, clockwise or counterclockwise, to take the pictures you want. Once you're done, all you have to do is put them together with a simple graphics program or photo-editing software.