If you own a digital camera, especially a point and shoot, chances are you rarely take it out of the Automatic mode. What you may not realize is that you can take much better pictures if you control your camera's settings manually. And it's really not that hard, with a little practice! So I'm going to try to explain the very least you need to know about your camera and how exposure works so you can stop taking your pictures in 'auto' mode. In the end, you are smarter than the chip inside your camera, and if you know how to adjust the settings for a given situation, you will usually be able to take a nicer picture than your camera's 'auto' mode will give you. Understanding how the picture-taking process works will make you a better amateur photographer, and allow you to get the look you want from your pictures.
All you need is a camera that allows you to manually adjust the shutter speed and f-stop. A lot of point-and-shoot pocket sized cameras do not have this feature, but many do, so check your manual. All digital SLR's allow for manual control. If your camera has a removable lens, it is 99% likely that it is an SLR. If your camera is a relatively recent model, yet is too big to fit in your pocket, it likely allows for manual control. Again, check your manual if you're not sure.
Now, on to the good stuff...
