Business & Finance

by Vijitha Bulathsinghala
ABR, MBA, B.Sc.

"How is your credit?"

If someone asks you this question, you might wonder what it means,specially if you are a new-comer from Sri Lanka.

In Canada, "credit" means your "creditworthiness" not anything else. It is not credit/debit in accounts. In other words, credit means how reliable you are, for someone else to give you a loan.

Why is your credit so important? - Because most of you think of buying a house when you come to Canada.

In order to buy a house you should be able to get a mortgage.

What are the requirements to get a mortgage? – A GOOD CREDIT SCORE AND SUFFICIENT INCOME.

In Sri Lanka you should have a good rapport with your bank to establish your creditworthiness. Then you have to stick to that bank for your financial needs. In Canada & USA there are central systems to monitor your creditworthiness. These places are called credit bureaus. There are two credit bureaus in Canada. They are Equifax (www.equifax.ca; T: 1-800-465-7166) and TransUnion (www.transunion.ca; T: 1-800-663-9980). If you go to a bank, a financial institution or a merchant they can see how your creditworthiness is. This process is called "checking credit ". The credit bureaus assign a credit score to you on completion of the process of checking your credit. The credit score is an indication of your creditworthiness at that time.

Establishing good credit is an important factor, when it comes to purchasing a house. A good credit score will not only enable you to purchase a house, but will also enable you to get a good interest rate on your mortgage. On the other hand, a bad credit score will prevent you from getting your mortgage approved. Hence, it is extremely important to establish a good credit score.

How do we do we establish a good credit score? The credit score is computed based on five factors.

1. Payment History

This means how well you have paid off your loans in the past. This has a 35% impact on your credit score. Settling your minimum payment on time has a positive impact on your credit score. In Sri Lanka, most people do not settle their credit card dues on the due dates. If we do this in Canada, the result will be a bad credit score. Late payments, judgments and charge-offs will also have a negative impact on your credit score. Missing a high payment has a more adverse impact than missing a low payment. Hence, it is important to establish a good payment history by paying off all your dues on time. It is very important to make your minimum payment on time, however small that amount is. Some people delay paying small amounts thinking that they can pay everything the following month. Even if your minimum payment is $10, make sure you pay it, so that you will not lose points from your credit score.

2. Outstanding Credit Balances

This is the ratio of the outstanding credit balance to the available credit limit. In other words, this is the amount you have borrowed as a percentage of the credit limit of that particular credit card. The outstanding credit balances have a 30% impact on your credit score. Ideally, the outstanding credit balance should be at least 10% below the available credit limit. That means if you have a credit card with a limit of one thousand dollars ($1,000), the outstanding balance should not be more than nine hundred dollars ($900) at any given time. I usually advise my clients not to exceed 80% of the limit, so that you reduce the risk of exceeding the limit.

3. Credit History

The credit history is the length of time since a particular credit line was established. This has a 15% impact on the credit score. A seasoned borrower will have a stronger credit score. Few years ago it was mandatory that you establish credit for at least one year for you to get a mortgage. However it is not mandatory now. There are programs to assist new comers to overcome the one-year credit history hurdle.

4. Type of Credit

The type of credit that you have, has a 10% impact on the credit score. A mix of loans – mortgages, credit cards, auto loans is more positive than having only credit card debts.

5. Credit Inquiries

The loan providers have to obtain your credit score before approving your credit line. The number of credit inquiries that have been made on a person’s credit history within a six-month period has a 10% impact on a person’s credit score. Each hard inquiry can cost from 2 to 50 credit points, but the maximum number of inquiries that will reduce the score is 10. Eleven or more inquiries during a six-month period will not have a further impact on a person’s credit score.

We now know how the credit score is computed, and the factors impacting the score. But you would realize that you should first have credit facilities to build a good credit score. You would also realize that it will be difficult to get a credit facility approved, if you do not have a good credit score. So, how would a newcomer, who does not have credit facilities in Canada “build credit?”

One of the first things that you should do when you arrive in Canada is to get a credit card. As newcomers do not have a credit history in Canada, most banks now offer secured credit cards. A secured credit card is a credit card that you obtain by having a cash deposit as security. In addition, there are credit cards that are offered by retail stores – Bay, Sears, Canadian Tire etc. It may be easier to obtain a credit card from a retailer, than a financial institution. Once you obtain a credit card, you should make your purchases using this, but ensure you settle the minimum payment on the due date. You should also ensure that you don’t make purchases up to the credit limit, so that you maintain a favourable ratio between the outstanding credit balance and the credit limit.

The next factor in building credit is to pay your utility bills on time.

What should your credit score be?

720 and over - Wonderful. You will be offered the very best mortgage rates
700-719 - Excellent score. You are a very desirable borrower

680-699 - Good credit. You should be in good shape to buy

660-679 - OK credit. 640-659 Borderline. OK if everything else is OK

620-639 - Weak credit. Everything else should be perfect

600-619 - Difficult. Need some work or a special program

Below 600 - Trouble! Try to fix your credit

What should you do if you have a bad credit score?

Typically, a person with a bad credit score is in this position because they lack structure in their lives. There are, of course cases where health has been a factor, or there has been a lay-off or fluctuation in employment, but for the most part, these are individuals who lack the discipline tom pay their bills on time or to curb their spending.

One thing that is important to remember is that the credit score is computed by a computer system that does not take personal factors into account. When you run a credit report, it is today’s snapshot of your credit profile. This can fluctuate dramatically within the course of even a week based on your activities. It is in your best interest not to go on a shopping spree and increase your credit card debts when you are trying to apply for a loan.

How do you fix a bad credit score?

1. Start paying your bills on time. Remember the payment history has a 35% impact on your credit score

2. If you have a number of credit cards, but use only one of them, and you are close to the maximum limit on that card, the ratio between the outstanding credit balance and available credit limit will be impacted. You should then distribute your debt over the other credit cards to improve this ratio which has a 30% impact on your credit score.

3. If you only have one credit card that is pushing the limit, try get a few more and spread the debt over the other cards to have at least a 20% margin of available credit on all cards. Although the new cards will effect the credit history factor, this only has a 15% impact on the credit score whereas the ratio between the outstanding credit balance and available credit has a 30% impact.

4. Do not close any existing credit card accounts even if they are at a zero balance. Some people think that they are doing themselves a favour by having fewer cards but they lose out on the credit history factor. Even if you do not have a good credit rating on those old credit cards, you are rewarded for having a long-term credit history.

5. Lastly, review your credit report to ensure that all credit facilities stated therein are in fact yours. There could be situations where someone else’s credit facilities are erroneously added to your file. If the credit score of the other person’s facility is weak, it could impact your credit rating.

So, the first requirement in getting your mortgage approved is to have a good credit rating.

The second requirement is to have a sufficient income to pay your monthly mortgage.

Lenders follow two simple affordability rules to determine how much you can pay.

The first affordability rule is that your monthly housing costs shouldn't be more than 32% of your gross household monthly income. Housing costs include monthly mortgage principal and interest, taxes and heating expenses — known as P.I.T.H. for short. For a condominium, P.I.T.H. also includes half of the monthly condominium fees. For leasehold tenure, P.I.T.H. includes the entire annual site lease.

Lenders add up these housing costs to determine what percentage they are of your gross monthly income. This figure is known as your Gross Debt Service (GDS) ratio.

The second affordability rule is that your entire monthly debt load shouldn't be more than 40% of your gross monthly income. This includes housing costs and other debts, such as car loans and credit card payments. Lenders add up these debts to determine what percentage they are of your gross household monthly income. This figure is your Total Debt Service (TDS) ratio.

So, the major two requirements to obtain a loan are: your income and the credit history.

We will now look at the types of mortgages available in Canada.

What is a “Variable Mortgage”?

A Variable Mortgage, as the word suggests, is a mortgage where the interest rate varies from time to time. The interest rate is tied directly to the prime rate. The prime rate is a rate that is set by the bank based on the prime rate set by the Bank of Canada. The current prime rate is 2.75% and the banks are now offering prime minus 0.65% which comes to 2.1%. Bank of Canada decides the prime rate at their periodical meetings. Usually they increase or reduce the rate by 0.25% at a time. For those who are ready to take a risk, the variable rate is an option. However, those with variable rate mortgages need to keep an eye on the prime rate and should keep in touch with a mortgage professional who can explain interest rate trends.

What is a “Fixed-Rate Mortgage”?

A fixed rate mortgage is where the mortgage rate is fixed for the selected period. The period could be 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, 4 years, 5 years or even 7 years, depending on the attractiveness of the financial instruments available at the time of borrowing. This type of mortgage is ideal for a conservative borrower who does not like to worry about the increase or decrease of the mortgage amount over a period of time. Fixed interest rates are determined based on the bond market, as the bonds are the main competing investment to mortgages for investors. Mortgages are prices higher than the bonds usually between 1.2% and 1.9% to account for the higher risk.

The most popular type of mortgage in Canada is currently the 5-year fixed rate mortgage.

Now the banks are offering “Mixed Mortgages” with a 50% variable portion and a 50% fixed portion. This would be a good choice to reduce the risk of interest rate fluctuations.

What is an “Open Mortgage”?

An open mortgage allows you to pay closed mortgage. Usually the banks allow a prepayment of up to 15% of the loan balance. So, if you are planning to make a lump sum payment of more than 15%, an “open mortgage” is a good choice as it gives you the flexibility of paying off the loan.

So, which mortgage is cheaper…?

A study on a 30 year period has shown that those who are on variable mortgages save money. However, there should be a good management of cash flow to harness the savings from variable mortgages, as you have to keep the savings to meet the extra payments that you may to make, if the interest rate increases during your mortgage period.

What is the “Amortization Period”?

The “Amortization Period” is the time you take to completely pay off your mortgage. This period can be 15, 20, 25, 30, or 35 years. Banks had been offering 40 year mortgages up till last year. But it’s not available now. The advantage of having a longer mortgage term, is that you need less income for mortgage approval. The longer the period, lesser the income you need to qualify for the mortgage. Further, your monthly payment will be lower if you go for a mortgage with a longer term. Monthly payment for $100,000 mortgage with an amortization period of 35 years and an interest rate of 2.1%, is $335.95. Therefore for a $300,000 mortgage you will have to pay only $1,007.85 ($335.95 x 3). If the interest rate is 4.1%, the monthly payment for $100,000 is $446.71.

Now you have a good understanding of prerequisites to get a mortgage what the credit score is, its importance, how it is computed, what you should do if you have a bad credit score, and the different mortgage types available to you in Canada.

After all this time, we're starting to get together

Point of View

Straw man ideas from a Jpura member

By Kumara Wickramarachchi

J’pura Alumni Association has come a long way since its shot period of existence. Members are enthusiastically engaged devoted their time and energy to organize programs like J’pura scholarship program, blood donation campaign and many other events at various scales. By spending sleepless night and days of labour, our dedicated officials (past and present) make all these happened, for which they deserve our gratitude and big thanks ”Bravo Ladies and Gentlemen” . Question is, can we maintain our current member enthusiasm for next ten years by doing what we are doing now? I am not sure. I believed most of these programs are very effective in short term to bring our alumni together, but these shot term strategies have very short shelf life, after they achieved the basic objectives, enthusiasms eventually die down. The outcome will be, organization either completely disappears or limits to a very few active members. If our organization has not already been reached this phase yet, I am sure signs are definitely being popped up. This eventuality is not specific to J’Pura Alumni Association but it is universal. Every organization is going through this hard reality, some survives others succumb.

Question is how do we survive?

Answer is simple, keep the organization relevant. As long as J’pura alumni association is relevant to its members, they will come, actively engage and grow bigger and bolder. Sounds easy, but it is the most challenging task of all. Believe me, at this phase some members will abandon the organization but others will start to rally. At this phase officials need to be bold, visionary and take strategic decisions; don’t try to please everybody, let minority opinion to go if they cannot respect the majority. Don’t worry they will join back when they see the success. But most of all create an environment which allows all opinions, ideas and views are being heard before they are discarded. As long as officials started to filter members’ opinion through their ideological lenses, nobody will trust them, nobody will express opinions and next time nobody will bother to come. So don’t try to impose our values on others, let the sluice gates opened and then create a mechanism to manage the flow.

Assessment

My humble opinion is our association is very much inward looking and too much focus on getting something to our members or to our university. Due to this inward looking attitude we miss out lots of positive things happening outside our boundaries. It is even contradictory to our Buddhist values. By breaking down the boundaries, going beyond J’pura and integrating with the larger social fabric, foundation of our organization can be strengthened. But remember to keep your identity. Unless we fully integrate to Canadian society, we don’t progress. We must cherish the society we live. I think we should integrate all Sri Lankan graduates into one Alumni Association and brand it as larger professional body, instead of living in our own glass silos and pointing finger to others. We should give something to the Canadian society; in return all members will get a larger benefit. Below is a rudimentary analysis of some of our current programs and some of proposed initiatives.

Current Programs

Strategy	Level of Engagement	Term of Impact	Strategic Value	Strategic assessment
Annual get-together	High	Short to medium	Medium value strategy	Keep members engage and provide net working opportunity to new members.
Web page	Medium to high	Long term	High value strategy (Need improvement to current Web)	Fully integrated web page can be a effective discussion platform (ideology and education), Information and news islet, marketing tool and can be a classified ads host.
Scholarship program	Low	Short term	No strategic value, mostly compassionate ground	No national (SL as a Country) benefit, No benefit to the J'pura university, no recipient will dropout due to not having the scholarship, no benefit to members.
New immigrant welcome/info sessions	Medium	Short term	Medium value strategy	Attract new members, opportunity to integrate new comers to the community, provide strategic info to newcomers (effective only for very new immigrants).

Proposed Additional programs

Strategy	Level of Engagement	Term of Impact	Strategic Value	Strategic assessment
Revise the mandate to include all Sri Lankan University Alumni and change the Name to Sri Lanka University Alumni Association	High	Medium to Long term	High value Strategy	Increase active membership, expand the resource base, increase participation rate and increase our bargaining power in Canadian Market place.
Fundraising for Canadian programs (cancer, food bank, etc.)	Depends on how we market it	Medium to Long term	High value strategy	Increase visibility of the organization within Canadian society, recognition for members and social acceptance, increase association influence in Canadian market place.
Organize volunteer activity	Depends on how we market it	Medium to Long term	High value strategy	Increase visibility of the organization within Canadian society, recognition for members and social acceptance, increase association influence in Canadian market place.
Make Federal and Provincial Political contributions to all major parties	Depends on how we market it	Medium to Long term	High value strategy	Increase Association influence in policy making, Influence politicians on member maters, increase visibility in Canadian society.
Make Donations to J'pura University	Medium to high	Short to Long term	High value strategy	Positively contribute to the university resource base, Increase Association's long term recognition.

Friends, you can glorify or vilify these thoughts, but you cannot ignore them because you are part of it, so mercilessly attack them and contribute to your organization future. From a Sleeping Old J’purek

Biography

Life and Works of Martin Wickramasinghe

Martin Wickramasinghe was a novelist from Sri Lanka. He was born in the village of Koggala in 1890. When he was five he learned the Sinhala alphabet and the Devaganari script, being able to recite large portions of the Hitopadesha (a Sanskrit fables). He attended a vernacular school until 1897, after which he was sent to a school in Galle, where he became proficient in English and Latin. The main focus of his work was the culture and life of his country, exploring and applying modern knowledge in natural and social sciences, literature, linguistics, the arts, philosophy, education, and Buddhism and comparative religion to break through the surface of petty nationalism, and guide readers to the deep rooted common national identity that lies in the folk life and Sri Lanka culture.

Some of Martin Wickramasinghe bibliography's better known titles include Gamperaliya (The Transformation of a Village), published in 1944 and which depicts the impact of modernization on traditional village life; Madol Doova, a children's novel published in 1947 that narrates the adventures of main character Upali Giniwella and his friends; Yuganthaya (The End of an Era), the second part of a trilogy started with Gamperaliya and followed by Kaliyugaya (Age of Darkness), published in 1957. All of these novels were made into movies directed by fellow countryman Lester James Peries. Other works are Leela (his opera prima, 1914), Soma (1920), Iranganie (1923), Seetha (1923), Miringu Diya (Mirage, 1925), Unmada Chithra (1929), Rohinmi (1929), Viragaya (Devoid of Passions, 1956), Karuvala Gedara (House of Shadows, 1963), and Bavatharanaya (Siddhartha's Quest, 1973).

One of Martin Wickramasinghe biography highlights is how he was bestowed several honors and awards, such as membership of the Order of the British Empire, best newspaper article of the year (The fall of the Brahmin Class, 1956), Don Pedric Award for the best novel of the year (1957), an honorary PhD by the Vidyodaya University, a Doctorate in Letters (DLitt) by the University of Ceylon, an UNESCO award, a DLitt by the Vidyalankara University, a DLitt by the University of Ceylon, and the first presidential award for literature.

His work, however, was not confined within the realms of fiction and novels. He also wrote several articles and non-fiction books, as well as being a literary critic. He also was a bookkeeper, part of the editorial staff of national newspapers Dinamina and Lakmina, member of the National Languages Commission, among many other occupations. He is considered not only one of the foremost writers in the history of Sri Lanka, but he has also been internationally recognized, and his works have been translated into English, Hindi, Tamil, Russian, Chinese, Romanian, Dutch, German, French and Japanese. Martin Wickramasinghe passed away on the 23rd of July of 1976, but his legacy has lived on and will continue to thrive as new generations of readers discover his novels.

Wickramasinghe; the typical storyteller of the Sinhalese Novel

He is a good storyteller, an inspiring thinker, and a good philosopher as proved in his work, which is more than hundreds of books and thousands of paper articles. Though Wickramasinghe is considered in the academic crowd, as a good philosopher, he is most popular as the great novelist/ author/ writer of Sinhalese literature arena.

Out of the the numerous great books published by him in Sinhalese or in English, I have selected ten greatest and most popular novels by this inspirational writer. They are:
Rohini (1929)
Ape Gama (1940)
Gamperaliya (1944)
Madol Duuwa (1947)
Yuganthaya (1949)
Viragaya (1956)
Kaliyugaya (1957)
Upandaa Sita (1961)
Kaluwara Gedara (1963)
Bawa Tharanaya (1973)

Madol Duuwa (1947) – As the most popular book of Martin Wickramasinghe, it plays the role of the most abundant Sri Lankan novel. Upali Giniwelle and his servant friend Jinna play the main roles of this novel as notorious youngsters who explore their lives outrunning their parents. After make off from home Upali and Jinna find the isolated small island Madol Duuwa, situated in the middle of Koggala tank. They cultivate this land and gradually become standard businesspersons. The story of these two youngsters has been created by Wickramasinghe as an adventure which enchants the reader till the end. More than a half a century of prints have been published so far as it is highly accepted by the Sri Lankan litterateurs.

Rohini (1937) – is the book that firstly written out of these 10 books which carries a historical epic. The legendry affair between Athula and Rohini is the subject of this novel. Athula, a war hero from the Army of King Dutugemunu, falls in love with the young princess Rohini, whose father is a minister of King Elara. Princess Rohini is also proposed to her father’s diplomatic friend Mithra, from the same Elara’s party.Yet there is a romantic story flows through the novel Wickramasinghe tend to emphasis the critical political issues hidden behind as well. The novel is also recommended as the Sinhalese Literature fiction for the Junior School Certificate Examination in 1937.

Ape Gama (1940) – the typical soulful explanation of the rural life and the atmosphere is also one of the prime books written by Martin Wickramasinghe. When reading this book you will feel how smoothly he has described the every single experience of his village life. Even though this is mostly identified as a children’s book it entertains the other readers as well. I highly recommend this book for all kinds of readers, as they can enjoy it thwarting all barriers.

Gamperaliya (1944) – is the first book of Wickramasinghe’s most popular Trilogy (Tun Eduthu Nawakatha). Based on the rural feudalistic family of Muhandiram Kaisaaruwatte, this novel flows over three generations accomplishing writer’s needs of character development. The way that historical politics functions on the rural feudalistic families and the emergence of a new middle class society is drastically described in this novel wrapped in a dramatic story. Piyal the benchmark of this new social class gradually attacks this feudalistic society and the relationship between him and Nanda; the daughter of Kaisaaruwatte plays the transitional situation of this class struggle. Tissa; brother of Nanda, is the linking factor to the trilogy as he appears in each three novels.

Kaliyugaya (1957) – the second of the seriescan be identified as the best explanation ever appeared in explaining the social class transition during the post- colonization stage. Social uplifting of the newly formed social class consists of feudalistic Nanda and lower middle class Piyal with the presence of the money factor is indicated in this particular novel. Therefore it would be really interesting to you to understand what has really happened in the Sri Lankan context during the post- colonization period.

Yuganthaya (1949) – as the final part of the trilogy is the best book that shed light on the collapsing of this upper middle class Sri Lankan society and emergence of a new capitalistic society. Based on the social struggle between upper middle class Saviman Kabalana (Son- In- law of Piyal and Nanda) and the venture capitalist Wiharahena from Deniyaya this novel flows under numerous social disputes. This novel ends with the formation of modern political tradition which consists of English spoken, foreign educated capitalistic people who had the socialistic ideas, like Malin Kabalana. And also Yuganthaya explains the polarization of the human political and social interests based on their political ideology using the characters Malin Kabalana and Aravinda Wiharahena. If you are interested in Sri Lankan political transitions you should read this book with reference to the day to day political stereotypes.

Viragaya (1956) -is the novel that considered as one of the best novels that explain persons’ obscure characteristics ever written in Sri Lankan modern literature. Aravinda, Bathi and Sarojini are the main characters of the novel. In Viragaya, Wickramasinghe tries to explain their characteristics which are ambiguous, mystic and complicated. Aravinda is indisputably accepted as the typical Sri Lankan youth character that appears in a novel.

Upandaa Sita (1961) – Autobiography of late Martin Wickramasinghe is one of the other books that you should read. Even though it is a personal experience book, it is highly recommended as a masterpiece to the life style management. Experience from his village, through the carrier as a journalist and most importantly influence of own experience in his literature work is included in this biography. Therefore it is most similar to a Diary- novel such as La Nuste by Sean Paul Sarthe.

Kaluwara Gedara (1963) – If you are interested more in the social class struggle of Sri Lanka you might also need to read Kaluwara Gedara. Kaluwara Gedara is too based on a rural family and its development during decades with the presence of social, cultural, political and economic circumstances. As in many works of Martin Wickramasinghe, this book is also keen in explaining the social status of a certain period of the Post- colonization period, as one of the heavy transitional period that appeared in Sri Lankan social history.

Bawa Tharanaya (1973) – is one of the most controversial novels which caused a series of heavy arguments between scholarly traditions. It is mainly based on the life of Prince Siddhartha, before and after of renunciation of household life. Considering Lord Buddha as a human being that proven higher ideological and philosophical values, Wickramasinghe tends to create his own explanation about the Buddhist culture. Therefore this novel has been confronted numerous arguments and stigmatizations by the conventional Buddhist society. Yet it is argued by some of the scholars, it is undoubtedly accepted by the readers as one of the practical readings about the Buddhist concepts.

Taking digital pictures

Composition:

Anyone can point a digital camera at a subject and get a good quality snap shot. The camera will almost insure that the photo will be sharp and exposed correctly. However, the one thing the camera can’t do for you is compose the shot.

One of the major differences between average photographers and professionals is that the pros spend a lot of time thinking about composition while amateur’s just point and shoot.

Composition is important because it helps set the mood for the shot and tells a story. It can also be used to evoke an emotional response from the viewer. If you keep composition in mind whenever you look into your viewfinder, it will eventually become second nature to you.

You will greatly improve the impact of your photos and hopeful move out of the armature ranks by following these few easy tips.

The Law of Thirds

If you mentally divide your camera viewfinder into three horizontal and three vertical sections, where the lines intersect are considered ideal focal points. Focal points are what the eyes are naturally drawn to when you look at a photograph. Therefore, any one of these focal points is a good place to position your main subject.

It's not a hard and fast rule, but you should always mentally divide your viewfinder into a grid and try to place your subject at one of the focal points. The upper and lower horizontal lines represent the ideal location to place the horizon of a landscape picture. It depends on whether you want more surface or more sky in the photo.

The "Law of Thirds" grid Example

Portraits

When taking portraits the closer you get to the subject the better. You will focus attention to the subject by cutting down on the amount of superfluous background detail.

You can also bring out your main subject by making the background go out of focus. Use your camera aperture priority mode and set as large an f/stop (about F2.8) as your camera will allow. If your camera has a zoom function you could use it to zoom in and achieve the same results. Use optical zoom only for best results.

If the subject is in shadow compared to the rest of the picture, you should use a fill-in flash to properly expose the face. In order to eliminate shadows, do not place the subject too close to a wall etc.

Recommended camera settings for portraits:

Focal length: 100 mm

Aperture: F2.8 (as large a f/stop as is available for proper exposure)

Exposure / Shooting Mode: Aperture Priority / Portrait

Flash: Fill-in, if face is in shadow

Landscapes

When shooting landscapes you usually want everything in focus all the way to infinity. Therefore, you will want to use as small an f/stop as your camera will allow.

You should use a wide-angle lens setting and consider adding a foreground object to help draw the eye into the photo. Experiment by isolating different portions of the scene using an optical zoom lens. And of course always apply the law of thirds.

Recommended camera settings for landscapes:

Focal length: 38 mm

Aperture: F16 (as small a f/stop as is available for proper exposure)

Exposure / Shooting Mode: Aperture Priority / Landscape

Tripod: Yes, for long exposures

Vary your shooting angle:

Instead of always shooting at eye level try shooting overhead, waist-level or ground-level. When photographing small children or animals get down to their level for best results.

Steady the camera for sharp pictures:

The key to getting sharp photos is keeping your camera steady while pressing the shutter button. Digital cameras are so light that special care is required to hold them steady during shooting. Squeeze the button very gently, making sure you don't jerk the camera as you press the shutter button.

When using an LCD preview, make sure that you hold the camera to your body to prevent movement.

Consider using a tripod especially in low light situations, long zooms or slow shutter speeds. If you don’t have a tripod try leaning against a wall to help steady your shot. Another option is to rest the camera on something solid such as a table.

You can also lock the focus and exposure by half-pressing the shutter button. To do this, compose your shot, press the button halfway down, and then depress it fully. The picture will be taken immediately, so you don't have to hold steady as long.

Framing the shot:

The first thing to decide before taking a picture is what's the main subject. To compose your shot, you either need to move your subject around or get closer yourself. Try to frame it, so that your intended content fills most of the picture area. Don’t forget to use the law of thirds
.

Take time to check your framing in your camera's LCD or optical viewfinder before you press the button. Always check to make sure that the horizon is straight.

Zoom in or move closer to your main subject in order to reduce distracting elements.

Use movement:

Sometimes you will want to simulate movement such as a race car going by at a racetrack. Use a fast shutter speed or pan the camera to follow the subject to maintain focus. Done correctly, panning will keep the subject clear, while blurring the background, giving the impression of motion.

Getting the exposure right:

Digital cameras use a light-sensitive chip rather than film to capture an image. The camera is designed to let light through a hole (aperture) on to the chip for a limited amount of time (exposure). Digital cameras use “auto exposure” to take care of exposing the picture for you. But there are a few things about aperture and exposure that you should be aware of.

A digital camera will gather the same amount of light with a large aperture and a short exposure or with a small aperture and a long exposure, but the image won't look the same. A wider aperture will reduce the “depth of field”, so that only objects at the focal point are in sharp focus. This is great for isolating a person from a busy background, but not so great for landscape photos, which require that everything be in focus.

Cheap cameras have a fixed aperture, so only exposure is affected by light. More expensive cameras offer “programmed exposure” modes, such as Landscape (narrower aperture, greater depth of field, longer exposure), Portrait (wider aperture, reduced depth of field, shorter exposure) and Sport (shortest exposure to freeze motion), while high-end cameras also offer full manual controls.

Even with a fully automatic camera, you can modify the exposure. Point the camera at the object you want correctly exposed and half-press the shutter button. Move the camera to compose your shot, and then squeeze the button fully to take the picture.

Many landscape photos turn out too dark because the exposure is overly influence by a bright sky. The trick is to lower the camera so that the light meter exposes more for the foreground area and then press the shutter button part way in order to lock in the exposure. Then re-compose the shot as before and press the shutter completely.

Use the appropriate camera setting:

Digital cameras allow you to take pictures at different quality setting. The higher the setting the better the photo quality. Higher settings use more memory then lower settings. If you intend to make prints, always use a medium or high setting. The low setting should only be used when all you want to do is view the pictures on your computer or send them by email or over the Internet.

Using white balance:

Automatic exposure settings can produce an unnatural reddish glow when shooting indoor pictures. Most digital cameras automatically adjust the ”white balance” to compensate for oddly colored lighting. However, this may not always result in natural looking photos. If your camera allows you to set the “white balance” mode manually give it a try. The result will be a picture with more natural looking colors.

Using zoom:

Most digital cameras come with a wide-angle lens as standard. This enables you to get the whole scene into the frame without having to stand too far back. However, it's not so great if you can't get close to your subject. That is why it is recommended that you buy a camera that includes a zoom lens.

Digital cameras usually have “optical zoom” and “digital zoom”. Digital zoom is a way of using the camera electronics to simulate additional detail, but this will produce a degraded image. It is best to use the camera’s optical zoom and stay away from digital zoom as much as possible.

Bear in mind that using zoom reduces depth of field, so make sure you carefully focus on your subject, and be aware that objects at different distances won't be as sharp. Zooming in will also magnify camera movement, so it's very important that the camera is well supported.

Wide-angle lenses are good for getting a whole room into the picture but are not ideal for portrait pictures. If you get too close with a wide-angle lens your subjects face will appear distorted. It’s always better to stand back a bit and use some zoom. Make sure you focus on the eyes.

Focus:

Auto-focus is great, but it isn't perfect. Most digital cameras tend to simply focus on what’s in the center of the picture. If your main subject is not dead center, point your camera at the subject, half-press the shutter button, re-compose to the desired scene, then finish pressing the shutter button. This will ensure that the main subject is perfectly sharp.

When taking close-up photos of say flowers, be aware of your camera limitations. Most cameras will only focus down to about a foot or two. A better way to get real close is to use the “macro mode” if one is available.

When taking wide-angle landscape shots, the camera will normally focus on infinity. This may result in closer objects not being in focus. If you focus on an object about 10 to 15 feet away, the foreground will be sharper and you'll still get the background in focus thanks to depth of field.

Use flash creatively:

Generally, poor lighting conditions results in poor pictures. Usually you don’t need flash for normal daytime outdoor shots unless it's very gloomy. Keep in mind that flash has a very limited range so it should only be used when the subject is fairly close. Use fill flash to help lighten up a subject which in deep shadow.

It is best to avoid using flash indoors unless absolutely necessary: it tends to “burn out” subjects and can create harsh shadows. A better choice is to bounce the flash off the ceiling if your camera and flash support this option.

Another option is to let as much daylight in as possible and, turn on all of the lights. You have the option of using fill flash when there's enough light in the scene but your subject isn't well lit.

Under certain circumstances you might want to turn the flash off and let the camera deal with the low light condition by increasing exposure. This won't work in very dim conditions, but can give better results than flash. Be sure to guard against camera shake.

Experiment - experiment - experiment:

People take good pictures not cameras. It's up to you to compose the shot carefully, making sure that the lighting is correct, etc. Digital cameras are great for this. You can experiment by taking as many test shots as you like using various camera settings, compositions, etc. You get instant feed back by way of the preview screen. If you don't like the shot, it can be deleted right away. "Practice Makes Perfect".