Recent Education Articles

5 Ways to Speed Up Your Photo Retouching

Retouching can be a very time-intensive process, and as such, it is well worth finding ways to streamline your workflow wherever you can. This excellent video tutorial features an experienced pro sharing five ways you can make your post-processing workflow more efficient.

5 Things You Should Do When You Buy a Large Telephoto Lens

Large telephoto lenses are some of the most powerful and exciting optical tools out there, able to capture faraway action like birds or sports and create dynamic images. Nonetheless, they take some special considerations in order to get the most out of them and to ensure you are not straining yourself physically when using one. This helpful video tutorial discusses five things you should do whenever you buy a large telephoto lens.

A Beginner's Guide to Portrait Photography With One Light

If you look at the work of professional portrait photographers, it can be easy to be fooled into thinking that it is not possible to create high-level images with just a single light. This could not be further from the truth, though. If you are new to working with artificial light, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you how to shoot compelling portraits using just one light and a portable modifier.

An Effective Technique for Fixing Blown Landscape Photo Highlights in Photoshop

Landscape photography often places tremendous dynamic range demands on your camera, and while there are ways for dealing with this, sometimes, you will come home with an image that has blown highlights, which can distract from an otherwise compelling photo. If you find yourself in that situation, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you how to make them look more natural using Photoshop.

Why Most Landscape Photographers Should Use Zoom Lenses

Many photographers regard prime lenses as superior to zooms, since they often offer better image quality and more creative versatility via their wider apertures. Nonetheless, when it comes to landscape photography, sometimes, the balance of requirements is a bit different. This excellent video features an experienced professional discussing why zoom lenses are the better choice for most landscape photographers.

Things Professional Photographers Should Invest In

Where you invest your money as a professional photographer is one of the most important decisions you can make, and as such, it is something worth of careful consideration to ensure you are not wasting your money on unneeded gimmicks. This helpful video tutorial features an experienced pro sharing what he invests in to ensure he can do his job easily and deliver the best possible images.

3 Easy and Creative One-light Portrait Photography Setups

When you look at the work of professional portrait photographers, you might think that you need complex multi-light setups in order to produce top-level images. And while it is true that two- or three- light setups are common, you might be surprised by what you can accomplish with just a single light. This great video tutorial will show you three easy and creative one-light portrait photography setups.

Are You Getting Everything You Can From Your Landscape Photography Locations?

Landscape photography often requires significant physical effort simply to get to a location, and as such, it is worth ensuring you are getting everything you can from one spot before you move on to the next place. This excellent video tutorial walks you through the process of taking multiple images in a single location to show you how to maximize the return on your effort.

3 Fun and Easy Spring Photography Ideas for Beginners

Spring is here, and it brings with it a veritable plethora of fun and interesting photography opportunities. If you are ready to bust out your camera and shake off the rust from winter, check out this great video tutorial that will show three fun and easy spring photography ideas to get you rolling, along with some helpful advice for improving your images.

Improve Your Landscape Photos by Including and Excluding These Things

Creating a successful landscape image takes a variety of factors, including good technique, solid planning, a knowledge of lighting, and more. Composition is one of the most challenging aspects, and it takes a keen knowledge of what to include in the frame, what to exclude, and how to position them all. If that is something you find yourself struggling with, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you some solid advice sure to help you improve.

The Difference Between Opacity and Fill in Photoshop

Photoshop has a huge array of tools and features, and many of them have a bit of overlap between their purposes and functions. Two of the most fundamental tools in the program are the opacity and fill sliders. If you have tested them out and are not quite sure of the differences between the two, check out this excellent video tutorial that will show you everything you need to know, along with a wide range of helpful examples and exercises.

10 Helpful Tips for Buying a Camera

Buying a camera is one of the most exciting and important decisions a photographer can make, and as such, it deserves some careful thought. Before you pull out your credit card, check out this fantastic video tutorial that offers 10 bits of helpful advice to help ensure you pick the right camera for your needs, wants, and budget.

Essential Golden Hour Photoshoot Tips for Photographers

Golden hour is a magical time of the day for photography, characterized by warm and soft light that can turn even the most mundane scenes into stunning works of art. This period occurs twice a day, during the hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset, and is highly sought after by photographers for its dreamy and ethereal qualities.

The Joys of Camping for Landscape Photography

While you can do it at any time of day you wish, landscape photography is often done around sunrise and sunset, and that can often require you to be in position, far from home, at very early and late hours. And because of that, camping for landscape photography can not only be fun, it can be quite practical for getting the shots you want. This fun video follows a landscape photographer as he camps overnight and shows you the experience.

6 Lesser-known Landscape Photography Editing Techniques in Lightroom

Lightroom has become impressively capable in the last few years, easily able to edit a wide range of landscape images from start to finish. With all these capabilities and features, it can be easy to overlook some of the options at your disposal. If you would like to expand your abilities, check out this great video tutorial that discusses six useful techniques for editing landscape images.

Dealing With Fear as a Photographer

Photography is a challenging career, particularly since it does not have the sort of well-established stable path that something like a more traditional job does. Fear is a natural thing to arise from that experience, and as such, it is important to be prepared for it and ready to handle it in a healthy manner. This great video essay features an experienced pro discussing the issue and how to cope with fear.

A Look at 10 Effective Wedding Photos and the Camera Settings Behind Them

Wedding photography is a challenging genre that takes rock-solid technique, the ability to think quickly on your feet, and calmness under pressure. If you would like to learn how to become a better wedding photographer, check out this fantastic video tutorial that features an experienced wedding professional discussing 10 of her photos and how she chose the camera settings for them.

4 Important Elements of a Good Image

An effective and compelling photo takes a combination of qualitative factors and solid technique, and it can be difficult as a beginner to find a balance between all those things. If you are new to photography and interested in improving your images, check out this fantastic video tutorial that discusses four crucial aspects that make a memorable shot.

A Common Lighting Mistake Portrait Photographers Make

Portrait lighting takes a good eye for nuance, and as such, it can be easy to overlook smaller details that detract from the overall quality of the image. If you would like to improve your portrait lighting, check out this helpful video tutorial that demonstrates a common mistakes and how you can fix it to improve the quality of your portraits.

What Makes a Good Camera?

Photographers have more choice than ever when it comes to cameras, and there is an option for just about every budget and set of needs. So, what is a good camera? How do you make the right choice for you? This great video features an experienced photographer discussing the issue, mistakes he has made over the years, and how to find what is right for you.

6 Common Wildlife Photography Mistakes and How to Fix Them

Wildlife photography is a challenging genre that requires sound technique, specialized equipment, particular knowledge, and heaps of patience, often for just a few seconds of prime opportunity for a shot. Whether you are new to the genre or a seasoned pro, this helpful video tutorial will show you six common mistakes wildlife photographers make and how to fix them or avoid them in the first place.

The Damage We Inadvertently Do in Photography

I’ve long been a believer that wildlife and landscape photography does a lot of good for wildlife by raising awareness of conservation issues. But there’s a problem that many of us don’t consider. Are you aware of what can you do to ensure your photography is doing more good than harm?

Two Big Reasons Amateur Photographers Are Afraid to Become Professionals

Becoming a professional photographer can be a scary thing, especially because, unlike a traditional job, the pathway to sustainable success is much more nebulous and often changing. What are the most common fears people have about becoming a pro? How can you mitigate those fears? This excellent video features an experience professional photographer discussing the topic.

How to Deal With Rejection as a Freelance Photographer

When going freelance in any profession, you will get faced with rejection after rejection. Not getting enough love on social media, emails not being replied to, and inquiries not leading to bookings are frustrating parts of running a self-employed photography business. “Don’t take it personally,” they say. But how?

Applications Open for Canon's Incubator: Futures (Year Three)

Canon Canada has opened applications for the third cohort of its FUTURES program. Canon's FUTURES is geared to helping emerging storytellers between 20 and 25 years old develop their craft and business acumen. It's heartening to see a major international corporation make a point of nurturing the users of their products. Hurry, applications close on June 30!

How to Light a Portrait Using a Single Speedlight

Portrait lighting can sometimes take complex multi-light setups, but you would be surprised at what you can accomplish with just a single light — even only a speedlight. In fact, you can even create professional images with one, and it is a great place from which to start as a beginner to artificial light. This excellent video tutorial will show you how to use a single speedlight to create compelling portrait images.

10 Books Every Photographer Should Read Now

As a photographer, focusing on improving your craft is one of the most important things to do. Money can buy the latest equipment, but it can't buy you knowledge of how to use that equipment.

A Look at How to Make Expressive Landscape Photos

One of the challenges of landscape photography is creating expressive images, as you have little control over what appears in the frame compared to most other genres. If that is something you struggle with, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will share some helpful advice for creating expressive images and how to deal with issues like composition, aspect ratios, and perspective shift.

A Versatile and Effective Two-lens Kit for Landscape Photography

The beauty of landscape photography is that there are so many different ways to photograph the same scene. As such, it is nice to have options to cover the full range of scenarios, but that also needs to be balanced by keeping the amount of bulk you are hiking with in check. This excellent video discusses a versatile two-lens kit that will not break the bank or your back.

The Beauty of the Ordinary

There are a lot of iconic locations out there, and it can be wonderful to travel to and photograph them, but there is a lot of beauty in the ordinary and what is around us, and you are missing out if you overlook the places you pass by every day. This great video tutorial discusses the power of the ordinary and why embracing it will make you both a better and more content photographer.

Shutterfest 2023: Unlocking the F.U.N.damentals of Photography

Shutterfest stands out as my favorite photography conference to attend each year! As I write this, I am wrapping up day three of the affair. I always look forward to the various workshops, lectures, and unique experiences available throughout this fun-filled event like no other.

3 Ways to Fix Uninspiring Portraits

Have you ever set up your lights, gone through the poses, gotten back to your computer, and realized you have taken some perfectly competent but uninspiring photos? If that is a situation you have recently found yourself in, check out this fantastic video tutorial that features an experienced portrait photographer sharing three different ways to reinvigorate your images.

The Seven Essential Elements for Improving Your Photos

There are different opinions about what makes good photography. Many suggest it’s a single ingredient; they are wrong. If we want to grow in our art, it’s by combining seven elements that we have any hope of improving.

How to Add Glow in Photoshop

Here's a super quick and easy method of adding glow to objects in Photoshop using layers, blending modes, and brushes. This technique can be used to make light sources in your images look more realistic, or add some pop to a portrait. This tutorial would be helpful to anyone looking to start using layer masks and blend modes in Photoshop.
How to Take Better Rainy Landscape Photos

When you step outside and are greeted by rainy weather, it can be tempting to turn around and head right back inside. However, if you are willing to brave those mundane conditions, you might be rewarded with worthwhile landscape images. This helpful video tutorial offers five tips to increase your chances of coming home with compelling shots.

Why You're Being Ghosted by Potential Clients

How many times have you had a promising conversation started with a potential client, only for them to simply stop responding to you, never completing a booking? It is a very frustrating but also very common experience. This helpful video tutorial shares some useful advice and techniques to decrease that ghosting rate and land more clients.

A Look at How to Break Out of a Creative Rut

Whether you are a new hobbyist or a seasoned professional, creative ruts are something that happens to all of us, and trying to get out of them can be a frustrating exercise that only makes them worse. If you find yourself mired in a creative rut, check out this helpful video that features a photographer sharing what helped him break free and get back to work.

How to Improve Your Sports Action Photography

When it comes to sports portraits and action photography, employing a bit of artificial light can make a huge difference by giving you the ability to shape the look of the frame and add a lot of drama to the image. If you are ready to get started working with artificial light in your sports action portraiture, check out this excellent video tutorial that will give you a range of helpful tips and advice sure to put you on the right track.

How to Take Unique Landscape Photos in Popular Places

Popular landscape locations are like that for a reason: they are often quite breathtaking and can be a real joy to experience. Nonetheless, the challenge is creating unique imagery that stands out from the thousands of other photos of the location. How can you do that? This great video tutorial features an experienced landscape photographer discussing the dilemma and how you might approach it.

The Importance of Knowing and Photographing Your Local Landscapes

When you look at landscape photography online, you will probably notice that, for the most part, it is of extraordinary locations that are difficult and pricey to reach, at best. And beyond that, you have further issues to contend with, such as distinguishing your images among the thousands of others created at the spot. This great video tutorial discusses why you should be embracing your local area and how to go about doing it.

How to Color Grade Images in Lightroom

Color grading is a subtle art, and yet, it is one of the most powerful ways to give your image a professional look, convey a certain mood, and establish a recognizable personal style. If you are new to the technique and looking for some advice on how to do it in a professional manner, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you a wide range of useful tips and techniques for color grading images in Lightroom.

Make Your Own Film Presets With This Simple Tutorial

The nostalgia of film and the decades gone is fascinating so no wonder film presets and looks are popular to buy for your editing software. They’re pretty easy to make yourself if you put a little bit of time into understanding what elements in editing make the film look different from digital. Follow my tutorial to make your own vintage film presets for Capture One, Lightroom or PhotoShop.

How to Edit Skies in Landscape Photos in Lightroom

The way you edit the sky can have a tremendous impact on not just the quality of a landscape images, but the mood it conveys to the viewer. Lightroom offers a lot of power and versatility for editing skies, and this fantastic video tutorial will show you how to take advantage of those capabilities to create better and more precise edits.

Helpful Tips for Using Your First Ultra-wide Angle Lens

The ultra-wide angle lens is one of the most exciting out there, able to take sprawling, majestic scenes and bring their entirety into a single frame. They can be rather challenging to use, however. If you just picked up your first ultra-wide angle lens and you are ready to get started, check out this helpful video tutorial that will give you a range of useful advice sure to have you on your way in no time.

One of the Biggest Pitfalls of Being a Professional Photographer

Without a doubt, finding success as a professional photographer takes solid technique and a strong creative voice, but those alone are not sufficient. Becoming a successful professional takes quite a bit of business savvy, including the ability to monetize your work, anticipate market trends, and understand how to convert one-time clients into loyal returning customers. This great video essay featured an experienced pro discussing one of the most common mistakes newer professionals make and how you can fix it.

5 Common Landscape Photography Mistakes

Landscape photography is a challenging genre that takes a combination of strong technical skills, planning ahead, a keen awareness of conditions, and often, a smidgen of luck. As such, there are a lot of places where things can go a bit wrong and end up derailing your images. This great video tutorial details five such mistakes and how to fix them or avoid them altogether.