Optimal Settings for Digital Cameras
 

OK, I will admit it, you guys have convinced me to start shooting my own photos! Now you can all help me figure out what settings to use.

I have a FUJI 6X Optical Zoom, Fine Pix 4900 Zoom Digital Camera plus tripod and major photographer's handicap. Now what do I do?

Karin, I read through your thread on setting up the lighting and assume it holds true for digital cameras as well. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Shutter speed? What setting do I use on my camera for that?

ANY HELP IS GREATLY APPRECIATED. I have lost my little handbook, not like I could figure out what to do with it either. It all sounded Chinese and I am Persian!

Enzie, I found these two threads to be the most helpful on the technical part of using a digital camera for good reference photo's. One talks more about the camera, the other the lighting.

Camera's:
http://forum.portraitartist.com/show...1&pagenumber=1


Lighting your subject:
http://forum.portraitartist.com/show...4&pagenumber=1

Thank you for the tip! I am reading through it in hopes to get a revelation. I spent the entire day shooting photos of my work for a gallery presentation and am about to go nuts. If I manage to finally get a focused image, I notice that something got cut off and when I retry it, it just doesn't want to focus again. To top it off my hubby called me from Italy to let me know he found my little handbook in his suitcase! Argh.

Check and see if you have the camera set to "AF" auto focus or "CF" central focus, you also need to check what they refer to as "White Balance", different from shooting video; this asks what kind of lighting you are shooting in.

Thank you Elizabeth for taking the time to help me out. After reading through the thread you pointed me to and reading through all the info on that site I did a search on user manual for my camera, and lo and behold there was a PDF file with the whole manual.
I think I need to spend some time with my camera-we need to get aquainted on a very personal level!!