By now you're probably on your second, third or even your fourth digital camera. You've got more digital photos than you can shake a memory stick at. You've pretty much got this digital imaging thing down. But are you still making some rookie mistakes?

Let's review the things you should and should not do with your digital photos.

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Digital Photo Do's:

Take High-Resolution Pictures

You may have never adjusted the resolution setting on your camera, or you may have purposely chose a low setting that lets you shoehorn the most photos on your memory card. On today's mega-megapixel cameras you will see a definite — if not dramatic — difference in image quality between the lowest and highest setting. Ideally you will want most of your images to have the highest resolution possible, especially for making prints, editing, cropping, enlarging and so forth. Sure, you don’t need a 10-megapixel image to post your old bicycle for sale on eBay, but you will want high-res images of your bicycling tour of Italy.

Use Photo Management Software

Chances are your camera or your PC came with a software program for managing your digital photos, and you should be using it. Photo management applications let you manage your photo library in ways never before possible with film. For example, you can create any number of digital folders or "albums" and you can even place the same photo in multiple albums. To further help you manage your digital photo library, you can tag photos with descriptions, keywords and even GPS coordinates ("geotagging"), all of which make searching a breeze. Finally, you can use photo management software to edit and color-correct photos, archive to disc, upload to the web, and even order prints and custom memorabilia from online photofinishers.

Shoot Often!

What do people love most about their digital camera? Unlike the classic tradition of developing film — and the uncertainty of what you'd find in the developed stack of photos — taking a digital photograph is free and provides instant gratification. Not satisfied with a shot, take it again. Unlike the old days, you don’t have to pay for the shots you don't like, you just delete them. If you've ever watched a professional photographer at a wedding you'll notice they take hundreds, if not thousands, of pictures. The more you take, the better the photos you'll get. So shoot and shoot often.

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Digital Photo Don'ts:

Don't email photos!

Share them online instead. It's easier and it doesnt clog up your recipient's mail account. Use any one of the free sharing web sites like Flickr, Shutterfly or EasyShare to host the photos or albums you want to share. Most allow you to invite only those who you want to see them, and many allow your guests to save your images and order prints of the ones they like. Social networking sites, like Facebook, and photo blogs sites offer other creative ways to share your images.

Don't forget to backup your photos!

It sounds simple, but admit it; you have not been diligent when it comes to backing up. There really is no excuse, as photo management programs (see #2 on the "do" list) make back-ups a breeze. Simply select a photo, an album or your entire library and drag it (or choose export from the menu) to a blank CD, external hard drive or flash drive. Voila, it’s backed up.

Don't edit the original!

Simple edits, like cropping, red-eye removal, etc. can make a mediocre photo look great. But use caution when making these types of edits. Each time you save a compressed file, like the JPEG format used in most digital photos, it recompresses the file, thus reducing its quality further. This is true whether you actually make an edit or not, so be sure not to touch the original.

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Follow these tips and you’ll be on your way to a better digital photography experience!