It seems like I have shopped at Amazon.com forever. I can remember when Amazon was only an on-line bookstore. Even in those days, I was amazed at how extensive their selection was and how fast it continually grew.

I also remember just a few years ago how I went searching for something–not a book–on Amazon and was totally floored that they offered it; and cheaper than anywhere else on the “Net.” That first non-book purchase was a digital point-and-shoot camera.

Having dealt with Amazon for a long time  at that point, it was easy for me to order that camera from Amazon, fully confident that I would be perfectly happy with the transaction. And I was.

These days, whenever I go shopping for anything on the Internet, my first stop invariably is Amazon.com. And I’ll tell you, it is only surprising to me when I don’t find what I’m looking for at the Amazon Web site.

Even with my confidence in Amazon, I usually compare shop a little whenever I head for the Web. And much more often than not I end up buying from Amazon for a couple of reasons. One, they are usually the cheapest price I find, and two, their reputation for being trustworthy and reliable is the best on the Internet. Trustworthy, reliable, and best price. You can’t go wrong with that combination.

Whenever anyone asks me where to find something on the Internet, or where I prefer to buy, I always and unequivocally answer, ” Try Amazon.com first.”

When I decided that I wanted to review and offer digital SLR cameras and photographic products through the Internet, it was an obvious choice for me to recommend shopping at Amazon, and give my friends and readers the advantage of the full, reliable support system of the Amazon Web site infrastructure. I know from years of experience that you can buy with total confidence from Amazon.com.

My Camera Shop Photography Equipment shopping site is powered by Amazon.com. I trust them, I believe in them, and I can confidently recommend Amazon.com as your first stop when you go shopping on the Internet.

Whether you buy through my Camera Shop site or not, you owe it to yourself to try Amazon.com the next time you go looking for anything on the Internet. You’ll be glad you did.

Achieving accurate focus can be one of the hardest things to do–especially for us vision impaired photographers. Luckily, modern digital cameras generally have excellent autofocus systems.

Today’s modern digital cameras all have some method of automatic focusing. The good news is that their systems tend to be very accurate. The bad news is that they don’t always know what you want as the main subject in your photo.

No worries, though. It is pretty simple to help your camera know what to focus on.

In most digital cameras the autofocus watches several zones within the image area to find a focus point on a probable main subject. The problem comes when the camera dutifully finds and locks focus on a subject other than the one you wanted to be your main subject.

With most digital cameras today, when you press the shutter release halfway down the camera will try to find something to lock focus on. If it finds something in the image area that it can focus on, it locks focus and alerts you with a beep and an indicator in the image area to show you what it has focused on. Pay attention to where the camera has focused. Is that the subject you were wanting to focus on? If so, you are set. Go ahead and take your shot.

If the camera identified the wrong primary subject, release the shutter button and try again. This time try placing your main subject in the center of the frame before pressing the shutter release half way down. Watch for the indication of focus lock and note whether or not it is on your main subject. If so, keep the shutter button pressed halfway as you re-align the camera to frame your shot the way you want. Then press the shutter button the rest of the way down to take your picture.

That’s all there is to getting your digital camera to focus where you want it to.

• When taking photographs it is often helpful to pretend that the image in your viewfinder is in a picture frame. The camera is capturing a small part of the world in front of it and freezing it within the area of the photo–essentially functioning just like a picture frame hanging on the wall. Would you want to see the image you have in your viewfinder hanging on the wall?
• One of the best ways to give your ordinary snapshots a higher interest level is to break out of the horizontal frame habit. Turn your camera 90 degrees to form a vertical framing box. Many things in our natural world are vertical in their nature. Trees, plants, and people are all vertically oriented subjects. Rotate your camera and capture those vertical subjects naturally. Even if you are only capturing a part of the subject, a vertical orientation will many times offer a more pleasing and balanced photo.
• Get yourself into the habit of running your eye around the edges of the image in your viewfinder just before pressing the shutter release. You are looking for unwanted intrusions into the photo. You may also catch a stray photographer’s finger from time to time. Stray objects poking in from the side are usually distractions that block part of the photo or take attention away from the primary subject of your photograph.
• Another thing to look at while framing your shot is the background. Watch for distractions behind your subject. Is that potted plant growing out of little Abby’s head? What is that bump on Jack’s shoulder? When you see these unwanted growths, you may just need to move you and the camera, or your subject, slightly to one side or the other to move the offending object to a less distracting location.

Rule of Thirds

I want to mention briefly one of the basic rules of interesting photography – the rule of thirds.

Simply stated, the rule of thirds says that when you divide the image area into thirds, both horizontally and vertically, you create four dynamic centers of interest. If you try to place your subject over one of those dynamic spots you will find that the image becomes more alive, less static.

A companion part to this rule, especially when shooting animals and people, is to have your subject looking into the frame, not out of it. So for example if little Abby is looking towards the right side of the frame, place her over one of the dynamic centers on the left side. Give your subjects some breathing space in front of them. It is much better to have their back against the wall (frame edge) than their nose.

The best example of this is in low light conditions. In low light the camera’s shutter must stay open longer to get a usable exposure. Slow shutter speed means the camera must be stabilized more securely for a shake-free photo.

The photo accessory made just for this condition is the tripod. A tripod allows you to give your camera a set of solid legs, providing unshakable support. Just mount your camera directly to the tripod, aim the camera, lock the position, and press the shutter release.

But what if a tripod is not an option? Maybe you forgot to bring it. Maybe you are in a location where tripods are not allowed, or maybe you need to support the camera in a place where the tripod just won’t fit.

There are still some good options for stabilizing your camera

Brace the camera against any solid object–door frames, trees, fences. anything that will help you keep the camera from moving. This is one time where the digital camera view screen really does come in handy. You can brace the camera against the nearest solid object and then frame your shot using the view screen. This works well if you want to change the camera angle–raising or lowering it–to a level that makes the eye level viewfinder unusable.

Use a beanbag to support the camera on uneven surfaces. This works especially well for low level shots on the ground, and on a tabletop. You can manipulate the camera on the beanbag to get your framing just the way you want it. This is a perfect time to use your digital camera’s self timer to trip the shutter release.

Speaking of tripods, there is a slightly unconventional tripod style on the market now. It has legs that are flexible so you can wrap them around a stable object like a light post or fence railing. A tripod head can be attached so you can frame your shot just like with a conventional tripod. Good examples of this style are the original Joby Gorillapod and the Vidpro Gripster.

These ideas show us more ways to steady our camera and start us down the road to more creative picture taking.

We don’t necessarily have control over the movement of the subject. On the other hand we actually have a lot of control over the movement of the camera. And the more we can do directly to stabilize the camera, the better our chances of a sharp, shake-free photo.

Here are some tips on keeping that camera still…

Hold the camera with two hands. This was less of a problem with film cameras. They had eye level viewfinders that pretty much required you to bring the camera right up to your face. With the development of digital cameras and their viewing screen on the back, people tend now to use that screen for framing when taking their photos. This removes the camera from your face, which was a stabilizing position. Then people got really daring and started taking one-handed photos with the camera suspended out in space. So we now have a flying camera bouncing around out there in space, suspended by one hand on an extended arm.

Let’s get back to the basics

Grab that camera with both hands. Pull it up against your face and use the eye level viewfinder to frame your shot. Now you have some stability–camera in a firm grip, pressed lightly to your face for additional support.

Next, hold your breath. Right before pressing the shutter release take a breath, let it out, and hold. This stops one more movement, and further stabilizes the camera.

Now you can squeeze the shutter release button. Just like with a firearm, squeezing the release (trigger) minimizes the movement in the action of pressing the release. This minimizes another movement of the camera.

So, to get sharper photos we now know we have to:

1. Hold the camera with both hands, and press it against our face.
2. Stop breathing when pressing the shutter release.
3. Squeeze the shutter release.

These three actions will dramatically improve the sharpness of your photos. Try them, practice them, make them part of your picture taking.