It was one of those unforgettable photo opportunities. Perfect skies, perfect colors, perfect composition. And luckily I had my digital camera with me. So I got the shot.

A few months later that photo caught the attention of the art director for a national real estate magazine. She said the photo was exactly what they were looking for, and wanted permission to use it on the cover of their magazine.

I was flattered. And happy to give permission, as long as they gave me credit for the photo. They agreed and asked me to provide a high resolution master they could work with.

And that's when things fell apart.

See, when I shot the photo, my digital camera was set to record and save in low resolution mode. And unfortunately, low resolution digital photos are simply not acceptable for blowing up and using on the cover of a national magazine.

So the opportunity was missed.

Lesson learned: When using your digital camera to shoot photos, always shoot in the highest resolution your camera can deliver, and set your camera to save in 'uncompressed raw mode' format if available.

This way, when you shoot that 'once in a life time photo', you'll have the necessary image quality to follow through on any opportunities the photo may create.