Digital camera technology has revolutionized our enjoyment of photography. By replacing film with reusable memory, digital imaging eliminates the costs that once limited when and how often we took photos. With digital photography, you can truly take photos every day, anywhere and at any time.

Digital imaging also makes it easier to improve your photos before you share them electronically or print them out. A digital camera's built-in liquid crystal display (LCD) monitor lets you review every photo as soon as it's taken, and then take another one when you miss the shot. Today's cameras also feature settings to optimize camera performance based on the situation or subject, whether shooting a portrait or a race, in the midday sun or at night.

Digital camera technology cannot yet guarantee you'll know how to take the perfect picture every time. They come close, though, provided you read your owner's manual as well as learn the features of your camera and the software bundled with it. And with the HP Digital Photography Center, you can get photography tips on how to improve each photo you take with your camera as you review the photos on the camera's LCD, on your touchscreen printer or after you've uploaded them to your computer.

The goal of this Quick Lesson is to walk you through the five most common digital photography problems that users face and help you find solutions. You'll learn how to avoid the problems in the first place as well as how to work with them after you take a photo. In this Quick Lesson, you'll learn about solutions for these common photo problems:

• Red-eye
• Blurred and poorly focused photos
• Improper lighting: photos too dark or too light
• Poor composition
• Disorganized photos

With a mastery of basic techniques, beginning photography tips and the image editing features found in photo editing software and on touchscreen printers, you can eliminate common problems for better photos every time.

To make sure you get the best shot, take a cue from the pros. They always take at least two photos of every subject just to be sure they got it right. If you have the time, compare shots on the LCD and save the better version. Otherwise, take and save at least two of every scene.

Next up

Let's talk about how to avoid a problem that most photographers have encountered: red-eye.