1 Use a large aperture: A large aperture (a small F-number) lets more light enter the camera allowing a higher shutter speed. This will reduce motion blur.

2 Tripod stability: Stability is the key to low-light photography. Use a tripod. Or reduce camera shake by finding a stable surface like a table, wall or pillar to prop the camera against. Tuck your hand against your body and slowly squeeze the shutter.

3 Anti-shake aid: Some cameras have anti-shake or image stabiliser technology.

4 Cable release or self-timer: To eliminate camera shake totally, use a cable release or remote trigger with the camera mounted on a tripod. If you don't have that, use the self-timer.

5 Stay still: Tell your subjects to stay as still as they can for the duration of the exposure.

6 Flash techniques: If you use a flash, close subjects may be sufficiently lit, but the background may be too dark.

Many cameras have a slow/rear sync flash mode which allows the shutter to open longer to capture the ambience of the scene.

To prevent blurring during slow sync, avoid bright areas directly behind the subject because if there is any movement, these lights will exhibit a ghosting effect.

7 Dial M for night: For night scene photography, use the M (manual) mode. Start with an aperture of F8 or F11 at a shutter speed of 2sec. Use a tripod to stabilise the camera.

8 Find the light source: Get into an area where there is more light. Or use styrofoam boards and crinkled aluminium foil wrapped around a flat surface to direct light to your subject.

Torches are useful for illuminating small objects. Candles work well for portraits too.

9 Pre-focus: The auto-focus mechanism may take some time to lock on to the subject.

Aim at a spot on your subject with high contrast, depress the shutter halfway until the focus indicator turns a steady green.

Then recompose the shot and gently squeeze the shutter down all the way.

10 Clean background: If you like shooting macros of flowers, place a coloured cloth behind the flower to remove the distracting background.

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You won't find all these features on a single camera, but these will help to narrow down your choices for a good low-light camera.

Willy Foo, forum moderator of the Club-Snap Photography Community, has been shooting for over 10 years.

JEFFREY TSANG offers 10 tips for digital photographers whose main interest is capturing holiday and family moments

11 Small matters: Select a camera small enough to take with you wherever you go. Whether it is a stunning sunset in Istanbul, or a deer at a salt lick, or your baby's first steps, that super-duper single lens reflex (SLR) is no use to you if it is so bulky it is always sitting in its dry box. Think convenience: small and light.

12 Lean but mean: Just because the camera is small does not mean it should lack optical and electronic muscle. Pick a good camera with three or four megapixels and at least a 3x optical zoom.

13 Long-lasting battery: There is nothing worse than running out of power in the middle of a wedding party.

The practical option is to buy a camera that uses rechargeable AA batteries.

If you have a camera that uses a proprietary battery, buying a spare one is a good investment.

14 Lots of storage room: A trigger-happy photographer needs lots of storage - and batteries.

While you can shoot in low resolution to increase capacity, it defeats the purpose of buying the high-resolution camera in the first place.

So look for memory cards of 512MB and carry a spare.

Alternatively, there is the Digital Wallet with 20GB of space that a camera can download to.

The device comes with a 9-in-1 card reader built-in and a monochrome LCD screen and sells for $195 at South Asia Computer at Funan The IT Mall.

15 Steady self-portraits: For travel photography, the one piece of useful equipment often overlooked is the tripod.

A tripod is useful in low light and for self-portraits.

16 Light up the face: Always keep the light on the subject's face.

And if the light is behind the subject, use the flash, even if it is in broad daylight.

17 Maintain that camera: When not in use, keep your camera dry.

Use proper lens paper to wipe that Carl Zeiss or Leica or Nikon lens - never with tissue paper or, worse, a towel!

18 Sharing photos: After a holiday, one of the greatest joys is to share the photographs with others who were on the trip.

Try Webshots. com where you can get an account, upload the photos into albums and share them with friends.

19 Express prints: While inkjet printers now boast water- and age-resistant inks, I would still go for the tried and tested 'bromide' print.

For example, you can log into www.kodak express.com.sg, upload the pictures, key in your credit card number and receive the photographs in the post in three days.

20 Organise and store: When you have thousands of photographs, storing them is not easy.

Macintosh users should use iPhoto which is great for storing, filing, sharing, printing and creating slide shows.

For the PC platform, many alternatives exist. Check out Photoshop Album 2.0 from Adobe.

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Jeffrey Tsang, who runs a PR consultancy, has been a photography enthusiast for more than 30 years.