Digital Photography Basics:
turning bits, bytes, and pixels into splendid photographs!

So, you've taken the plunge and have decided to learn digital photography basics. Congratulations! Your curiosity and drive to expand your horizons will be rewarded.

This section will help you learn digital photography by using an overview format, broken into pages that will cover the high points of what I believe you need in order to understand electronic imaging and digital photography basics.

I'll highlight specifics that relate to macro photography as they come up. I'll also dig deeper into certain subjects as needed.
digital photography basics macro photograph of cicada wing
Learning photography has become more challenging with the arrival of digital photography. Old-School photographers have had to add to their list of skills an understanding of electronic imaging that has little in common with film emulsions and processing chemistry.

My goal is to present digital photography basics in a manner that will make sense to you, and that you will remember as you are learning digital photography. Of course, you can always refer back to these pages as you go.

Once you've been through the chapters listed below, you'll understand more about basic digital photography than almost anyone! And should you be inclined to dig deeper, I can refer you to some excellent sources.

Here are the pages of this section, in order:

As film is to conventional photography, chips and sensors are to digital. Learn more at Digital camera sensors.
Answers about the building blocks of digital photos are found at What is a megapixel?
Wondering how a single pixel becomes a colored dot in a photograph? See the Bit depth page.
Learn how different kinds of resolution relate to image quality: Photo resolution.
What is a histogram and how are they used to make great photos? Find out here: The histogram.
Want to make sense of all the different kinds of files available to us? Visit the Digital file types page.
Find out about the most powerful tool in digital imaging, the RAW file format.
Learn about another key feature of digital photography: File compression.
Digital photography is not just about color. Here, we learn all about
Digital Black and White.
Learn the language of how real-world colors carry over into photographs by visiting the Digital Color Photography page.

Learning digital photography is challenging, but need not be intimidating. Visit and study these pages in sequence, or jump in wherever you wish to; I have written the pages to accommodate either style. You will find a lot of useful tips for taking digital photography to the next level.

It should go without saying, but nevertheless: there are a lot of digital photography techniques that differ from those used to improve and enhance film photography. You'll find them here!

digital photography basics macro photograph of chicken feather
Use the digital photography techniques you learn here to make the most of your efforts. Your macro photography will improve, saving you time, money, and storage space in the bargain. You'll learn about camera settings you can change, ones you can't, and what to leave alone.

Once you learn and become familiar with basic digital photography, it will become second nature to you. Then you'll reach the all-important stage of no longer worrying about your camera settings, and being able to give full attention to your photo subject. Study the resources I have here, and practice, practice, practice!

Once again, here's a list of the pages in this Digital Photography Basics section. Dive right in, and have fun!