I strongly maintain that it is nearly impossible for digital camera owners to print out lousy images. Post production or photo editing programs make it nearly impossible to create bad pictures. In addition to being able to correct lighting issues, crop, and adjust the clarity of photos, these tech tools allow you to rotate, zoom and fix otherwise cruddy shots.
Lately, I have been forced to fix a ton of pictures that I have snapped at my daughter’s indoor sporting events. The lighting in her school gym is about as bad as it gets. However, thanks to photo editing tools I have been able to salvage quite a few shots. For some reason the lights in the cramped gym tend to pulse and cast a strange green glow in the photos. I have tried to correct the lighting issues by adjusting my camera’s setting, to no avail. I’ve had more success in post production.
Whereas photo editing programs can help correct most issues, one thing it has little success doing is resolving focus problems. Since you know you can fix lighting, color contrast, and other issues with photo editing programs, consider concentrating more on shooting clear images. Take some test shots before you shoot the real deal and assess how you can get the best results. If the photos are blurry, then consider adjusting your shutter speed or move closer to your subject. When you are shooting in low light situations getting as close to your subject as possible is vital, especially if you are using a built-in flash. The types of flash found on point-and-shoot cameras are typically ineffective unless your subjects are a few feet away.
Depending on the type of photo editing program you are working with you may be able to crop off the worst parts of an image and salvage the rest. Since most cameras do not take photos that fit perfectly onto a 4×6 print you have room for adjustments. Just remember before you make cuts it’s always a good idea to preview your work before hitting ‘save.’