#38 – Turn off useless settings

I call them the “stupid” settings.

They’re the silly (sometimes ridiculous) settings that are often enabled when your camera comes out of the box – and they’re are messing up your moments. Some of them make your photos blurry. Some make your photos ugly. Some slow your camera down.

The funny thing is, you don’t really need any of these settings.

If you’ve been following along with Frame One over the last few months, you should be getting comfortable with your camera – which means you can take control of your settings and make the right decisions for your next snapshot. I find that when I let the camera do all the driving, my photos are hit-or-miss. Too bright. Too dark. Too out of focus.

Next time you pick up your camera, switch off these settings for better photos:

Digital Zoom – Makes photos look choppy

Digital zoom is a trick that uses on board software to zoom further into a photo, often pixelating the thing into a blurry mess. You can do the same thing in your photo editing software – just make sure you use a nice big photo size (“L” or “RAW”) to get the biggest picture possible.

Face Detection – Slows down your autofocus

You know what a face looks like, right? Do yourself a favour and use the camera’s autofocus to pick out faces. If you let the camera do it, things are going to sloooooow down. And if that happens, you might miss the shot.

“Auto” Mode – You know more about what your camera wants

A fabulous Frame One friend made me aware of this one (thanks Joan!). As I mentioned in one of my very first posts, don’t use the “Auto” setting (or the lame creative settings on most cameras). Because your camera is making all the decisions, you lose your ability to think about cool photos you can take. Try using “P” (super auto), “Tv” “Av or S” or “M” instead.

Colo(u)r Effects – Choose after you shoot

Black and white! Sepia! Colour switch! Who needs all this junk? Save the funky colour settings for when you get home and want to make the pics look great, or use them sparingly for a specific reason (i.e. shoot black and white for a day).

Flash  -- Kinda, sorta, sometimes

You know how I feel about on board flash in a point-and-shoot camera. Save yourself some heartache and banish it in just about every situation but these ones.

LAST CHANCE FOR A FREE CAMERA FROM FRAME ONE.  “Like” us on Facebook by September 30 and you’re automatically entered into a draw for a new Canon S95. Click here to get started. Ooo.