Tech columnist David Pogue pulls out "The Best Photography Tricks of All Time" for anyone shooting digital, including the crafty use of a lampshade:

It turns out that the threads at the top of just about any lamp—the place where the lampshade screws on—are precisely the same diameter as a tripod mount! In a pinch, you can whip off the lampshade, screw on the camera, and presto: You've got a rock-steady indoor tripod.


His other tips—always half-pressing the shutter button to reduce camera lag, getting a limited depth of field, forcing the flash on outdoors, and exploiting the "magic hour"—are all good reading for anyone new to shooting, especially to memory cards instead of film. We thought we'd add a few of our own collected tips from over the years to round things out a bit:

Exhale and pull elbows in for steady shots: Especially if you're not rocking a vibration-control lens on a DSLR rig, this body-steadying practice

Especially if you're not rocking a vibration-control lens on a DSLR rig, this Use the Unsharp Mask/Smart Sharpen for crisper shots : Photojojo explains

: Photojojo Deal with shooting in direct light : Because you, and your subjects, can't always get up at the hour just after dawn, Digital Photography School explains

: Because you, and your subjects, can't always get up at the hour just after dawn, Digital Photography School Get behind something to shoot more candidly: As Rick pointed out Digital Photography School's tips

As Get a cheap, DIY lens hood or flash filter: A lens hood—like the kind you can print yourself diffusing your flash


If you had only one tip to give a newcomer to digital photography, what would it be? Step up the chalkboard in the comments. Photo by ssh.

Pogue's Photography Tips and Tricks [New York Times]