Digital cameras are just the start of photography fun

My 11-year-old son and I enjoy playing our electric guitars. I like a clean sound from our amplifier. He likes to play around with the amplifier's special effects, including reverb, fuzz (technically called overdrive), bass and treble. He is amazed by the sound coming out of the amp, and how the amp "powers up" the flat sound of the unplugged electric guitar. I explain to him that the guitar's pickups simply pick up the vibrations of the vibrating strings, and that the "cool" sounds are created by the amplifier.

We also enjoy taking digital pictures together. He uses a digital camera and has fun enhancing his pictures in the digital darkroom. He is amazed at the power of our photo-imaging program, and how it can turn a dull and drab shot into a dramatic one..

In teaching my son about digital photography, I liken the camera's image sensor to the pickups on an electric guitar. I tell him that the image sensor simply captures light (as does film), and that the resulting digital file can be enhanced countless ways with our photo-imaging program.

If you are new to digital photography, here are a few of the effects you can create with most photo-imaging programs:

Increasing the contrast in a picture for more impact

Increasing the color saturation for a richer image

Warming up the color of a noontime picture to make it look as though it was taken later or earlier in the day

Rescuing detail from shadow areas

Cropping a picture to give it more impact

Whitening the whites of a person's eyes so they are more vivid in a picture

Darkening the edges of picture to draw more interest to the overall photograph

Sharpening a picture or area of a picture that might be a bit soft -- as well as blurring an area of a picture for a creative effect

Adding an artistic touch to a straight picture

Straightening a tilted picture

Removing distracting or annoying elements from a scene

Again, these are just a few of the ways straight-out-of-the camera digital files can be enhanced in the digital darkroom. The power of the photo-imaging program is at your fingertips.