LAURI MATSON | Computer Cache

Digital cameras have changed photography forever. The days of pasting our photos into albums are gone for most of us.

With digital cameras, many of us prefer the newer creative and time-saving methods of looking at our photos. Our computers allow instant views of photos on our screen, both as stationary wallpaper and as a slide show that automatically starts when we are not working. There are also desktop photo frames that run slides shows, Web sites for sharing and we can even view them on our TV screens with today’s DVD players.

In essence, we e-mail, broadcast and share our photos through the Internet — and yes, we still print them.

There are many reasons for the increase in popularity of digital cameras — one primary reason is instant gratification. We can immediately see our results, allowing us to delete and reshoot our photos on the spot. Modern cameras are also lightweight and easy to handle. Even better is the fact that once you buy the camera, the photos are free (unless you decide to print them).

Some of the most commonly sought after features in our cameras include:

• A super-simple to operate camera with a large LCD screen

• Flexibility for taking great photos under a lot of different conditions

• The ability to print or e-mail as easily and quickly as possible

Fortunately, there are quite a number of suitable cameras. A few include Kodak Easyshare, Canon PowerShot and Fujifilm FinePix — but this is by no means a complete list. Each of these are less dependent on our computer than in the past, so if you don’t want to use a PC, you still get some of the benefits — it’s the editing and enhancement features you’ll miss.

Basic editing software usually comes packaged with your camera. However, many of us prefer the free software programs that are available online. Google offers a popular program called Picasa and Apple provides iPhoto for Mac users. Both have basic tools for cropping, rotating and photo management (finding your photos can be the most difficult part of photography). For the enthusiast that wants to go beyond-the-basics, Adobe Photoshop Elements is available for a reasonable price.

Make sure you utilize some type of software for photo management; otherwise, you’ll find your photos have taken over. It is hard, but important to delete the shots you do not need. The easiest way to do this is to download all the images from your camera and immediately delete the ones you consider unusable.

Next, rename the photos you want to keep. Typically, digital cameras label photos with a long dull number. This makes it almost impossible to find what you are looking for. Try giving individual pictures descriptive names that are easy to recognize and saving them in folders named by event.

Keep in mind that there is still no substitute for professional photography of special events and family portraits. One look at the work of a professional, such as KP Studios here in Anacortes, will confirm that. But, it is still amazing what we can do with these digital cameras and they are so small and handy that you can carry them anywhere to snap a shot of a friend or a sunset during a walk.