When you first pick up a camera with the intention of taking pictures of your growing pregnancy or new baby, you might wonder what the big deal is about the digital cameras on the market. Are they really better than the old fashioned click-and-shoots that you can still find on the department store shelves? There are many advantages and disadvantages to digital cameras that you must consider.

One main advantage of digital photography is you can see the results immediately. You can also delete a shot immediately that you do not like, making room for more pictures on your memory card. It is very nice to be able to take a picture and then take a look at your screen to see how the picture turned out.

The disadvantage is, for the more inexpensive cameras, there’s a time delay between pressing the shutter and when the actual picture is taken. Your subject might be situated perfectly, but in the few seconds between the time you push the button and the time the picture is actually taken your subject may blink or sneeze, making the picture not come out right. This can make it harder to take candid pictures. One solution is to see whether your digital camera can prefocus by pressing the shutter halfway before you take the shot. Prefocusing can cut the time it takes to shoot the picture because the lens is already in position.

The cost of digital cameras can be very high. As the technology improves there are more and more expensive cameras on the market. The more mega pixels your camera has, the better the picture and the more expensive it will be. Per dollar, it’s still much cheaper to buy and use a film camera.

Some photographers claim that you will never get as good of a shot with a digital camera as you can a film camera. The digital cameras can make incredibly beautiful pictures with five-meg chips but even three-mega pixel cameras can deliver nice results. To a non-trained eye, a person probably would not see the difference between a picture taken with a digital camera and a picture taken with a film camera.

Many people are afraid of new technology and the creation of digital cameras. The old film cameras are familiar, easy to use and simple, where as the new digital cameras have endless possibilities and options as things to do. There are a lot of advantages to digital cameras and there are things you can do to make taking digital pictures not only easy but fun!

Buy the Right Camera
Just like every other “toy” on the market there are cameras made for all levels of photography including beginners, intermediate and professional photographers. Be sure that you pick the right camera for your skill level. Learn all you can about the camera that you pick out so that you know what it can do and can’t do. Not everyone will need a camera that has a lot of fancy choices on it and honestly all real digital cameras on the market will take a picture that will print out looking nice enough to go in any album or picture frame.

If you are starting off with digital photography, buy a camera that will get you started by just pointing and clicking at your target. Later on you may decide that you need more in a camera and if that does happen you can upgrade.

Don’t Worry About Taking Too Many Pictures
The great thing about a digital camera is that you are not limited by having only 12, 24, 27 or in some cases, 36 pictures you can take. Depending on the size of your cameras memory stick you can often get 100 or more pictures to one card. It is better to take too many pictures than to not take enough pictures so that you are sure to get the best picture that you can. Digital camera picture taking is also much cheaper than the standard film pictures because unless you print out a picture the only cost is the batteries that you use. You can even buy rechargeable batteries now that will cut out that cost.

Many people will use it however to delete embarrassing pictures or ones they don’t like. Before you do ask yourself if it is something that will embarrass you in 10 years, or make you laugh. If it will make you laugh, save it!

Be Sure To Look Immediately!
Since digital cameras have a LCD screen on the back you can immediately look at and share your pictures with others. You can also preview several pictures of the same pose and delete the ones that are blurry or didn’t turn out right because of red-eye, a blink, or a strange smile giving you room on your card to take more pictures.

You Can Still Have Them Developed
Just because you are taking it digitally, doesn’t mean you have to develop it yourself. There are online sites like Clark that allow you to upload and buy prints of your pictures for as little as .09 cents. There are photo quality printers and paper that you can buy to print your own at home if you want to go that route. Either way you save a lot of money on prints from your digital camera as prints from your film camera can cost as much as .40 cents each, even for the pictures that don’t turn out right.

There is no reason to be scared about using a digital camera for your photography needs. You can still switch back and forth or use both types of cameras, but you can have lots of fun learning how to use a digital camera.

There are so many ideas of things that you can do with your pictures today and digital photography has a big hand in creating the many options and ideas. Digital photos are files stored on electronic media such as flash memory, hard disks and CDs/DVDs. When digital cameras were created all people could do with them was print them out and put them in albums or scrapbooks like they did with film cameras. Today the options are enormous.

Put On Your Computer
Most people start by uploading their digital photographs to their computers. This way they can look at their pictures whenever they want without having to print them out. There is software that will let you edit your photos by cropping them, changing the colors, putting in fading effects and more!

Email Your Photos
Digital photos can easily be uploaded to your computer as a computer file and therefore emailed to family and friends. There is not a quicker or easier way to show grandma a picture of her new grandchild or share kindergarten graduation pictures than by snapping them with your digital camera and then sending them via email. The problem may come in with the size of your picture as most email clients have limitations on the size of files that can be sent and received. You can use your software to resize your pictures and make them smaller making them easier to send.

Online Photo Albums
There are many free online websites that offer digital photo albums. Here you can organize, share, view and purchase your pictures for very a very small charge. You should always keep a backup of your pictures by saving them to a CD as it is not a good idea to rely on such photo album services as the only copy of your digital photos.

Desktop Wallpaper
It is easy to select a picture to use as your wallpaper on your computer desktop. This allows you to look at your favorite picture whenever you start up or shut down your computer, as well as any other time you want while working on your computer. It is very easy to change this picture when you take another one that becomes your new favorite. You can also use your software to rotate through a list of photos that you select as well.

Set As Your Screensaver
Many people have screensavers set up on their computer. Like your desk top you can set up your screen saver to rotate through a list of photos that you select. Using a photo screen saver is a nice alternative to a black screen or to words flashing across your screen when you become inactive.

Create Collages
With digital pictures it is easy and fun to create a collage of your favorite pictures in order to print them out or share with others. Many times it is hard to pick just one picture as your favorite to share with a friend or relative so you want to create a collage where you can share several pictures and still not put a huge hole in your pocket book. Different software programs allow you to make great collages while keeping the quality and integrity of your photos intact.

These are just a few examples of what you can do with your pictures. In reality the options are endless and limited only by your imagination.

Taking lots and lots of pictures of your new baby is one activity that goes without saying. From the time they come home, to all of those precious firsts in their little lives, you’ll want to capture as many of those special moments as possible. And although it’s a fun way to commemorate those events, the following tips will make it even easier.

Keeping the Camera Handy
This may sound like an obvious one, but with some of the chaos that comes along with having a new baby in the house you may, understandably, tend to forget where you put the camera down last. A good idea is to always try and keep it in the same spot – even if it means taking a few extra steps to reach the kitchen counter or end table in the living room once you’re done using it. This ensures a means of convenience in your newly, sometimes inconvenient world and is just one helpful hint so you’ll always know where it is and have it easily accessible for all those special shots you want to snap.

Charge It!
The batteries that is. If you’re using a digital camera, you know how fast the batteries can run out – even the good ones. So the charger that comes with most digital cameras can be one of your newest and most dependable friends. The last thing you’d want to happen is to miss an opportunity for capturing that precious moment because the batteries in your camera are drained. And remember, the batteries begin to drain even when the camera is not in use. So try to keep in mind that after every ten shots or so you’ll want to place them back in the charger so they’re ready to go when you need them. Of course, don’t forget to also put them back in the camera once they’re fully charged again.

Go For It!
Once you’ve got your camera and battery situation under control, don’t be afraid to take as many photos of your new baby as you want. Even the littlest event is an event – to you, so don’t worry if you think you’re over doing it – you’re not. Just remember while you’re snapping away, bright lights, including the flash on your camera, may irritate your baby’s eyes and attitude so try to take as many shots as you can during daylight hours or even outside in the sun’s natural light whenever possible.