Digital photography, though pretty much the industry standard at this point, is still a young technology. Many of the greatest advances in digital happened within the last ten years, and if you're a later adopter it's nothing to be ashamed of - there are millions of people out there that have never touched a digital camera.
And the best part? Learning to take digital pictures is a lot easier than you may think!
The Main Tool- A Digital Camera
When digital cameras first came out they were far outside most people's price range, but now they are affordable for almost everyone. Now you can get a good point and shoot camera for less than $200 or for more features you can get a nice digital SLR for under $1000.
Try to keep in mind what you want to use the camera for so you can be sure to get a camera that's best suited for your needs. If your primary picture taking is to capture memories of your friends and family, then the high image quality of an SLR doesn't do much for you. Give some thought to what you want to use your camera for so you'll choose a camera that is suitable for your needs.
The Software
Many digital cameras include some type of software for uploading images and managing your files. Some of these tools are better than others but if you have a Mac you can use iPhoto. And in terms of uploading, as long as your computer can see your camera or the card reader, you can upload the files however you choose.
As for editing software, there is a wide variety of options out there for every price range imaginable. Paint.net is a great free image editing software that offers features like layer editing and other advanced features that other higher end software offers. Another good free photo editor is The Gimp or you can go the professional route and buy Adobe Photoshop. But remember with Photoshop you're buying a professional tool with a lot of features you are probably not going to need right away.
The Final Product
Finally, once you've uploaded and edited your images, you'll probably want to share them with your friends and family. There are many different ways to share photos, but the most popular are using sites like Facebook or Flickr. Sharing your photos online allows your friends and family to see how you're doing without you taking the time and effort to print out and mail them pictures.
You can print them to real photo paper at home, through online services like Snapfish, or share them to a site - it all depends on what you want to do with them. Or, you can write a blog and share your photos on your website for everyone to see.
Digital photography is one of those things that is easy to learn, but tough to master. The best thing about digital is that anyone can pick up a digital camera, upload their photos, and share them with friends with very little knowledge in the field. Once you've got the basics under control it can get as complicated as you want it to. If you're new to digital photography, then you may be better off getting an inexpensive point and shoot camera and seeing how it works for you. This way, you'll get comfortable taking digital pictures and may even find yourself spending more time sending pictures to the people you care about!
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