Shoot like a pro: photography survival tips for the businessman or woman.

• Author: Martin, Gary L.

Digital photography is here, and it is here to stay. What does this mean to the Alaska business community?

It makes it much easier to take photos for marketing and public affairs projects.

Armed with a mid-range digital camera and a few trade secrets, most people can produce images of the necessary quality to accompany an article, press release, brochure, annual report or for displaying on Web sites-all valuable marketing tools.

My plan is to provide some basic photography tips that can be applied to many situations. I will try not to get bogged down with excessive details and jargon.

For those who want more detailed information, there are many excellent books, photo magazines and Web sites.

Today's mid-range digital cameras, with automated exposure modes, can produce excellent results. They also provide the ability to immediately see an image on the camera's LCD monitor. That takes most of the guesswork and luck out of taking good photographs.

THE CAMERA

There are digital cameras on the market that range in price from less than $100 to more than $10,000. Buying an expensive camera is not necessary, unless you have some extra cash or plan to become a professional photographer. All of the photos taken for this article were shot with my little Canon Power-Shot A95, which cost about $300.

I am not endorsing any specific model or camera brand; all of the popular camera manufacturers make excellent midrange ($150 to $350) cameras.

More important than price is the camera's resolution or its ability to record an image. I strongly recommend one that is at least a 5-megapixel camera; a megapixel is equal to one million pixels.

PIXELS

What are pixels? All digital images consist of many tiny picture elements or pixels. As a rule, the more pixels produced by a camera, the better the quality of the image. Pixels are like the millions of atoms that make up a drop of water; while you see the water droplet, you do not see the atoms which make up that drop. In a picture, your eye sees only the seamless combination of colors, not the millions of pixels that produce that image.

Another important point to consider: Most cameras have the capability to control the quality of image it produces. Always use the highest-quality setting. It is true that at lower-quality settings you will get more images on your memory card, but lower-quality images are not satisfactory for most uses, except possibly Web sites.

A few items I find important and feel will be of immediate help in taking pictures for your business...