The most fundamental element of photography you should understand would probably be aperture, which is the physical opening within a camera’s lens that allows light through to the sensor. The larger the aperture, the more light passing through.
The reason it’s important to get the hang of aperture is because it allows the photographer to control the depth of field — the front-to-back zone of a photograph in which the image is razor sharp. The farther out a subject is from this range — this depth — the more out-of-focus the subject will be.
While online digital camera stores sell tons of different equipment to help photographers control their aperture, depth of field, and focus, most people use point and shoot digital cameras, which don’t allow the photographer to control aperture at all.
Fortunately, there are ways to trick point and shoot digital cameras into doing what you want them to do. Here are just a few.
Use Portrait Mode.
The overwhelming majority of point and shoot digital cameras come with different shooting modes. Many users tend to leave their point and shoot digital cameras in auto mode — the mode that lets the camera decide on the settings — without ever exploring these other shooting options. While these different shooting modes don’t necessarily allow users to have control over their aperture settings, they do allow users to adjust their point and shoot digital cameras’ aperture, depth of field, and focus a bit. That being said, if you want a shallow depth of field — if you want a blurry background and a clear fore- or mid-ground — then use portrait mode.
Use Landscape Mode.
Just as portrait mode is great for portraits because of its shallow depth of field, landscape mode is great for shots requiring a wider depth of field, with more things in focus. If you want to take bigger shots of more subjects, put your camera in landscape mode.
Physically Move.
Point and shoot digital cameras are not conducive to macro photography — photos of small items that make them appear larger than their real life counter-part, like flower photography, for example. The more these cameras zoom in, the lower the quality picture they can take. So, instead of relying on the zoom, it’s much better to get close to the object, and switch to an appropriate setting.
Just because point and shoot digital cameras don’t allow as much control doesn’t mean you can’t trick them into doing what you want them to do. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments.