Why mega-pixels don't always mean mega-pictures...

Over the past couple of years we've seen an increasing number of clients nipping out with the office digital camera when asked to provide a photo of a product or team member for their website or print campaign. All well and good - the photographic bang you get for your buck nowadays is pretty darned impressive, and snapping images yourself is obviously much more convenient and cost-effective than employing the services of a professional photographer.

Unfortunately the end result isn't always the pin-sharp masterpiece it could be, even when armed with the latest 10 Megapixel technological triumph. Obviously the magic of Photoshop means we can iron out some of the imperfections in many of the images we're provided with, but following a few basic tips can significantly improve the initial image quality, giving a better end result and (in the case of PR images) increasing the likelihood of publication.

Put simply, a sharp, high quality image is far more likely to be prominently used in a publication than a grainy snapshot!

Keep the noise down...
Digital noise is one of the most common problems. This is the grainy, multicoloured speckles within blocks of colour, particularly in darker or low-light images. Some of this can be digitally removed, but using a "median" technique, which reduces image quality. The best way to limit the amount of noise in an image is to experiment with the camera's ISO settings. Instead of the "auto" setting, try a slower ISO speed of 100-200. This effectively increases the amount of time the camera has to capture image data. The downside to this is that the camera needs to be held steady to avoid blurred images, which leads us to ...

... invest in a tripod...
Well, I say invest, but you can pick up a decent tripod from the likes of Amazon for £20, so it's hardly going to dent the finances. And the return on image quality will be immeasurable! A tripod means you can safely fiddle with all kinds of camera settings without having to worry about keeping a steady hand. Combine that with the increased number of cameras that now come provided with remote controls and you need never worry about camera shake again! This also enables you to work in lower or indoor light environments without resorting to...

...flash! ...
Unless you have a professional flash gun with a "fill" mode or a controlled secondary light source, disable the auto-flash mode! All this will achieve is washed-out colours, red-eye and ugly shadows, particularly if your subject is close to its background. While we can restore some of these, a harsh flash reduces the amount of colour information in the image, and we can't put back what isn't there! Better is to use the previously purchased tripod and a slower exposure. This will allow the camera to take in more natural light, and capture more image data. It's easier to make a good dark photo lighter, than a poor bright photo darker!

... keep it big...
It may seem like an obvious tip but if the camera is capable of taking 5MP shots, take a 5MP shot! Bigger is better in digital photographs, as the increased resolution makes it a lot easier to disguise imperfections when scaled down afterwards. Also if you have the option to take the image in an uncompressed format like RAW, then do so. Failing that, make sure any options that mention image quality or JPG settings are set to maximum. It will increase the file size, but this is preferable to heavily compressed images, which may be noise free and razor sharp but ruined by countless JPG artefacts. If email size restrictions cause a problem, use a large-file upload service such as http://www.yousendit.com.