Different lighting can change the mood and feel of a shot, or be the difference between a mediocre and stunning shot.

The light from the setting sun can produce wonderful lighting for a subject, as does sunlight through leaves. Maybe you see a shaft of light between two large objects such as buildings that can be a perfect backdrop for your subject.

Lighting is one of the most important elements of digital photography, so keep a watchful eye out everywhere you go. Look for different colors, or different effects (like the blue-lit trees here). Also watch for too much or too little light. Your camera can’t handle the same range of light that your human eye can, so an image that looks great to you may not be captured the way you see it. If in doubt, check the image in the LCD screen after you have taken it.

Another common problem is too bright and too dark areas in the same photo resulting in only some of the image being correctly exposed and the rest of the photo being over exposed (too bright) or under exposed (too dark). The best way to counter this issue is to change the angle of your shot to remove the extreme brightness range.

Light Tip: Neon lights make great night time subjects. You can silhouette your subjects in front of them, or use them as a subject themselves.

Get a full rundown on what White Balance is, how it affects digital cameras, and how you can simply ensure your photos have the correct colors and exposure. All in my new book on "Digital Photo Secrets".

Next Time : Getting a better image in difficult shooting situations.