
Nowadays whenever you go for an outing, be it zoo or Zimbabwe, you’ll
definitely come across several fellow-merrymakers walking around with mammoth cameras which resemble more like portable canons of Rajput era.
Those gears certainly look posh and give you a feeling of inadequacy
with your teeny-weeny point and shoot camera. Before I proceed let me
clarify that this article is solely based on my experience with Point and
Shoot photography so far and it may come handy to beginners. If you are somewhat veteran in this beautiful photosphere it is high time you share
your photography expertise to improve photography enthusiasts and wannabes like us. Coming back to what I was
saying, do not let your morale go down by the bulky photographic gears of your co-travelers. Truth is, it is our mind in coordination with our eyes
which captures a frame. So, how to click great
photos with your point and shoot camera? Answer is pretty simple: with flexible eyes
and an open mind! Yes, you got to nail it deep into your brain that, unless
you’re planning for professional photography a decent point and shoot camera
is not inadequate for nurturing your hobby.

Trust me, your point and shoot camera can produce as good photos as you would have captured with a budget DSLR. You will
come across many freely available tutorials on how to take great
photographs with your point and shoot camera. Here I won't be repeating those same photographic tips. Only aspects
practically possible by a fully automatic point and shoot camera will be
discussed here. I won't even include much photographic terminologies because I know how intimidating they might appear before a complete newbie.
<01> Understand and accept the limitations of your point and shoot camera.
Hold on… don’t skip this point because it’s the most vital yet
underrated one. This understanding will take some time and develop as
you get familiar with basic photographic terms like Focus, Aperture,
Shutter speed, ISO etc. Rather than lamenting on what your point and shoot camera can’t
do, cherish on those things it can do. Like some of us complain about
the poor quality of low light photographs taken by our point and shooter but never
give it a thought on how many night photographs we really take. By
seeing a TV commercial where a camera is freezing a flying hawk in
utmost perfection you may get hesitant towards your point and shoot camera, but if you
see out of your window you may find another bird sitting idle over a
branch waiting for you. Cutting it short, what I want you to do is
exploiting all abilities of your camera (you’ll be amazed by some of the
shots taken by your modest point and shooter!) instead of half heartedly drooling
over somebody else’s DSLR or pricey bridge camera.
<02> Take as many shots of a single subject as you can!
Yes, in photography number matters. Considering the availability of
cheap storage cards you need not be miser. Click, click and click until
the fickle minded bird flies away- this should be your approach.
Sometimes a picture may look perfect in the small camera display but you
never know how clear it has been captured till you review the
photograph in larger display. So, why to take chance, take maximum
opportunity from the moment and law of probability if not your
photographic skill will gift you some shots worth preserving. Like when I
take bird, flower or insect photos I take around 20-50 similar frame
and out of them 3-6 photos come quite pleasing. It holds true for
landscapes too, you never know when slight change in angle drastically
improves a composition!

<03> Come closer to the face when capturing people.
Don’t try to capture head-to-toe and spoil the warmth of human face…
after all you’re not photographing for police record right? Face is the
first thing that steals our attention unless one is pervert. So, if you
can capture the expression in a human face, even a part of it, your job
is done. If you have to cut out your friend’s imported Italian shoe from
the frame, don’t hesitate, but be careful to capture his face.
<04> Photograph people at eye level,
not from above or below. Remember, we want to or get compelled to look
at people looking back at our eyes and this principle holds true for
photographs as well. If you have to bend down and spoil your denim to
snap a kid or step over a stool to photograph a giant be a sport. You’ll
be profited with livelier photographs right from your simple point and shoot camera! A
point to be noted here which is also applicable for the previous advice
is, if experimentation with various angle is your target, then forget
these two things and go as you like.
<05> Capture less in a frame. Decide what you want to
photograph and stay focused and loyal to it. Overcrowding a frame with
an attempt to include too many things in it makes the overall photograph
unworthy. Sometimes a composition with too many elements may appeal to
our naked eyes. But you’ve to understand that the captured photo in the
camera won’t have the blessing of a wide range of vision or depth
perception unlike our eyes, making the image dull to look at. So always
choose a subject, eliminate anything that’s distracting us from the
subject, recompose and press your shutter.
<06> Avoiding photographing in the middle of the day.
Before 9 AM and after 3 PM should be good enough for outdoor
photography. If at all you’ve to photograph in the midday, take few
simple measures like- avoid shooting towards the sun, station your
camera below an umbrella to minimize sunlight falling over its lens, use
forced flash option shooting the subject from a close proximity in case
he/she is facing against the sun etc. If you’re a perfectionist,
web-search ‘Golden hours in Photography’ to take your point and shoot photography to a higher level!

<07> Use the dedicated ‘Macro’ mode in your point and shoot camera to
experiment with close up shots of flowers, interior of fruits, coins,
marbles and any tiny thing at your vicinity. Practice holding your camera
very steady and check the minimum distance up to which your camera can
focus the object sharply. You’ll be astounded by a whole new world of
macro photography. I won’t recommend you to try with moving insects as
your point and shoot camera won’t probably able to cope up with their swiftness,
pushing you into frustration. Try with still objects.
<08> Visit a park or garden at dark hours
(of course don’t go to places where it’s prohibited at that time) with
your point and shoot camera and take photographs of flowers from close distances with
the flash on. You’ll earn some excellent rich colored floral pictures
over black background making them so special. Give it a try.
<09> Photograph a subject from different angles
and be bold to try those angles which we commonly don’t think of.
Photograph a vehicle tyre parked over grassy surface by lying flat over
the ground and see how interesting your composition becomes! Scratch
your head find out unusual photographic angles and give a new definition
to your point and shoot photography.
<10> Learn a bit of basic image editing
steps, like- cropping, resizing, changing brightness, contrast, color
tone etc This ‘easy to earn’ knowledge can make even turn mobile
captures look like pro. I’m not pushing you to enrol for a Photoshop
course (I too never tried PS) but you can try your hands gradually over
easy ones like Irfanview or slightly advanced ones like GIMP which are
legally free over internet. If you’re too stubborn to try them at least play with different white balances and scene modes stuffed in your point and shoot camera itself.

What I feel, these points are enough for a point and shoot photography beginner to get started
in this never-ending marathon. Have faith on your point and shoot camera
and it’ll pay you off with wonderful photographs. Be bold, persistent
and flexible. You’re most welcome to share all of your hot and sour experiences
with your new point and shoot camera. If you're confused
how to choose your first point and shoot camera you may consider referring to an article I had published last year. For rest of you folks, doesn't matter if we have ever met in real life, doesn't matter if you're an ace
photographer in Goa or the hesitant mobile phone clicker from Ghana, happy clicking photos on the go!