4 megapixels cameras produce nice images making  photo-lab quality 4×6s, and great 5×7s and 6×9s.  They also provide nice 8×10 prints. A nice  1 or 2 GB memory card allows you plenty of storage for multiple shots. Most simple point and shoot cameras produce good high quality photos.

If you have a more complicated camera, shutter speed and aperture opening controls are important to learn.

Shutter Speed: The camera shutter opens to begin an exposure and closes to end it. The shutter speed setting determines how long the shutter stays opens to expose the image sensor.  Each stop is a second or more, or a fraction of second indicating how long the shutter is open.

For fast-moving subjects you need a fast shutter speed

Aperture Opening: The aperture is the hole through which light enters the camera. The size of the hole can be changed to control the brightness of the light that reaches the image sensor. The f/stops indicates the size of the opening through which light enters

For maximum depth of field, with the entire scene sharp from near to far, you need a small aperture