Why modify this digital camera setting? Experiments in exposure time can produce dramatic effects. For example: Take a photograph of a roaring waterfall in a well-lit area and adjust your digital camera's exposure speed to take pictures as quickly as possible. In great lighting, and with some modern digital cameras, you may be able to see the individual drops of water falling!
If the histogram is balanced towards the middle, your exposure settings should be correct. Your photo should have a normal exposure. Exceptions can occur, so even if the histogram 'looks' right you should visually verify how the image will look with your viewfinder or LCD. If the histogram is weighted towards the sides, chances are your image contains a complex combination of brightness and darkness. Waterfall photos or other areas of dark foliage next to a bright sky may exhibit this trait. In this case, you should experiment and bracket your photos, then pick out which one looks the best to you.
If you are out and about in everyday life with your camera and there is a picture that you absolutely cannot miss but you don't have a tripod, what do you do? Obviously you can't carry your tripod everywhere you go: Change the ISO film sensitivity to allow your digital camera to take pictures with shorter exposure times. This can result in grainier images, so you'll need to experiment. Refer to your camera manual for details. Use your digital camera's portrait mode to reduce camera shake. Set your camera to take a picture 2 or 10 seconds after holding and releasing the shutter button, and you'll eliminate camera shake that would have normally resulted. Just remember to keep the camera as still as possible while waiting for the picture to be taken.
Sometimes the difference between taking great sunrise and sunset photography and shooting only so-so photos is the patience the photographer has in staying through the entire event. Arrive early: If you are shooting in a popular area, by arriving early you can claim a good spot to watch and record the show. It may take time to set up your tripod and other equipment. Plus, for sunrises, you have a better chance of seeing birds or other animals and these can make for great silhouetted subjects. Stay late: Clouds can change the color of the sky minute-by-minute. Twilight after the perceived end of a sunset may bask the sky in a colorful glow, and you don't want to be driving away from the scene wishing you had stayed just a couple minutes longer!
If you have a good optical zoom, here is an experiment you can do while taking digital camera photographs. When taking pictures of homes, skyscrapers, cabins, etc., zoom in on individual pieces of architecture. Take a minute to really look at your subject, and you may be able to find individual engravings, sections of paneling, or dents and scars in the wood of a cabin that may result in interesting pictures. The trick to taking better photos is to really observe a subject and see it from all angles. Go downtown, find some office buildings, and really take a minute or two to study them. You may find engravings or sculptures on or around the buildings that you have never noticed before.
Just because large cities can be known as 'concrete jungles', it doesn't mean your entire collection of skyscraper and cityscape photos should just be of steel and glass structures. For variety, look for green spaces near parks, and compose some of your shots intermixing trees with the skyscrapers. Some of your photos, if composed correctly, could look like taller buildings sprouting out above a line of trees. For example, if you are in New York City, look to Central Park. In Chicago, great skyscraper and greenery photo opportunities can be found near Grant or Lincoln Park.
If you plan on taking digital photos at night, a tripod is practically essential. It is extremely hard to hold a camera still for the length of time needed for a good night exposure, and any shaking can result in blurred photos or completely blacked out subjects. With a tripod, you can set your digital camera to use a long exposure time, snap a photo, and not worry so much about 'camera-shake'. However, to remove any chance of camera movement, either purchase and use an external shutter release (if your camera supports such an accessory), or keep the shutter button held down during the entire exposure. Even the simplest motion of releasing the camera shutter button during a photo shoot can cause the camera to shake, rendering a beautiful photo almost worthless with blurriness.
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