Sadly, even with dozens of pictures taken at an event, far too often not one of them is worth keeping, except as a reminder of the day. If you’re interested in digital photography and the above describes you, then learn these ten rules of taking a good picture, drawn from the Kodak website, then practice them before your next really important event.

The first principle is, get down on the level of the subject. The top of a child’s head is not usually what you want to remember. Instead, get down where he is, on your knees or sitting so that you can look straight into his eyes. Don’t worry about your pride; it won’t outlive your memories.

Rule number two: pay attention to the background. If it is cluttered, it will distract from the subject. The background can also give a false impression. A bright light above a child’s head may give the appearance of a halo that is inappropriate! Be sure the background focuses attention on the subject.

The third rule is, use a flash, even in broad daylight. Normally the camera will measure the light and determine if a flash is needed. If you are taking a close portrait, force the camera to flash, even when not needed. This will brighten a face in the shade, and get rid of shadows in the sun.

Rule number four: move in close. Friends rarely want to see whole bodies; they want to see faces. If you can, move in as close as possible physically. Fill the picture with your subject. If you must use the zoom lens, remember that the flash still must light the entire area, not just what you see.

Principle number five: Consider turning your camera ninety degrees to capture some scenes. Since the camera takes a rectangular picture, a tall subject may well be better recorded sideways and then rotated in the camera, computer, or printer afterwards. A large family gathering should be captured horizontally, but a small family might possibly be better vertically.

The sixth principle: Check on what the camera is focusing. If the subject is off center, the camera may focus on the background instead of the subject. To avoid this, hold the shutter button half way down as you point the camera directly at your subject. This will lock the focus into place. Then move the camera so the subject is off center and finish pushing the button. What the camera can do is amazing, but it doesn’t always get it the way you want.

The seventh rule goes with number six: don’t always center your subject. Sometimes you say more with an off center subject. For example, you could send friends a picture of your new house taken straight on. Instead include the winding driveway on one side. This picture will be inviting people to visit. Be sure to follow rule six when doing this.

Rule number eight: know the strength of your flash. Most cameras have a flash range of ten feet or less. Thus, if you want the flash to light your subject, you have to be that close to it. And don’t forget, if the zoom is used, the subject may still be out of range, even though it looks close.

Rule number nine: check your source of light. Its best to take pictures out of direct sunlight. First, the people will probably squint, and, second, their faces might shadow. If this is impossible, then be certain you use your flash, as described above. The long shadows of the early and later parts of the day add character to scenic shots.

Principle number ten: be a picture director. Arrange the subjects, move to a different perspective, add some props. Don’t just take a shot; plan a shot and do it the way you want. Make your picture more than just a record of the event. Make those seeing it feel the event as well.

Applying these principles will have you producing pictures that are far above the norm. However, some events require a professional.

10 Guidelines for Taking Awesome Photos is a post from: Point And Shoot Digital Cameras

Both products have been carefully designed to corral the advancing market of easy to use and extremely portable camcorders with built in abilities that make sharing the videos on the computer and loading them up to the typical social networking sites immensely easy. Let’s do a quick digital video camera review of these two cameras.

Flip and Kodak are both justifiably proud of their respective product lines, and make it easy to catalog lots of information online. Of course, one of the most significant traits to everyone is the price, and you will recognize that they are at precisely the same price point. So far it’s a tie.

One important difference between these 2 is that the Kodak Zi8, like most pocket video cameras, has an extremely small amount of internal memory — only 128 MB. The Flip has a much larger capacity of 2 GB, 16 times as much. Score 1 for the Flip.

Yet, and this is huge, the Kodak relies on the use of SD/SDHC memory cards to advance it’s storage capabilities. The Flip Mino leaves you without room for growth. The Kodak digital video camera can manage up to a 32 GB card for those who want to go all out. How will this help you? Up to 10 HOURS of video recording! That’s a huge plus for Kodak.

One of the things that is similar between the two is they both benefit from a very versatile built in USB swing-out arm, so you don’t need camera specific cables. You can just flip out the arm and plug it instantly into your computer and start sharing. No more cable clutter! A tie.

Each comes with video and picture editing software, but only the Zi8 has HD capable video recording, and a HDMI output on the camera itself to connect directly to your HDTV for prompt screening. Kodak wins.

But from here on, it really isn’t much of a competition. The Flip Mino, and even it’s big brother the FlipHD, which costs significantly more, can’t hold a candle to the value and caliber of the Kodak Zi8. For the same price, you get a considerably bigger view screen, built-in image stablization, full 1080 pixel HD video, and the dependability that comes with the Kodak name.

Countdown result: the race between these 2 models is not remotely close today — the Kodak Zi8 pocket digital video camera is first rate. However, don’t expect Flip will sit by quietly as their market share disappears.

Pocket Video Camera Reviews – Kodak Zi8 Vs Flip Mino is a post from: Point And Shoot Digital Cameras