Review photos and check the settings

If you want to look more carefully at the shot you've just taken (or earlier shots, too), you probably need to change to a review mode. You usually do so using the same dial that allows you to change exposure settings. Check your documentation to learn how to change to a review mode and to learn about the various review modes that are available.

Some digital cameras allow you to view up to 16 small thumbnails on the LCD monitor so that you can quickly find the photo that you want to examine. Many cameras also have options for how much shooting data is displayed on the LCD monitor in addition to the image. You can see settings like that aperture, f-stop, exposure compensation, white balance settings, metering mode, image resolution, and the level of compression was used. You can also read the date and time, plus the image file number and folder number. Equally important is that you can also see the exposure histogram, which gives you excellent insight into how well your photo was exposed (even more so than what you can determine from looking at the image).

To determine whether your image is in focus, check to see whether your camera allows you to zoom in on the displayed photo. A zoom feature not only helps you to check an image to see whether it's in focus, but it also helps you check on subject details such as eyes to see whether they blinked or have red-eye. As you review your images, you can also delete those that you don't want to keep. Deleting images gives you more space for more photos and it reduces the amount of time you spend later when you download your photos to your computer.

To avoid having to look at a washed out LCD monitor in bright sun, consider getting the Xtend-a-View LCD magnifying finder. It's now available with an optional rubber eyecup to make it even easier to use in bright sunlight.

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