Each month Camorabug will pass on to its readers a few tips for the benefit of beginners. We start off with some very elementary examples of snapshot difficulties, but as we progress we will reach some of the more complicated problems that stump even the more advanced amateurs.

An important rule is DON’T MOVE YOUR CAMERA. Even the slightest motion of your camera, particularly on shots taken at anything less than 1/50 ( fixedfocus box cameras are normally set at 1/25 ), will blur the picture so that it is unrecognizable. Support the camera against your body. Press the lever with a triggerfinger action, not arm action. It helps to hold your breath—but don’t hold it on long exposures, use a tripod.

The sun or light can come from any direction, but it should not shine directly into the lens of the camera. It is only possible to shoot toward the sun when the lens is carefully shielded with a lens hood. If light strikes the lens the resultant picture will be lightstruck in appearance, fogged and hazy.

Be sure that your primary subject matter is in focus. Focusing is simple where a ground glass is used (Graflex), or with a built-in range-finder (Leica). On others the photographer must measure his distance and correctly set the distance scale on the camera.

Don’t forget to turn the film after each exposure. It is a good idea to do this immediately after the picture is taken and should be considered part of the operation of making the exposure. Double exposures may give some very amusing effects, but are a sign of very careless photography