I had some digital photography questions in the comments area of my post about my husband's upcoming digital photography online course so instead of merely leaving an overly-long comment which I have a tendency to do, I decided to create a whole new post.

Questions: How can I get better action shots?, What is the best type of camera, depending on your needs?, and what about back-up and storage of photos?

Sam Says:

1. Action shots can be tough with digital. The secret is in "Pre-focusing". As you probably already know, when you press halfway on your shutter release, that will usually lock in your focus. Pre-focus on the area the action is likely to take place and then snap as the action occurs. Sam's example is that if you want to catch your child running across the finish line at a race, get the finish line in focus and then wait for her to run across. If you have a prosumer or professional camera, this is not an issue as most come with continuous focus features.
2. In considering the type of camera best for various needs, Sam's basic advice is to go with the most compact model that you can afford. Most are relatively easy to use. For moms and dads who want to document everyday life and document it often (ie. bloggers), very small cameras will be used more often because they can be worn on your belt or carried in your purse (in a case of course). It is not helpful to have a big, fancy camera you rarely use because it is not with you and it is a hassle to set it up. For bloggers, resolution is not such a big concern and is not a reason to go for a pricier, bulkier model. Sam's hands-down choice for parents: the Canon Elph S400 or better. Yes, Sam (and most of the professional photographer parents that he knows) wears this camera on his belt at all times and catches some great pics of the kids that way. I wish Sam could get paid for each family who has bought an Elph because of his recommendation! Added bonus: The Canon Elph is also very stylish or "easy on the eyes" as Sam says.
3. Backing up digital photos is an essential step that many consumers avoid.  Multiple backups in different locations is the key  concept in digital photography archiving systems.  Sam uses this term to refer to the fact that your pictures should be maintained in different formats and in different locations to prepare for the worst.  The first step in saving your photos is to copy them from the memory card in your camera and transfer them to your computer or preferably an external hard drive.   (Did you know that your iPod can be used for file back-up and storage? See my article for more nifty uses of your iPod). Photos should also be saved on CD's.  For professional work,CDs should be burned directly from the CF card. Once your CD's are burned, a copy of each should be kept in a safe deposit box or another offsite location.  Seem like too much trouble?  Ask a family who has lost everything in a fire and the one thing they usually miss most are the priceless photos that they lost.  I have only given an overview on this very important topic.  Sam has much more to say but this post is getting pretty long.

Well, Alyssa is sleeping now and Chase is watching a video with his Dad so I will get to work on some articles that I have due. I should let my readers know more about my writing career but that will have to wait for another day. Maybe next I can answer questions about "breaking into freelance writing as a home business".