After finally making the jump to a digital SLR camera, JOHN HARRIS discovers that point-and-click convenience can breed lazy photography.

The beauty of digital photography – its ease – is also its bane.

Point-and-click simplicity has bred a generation of fast food photographers who swallow every scrappy image that their digital device delivers – a crime of which I’m a culprit.

Sure, I delete the most offensive photos, but often I settle for a level of image mediocrity that’s easily overcome by a bit of attention.

In September last year, I bought a groovy new digital SLR (Single Lens Reflex) camera with an 18-55mm zoom lens that delivers crisp images, both from a distance and up close.

My decision to part with the best part of $1200 was driven by my frustration with years of compact digital cameras that took great pix in full light, but generally let me down whenever a photograph really mattered.

My Nikon D40x boasts an image resolution of 10.2 megapixels, automatic everything and a pop-up flash that can light up the fence at the back of our garden.

So, for the past nine months, I’ve happily snapped my way to thousands of images, all stashed on the hard drive of my notebook.

Last week, attending a digital photography course revealed the error of my ways.

In a blinding flash of the obvious, I recognised that a digital camera is just a computer with a lens parked on front. If you just accept the default settings – on your camera or on your computer – you end up with a rather ordinary experience.

The automatic functions on the camera, which make them so appealing to start with, tend to “average” out images to a standard lighting, standard contrast and standard saturation.

The problem is this “averaging” can take the magic out of an image: For example, diluting intense reds from a lovely sunset.

So, here are seven suggestions to save you sitting through a three-hour seminar.

1.       Look for the on-screen Help button (marked by the ? on a Nikon camera)

This contextual help screen is more useful than the manual because its advice relates directly to what you’re doing with the camera.

2.       The Self-Timer button can be used for more than vanity shots

The two-second or 10-second delay between pressing the shutter release button and the shutter opening is a great way to avoid “camera shake” for tripod-mounted shots with a long exposure, such as at night.

3.       Don’t get obsessed about dust on the image sensor

Although all cameras collect a bit of dust on the sensor, it generally does not impact your photos. Often, people can cause more damage trying to clean dust from the sensor. If dust is a real problem, take it to your camera shop to get it professionally cleaned.

4.       Avoid using your zoom lens in dusty conditions

Prevention is nine-tenths of the cure. A zoom lens can act like a little vacuum cleaner to suck dust towards your sensor. If you’re photographing in a dusty environment, either use a fixed (non-zooming) lens or don’t use the zoom.

5.       Regularly format your camera’s memory to reduce the risk of data corruption

Mass-manufactured digital gear is prone to malfunction, but regularly formatting your memory card (in the camera, not the computer) after you’ve downloaded photos can reduce the risk of data corruption.

6.       Let your camera teach your how to take better photographs

Digital SLR cameras have three major adjustable parameters that control how much, and what type of light, is captured by the camera. These are shutter speed, lens aperture and the camera’s light sensitivity (ISO). Despite letting in the same amount of light, adjusting these settings can produce radically different images. Mastering this dynamic is the key to great photographs.

7.       Remember to share your best pictures by printing them out

The true joy of photos is sharing them. Last weekend, I sorted through more than 2000 photos taken on our family holiday at Christmas, burned the best 250 to CD and took them to the digital lab for printing.

If the proof is in the pudding, it was when my daughter spent the best part of Sunday night going through these photos to explain exactly where each was taken.

If you want to get down and dirty with your digital camera, the evening course I attended cost $49 at Photographic Wholesalers on Hutt Street in the CBD.