Digital Condoms
Digital photography is a little like sex. It’s a lot of fun, you can do it often, there are almost endless variations, and if you’re not careful there can be unintended consequences.
One of my pocket camera workshop students at North Cascades Institute this summer suffered one of those unintended digital consequences when all of her photos from the day disappeared when she thought she was copying them from memory card to computer. I’m not sure exactly what Alice (I’ve changed her name to protect her dignity) did because I wasn’t looking over her shoulder, but I have a good idea what happened. And I have a strong suggestion for a better procedure that protects you from losing your precious photos. That protection is your digital condom.
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The most compelling photos are often made eye to eye with the subject. That means that if you’re photographing a child, pet, or small plant you’ll want to get down low so your camera’s lens is roughly at the same level as your subject’s eyes. If it’s a flower then that’s your eye level. 
Steve asked me one of the hardest questions about using small digital cameras: “How can I focus on a flower close-up and have the background soft?” Unfortunately this is one area where pocket cameras are weak, but it’s not an impossible task. There are really two issues involved here. One is that the autofocus system often wants to focus on the background rather than the subject you’re aiming for. The second is that with a small sensor you get a short focal-length lens which equates to great depth of field.