Recent Education Articles

How to Create This Dramatic Hard Light Portrait

While many photographers shy away from hard light, thinking it is unflattering, portraits can benefit from judicious application of hard shadows and contrast. This excellent video tutorial will show you how to use hard light to create a dramatic and dynamic portrait.

One of the Most Common Mistakes Photographers Make With Artificial Lighting

When it comes to artificial lighting, while technical skills are critical, even more important is learning to light scenes in service of the narrative rather than conspicuous lighting for its own sake. This great video demonstrates that concept and offers five useful steps to put you on the path to success.

Close Out 2023 by Improving Your Photos

While simply photographing whatever you would like whenever the inspiration strikes is a perfectly fine way to enjoy the craft, one of the best ways to improve is to undertake a structured project that progressively grows in difficulty. This six-week challenge is one such project, and it is the perfect way to close out the year.

How to Enhance Freckles in Photoshop

There are a number of reasons why freckles may look washed out in portrait photography. This tutorial provides you with the knowledge and skills to enhance existing freckles.

One of Lightroom's Lesser-Known Useful Features

Learning how to apply batch edits to your images is one of the best ways to increase the efficiency of your workflow. This great video tutorial will show you one such Lightroom tool for doing that.

A Better Way to Sharpen Your Landscape Photos

If you shoot in raw, you will need to sharpen your images in post-processing, but with literally dozens of approaches to doing this, it can be tricky to know the best way to go about such a crucial step. If you would like to improve your landscape images, check out this fantastic video tutorial that features an experienced photographer sharing his approach.

Capturing Sharp Images in Bad Weather

When it gets windy outside, do you get frustrated with blurry photos? There are some camera settings you can change to help ensure you capture sharp images, even on windy days. This video talks about some of those settings that can help make sure your images are sharp.

A Pro Photographer's Guide To Self-Publishing Photobooks

Self-publishing a photo book can be a daunting endeavor. In this video from The Photographic Eye, hear from photographers who have self-published with minimal upfront costs and even turned a profit.

How to Make Flash Look Like Natural Light

Sometimes, you want the look of natural light, but there simply is not enough of it available for a properly balanced exposure. With a little bit of know-how, though, you can replicate the look of natural light, allowing you to create that look whenever and wherever. This helpful video tutorial features an experienced photographer showing you how to do just that.

Developing Your Personal Photography Style

Developing a photographic style is a complicated topic. While having a distinct visual style used to be more important for professional photographers, many hobbyist photographers now also strive to find their aesthetic niche. This great video discusses why this desire for a personal style is so prevalent, then dives into tips and perspective on how to actually formulate your own style over time.

Are You Ready To Improve the Sharpness of Your Landscape Photos?

Do you struggle with getting your landscape photography photos in focus? Or are you confused about when you can use one shot to keep things in focus or need to focus stack? This video addresses how to focus to get sharp landscape photography images.

How Hard Light Can Be Just as Good as Soft Light for Portraits

Creating standout portraits hinges on understanding and controlling light. This excellent video tutorial illuminates how to balance bright sunlight with off-camera flash to sculpt dimension and mood and shows that hard light can be just as compelling as soft light.

The Importance of Finding Balance in Landscape Photos

Finding a good composition can be tricky at times, especially when photographing landscapes. After all, nature can be a bit chaotic. I believe the key to capturing interesting images is finding a good balance in your composition. Of course, this principle applies to other photography genres as well.

A Beginner's Guide to Shutter Speed

Understanding how to leverage shutter speed is one of the biggest keys to mastering photography. This highly informative video provides a comprehensive beginner's guide to shutter speed, with tips for both basic and more creative techniques.

Helpful Advice for Photography Beginners

Photography can be a bit daunting when you are new to the craft, with a wide range of technical and creative concepts and techniques sitting before you. If you are unsure of where to start, check out this great video tutorial that details some of the most important fundamentals and how they affect the creation of an image.

How One Photographer Landed Clients Like the New York Times

Being good with a camera and having creative vision is, of course, crucial to finding professional success, but it is not enough. Knowing how to land and retain high-impact clients is one of the most important skills a professional can have. This great video essay features an experienced photographer discussing how he has landed clients like the New York Times in the course of a storied career.

The Best Apps for Planning Photo Shoots

Smartphones are incredibly powerful tools, and they offer a ton of apps and features that make them one of the most useful things a photographer can carry with them. With the huge number of apps out there, it can be tricky to know which is right for you and your work. This fantastic video tutorial features an experienced photographer walking you through some of the best options.

A Guide to Editing a Landscape Photo

Rarely is a landscape photo finished the moment you press the shutter; almost every image requires some degree of editing, both to add your personal creative touch and to give it a polished presentation. If you are new to the genre and ready to learn, check out this fantastic video tutorial that features an experienced photographer showing you how he edits an image from start to finish using Lightroom.

Making the Unremarkable Look Remarkable

If you look at some of the most popular photos on social media, they are often of some of the most famous locations in the world, and the argument can be made that while a lot of talent goes into those images, the locations do a fair amount of the heavy lifting too. There is something to be said for making remarkable photos of the unremarkable, and this great video essay takes a look at that idea.

Improve Your Composition by Not Fixating on These 5 Things

Curiosity and fascination are very helpful things that can fuel a photographer to capture stunning images. However, as we get inspired by spectacular things that we see, it is necessary that we also have composure to make the most out of whatever we are photographing.

What a Landscape Photographer Has Learned After Two Decades in the Craft

Landscape photography can be a lonely genre, and it can be easy to fall into seeking external validation and creating the same images over and over. However, living fully in the present, trying new things, and taking risks leads to photographic growth. That's one of the most important lessons an experienced landscape photographer has learned over 20 years.

The Ultimate Checklist for Staging Property Photography

Creating an effective staging plan for property photography involves careful planning, attention to detail, and a focus on highlighting the property's best features. Here's a comprehensive staging plan that I use that includes the use of props and emphasizes cleanliness.

3 Steps for Better Seascape Photos

The sea is constantly changing, and that means you always have opportunities to create unique images just about whenever you are ready to pull out your camera. If you would like you create better seascape photos, check out this fantastic video tutorial that features an experienced photographer sharing three steps that will help you improve your shots.

Luck and Opportunity in Photography

A good photographer prepares and prepares some more, but things are rarely totally in our control. And so, there is often an element of luck involved in the craft. Why is it the best photographers seem to be some of the luckiest? This great video follows a photographer working through some images and discussing why luck often isn't really luck at all.

Important Truths About Being a Professional Photographer

Being a photographer can be a challenging but rewarding career, but it is not without risks one should be aware of before they choose to enter it. This fantastic video essay features an experienced commercial photographer discussing some important truths about being a professional that every creative should be aware of.

How to Get Started in Large Format Photography

Large format photography is unlike nothing else you have seen before, allowing you to create humongous negatives full of incredible levels of detail and creative renderings not possible with 35mm or even medium format. However, large format photography requires an entirely different approach and set of techniques, which can make it a bit intimidating. Don't fear, though, as this fantastic video tutorial will show you everything you need to know to get started.

Evolving as a Landscape Photographer

One of the best parts of landscape photography is that you can return to a location over and over as you grow as a photographer and see how your technique has progressed and your creative tastes have grown. This great video features an experienced photographer discussing evolution as a creative and sharing some of his experiences along the way.

Should You Use Manual Mode or Aperture Priority?

Manual and aperture priority are two of the most common modes photographers use, but when you are new to the craft, it might be difficult to know when to use which. This excellent video tutorial discusses manual and aperture priority modes, including how they work and when each is appropriate.

The Power of Tone Curves in Lightroom

Tone curves can be a rather intimidating tool for many photographers, and as such, many users avoid using them, opting instead for the editing sliders in Lightroom. However, curves are a tremendously powerful, precise, and versatile tool for performing a ton of editing tasks, and it is well worth learning them. This helpful video tutorial will show you everything you need to know to take full advantage of curves in Lightroom.

How to Deal With Harsh Sunlight in Portrait Photography

The beauty of working with flash is that you can walk into any lighting situation and shape it to your creative vision and needs, and that frees you from relying on the sun to cooperate and to dictate your shoot's timing and location. Perhaps no scenario is more challenging than harsh midday light. This helpful video tutorial will show you how to use off-camera flash to work with that harsh light to create compelling portraits.

How to Take Sharper Photos

Of all the qualities a photo can have, almost every photographer strives to create sharp images. A lot of objective and subjective quantities can affect the appearance of sharpness in a shot, and the sooner you can take control of all of them, the better your photos will be. This excellent video tutorial features an experienced photographer sharing a wide range of helpful advice for creating sharp images that pop off the screen.

Dealing With Rain in Landscape Photography

Few people enjoy getting soaked in the rain, and as such, it can be tempting to avoid even heading out when the drops start flying. Nonetheless, if you are willing to brave the inclement weather, it can make for some interesting landscape images. This great video follows an experienced landscape photographer as he deals with heavy rain and tries to make worthwhile images.

Landscape Photographers: Be the Example in Nature

As outdoor recreation areas become more crowded, the adverse effects on the landscape become more evident. Landscape photographers can help set the example by practicing Nature First Principles while we are out in nature photographing these beautiful scenes.

I Wish I Had Known This Photoshop Trick Earlier

In this video tutorial by Christian Möhrle, you'll learn a great technique for improving your wide-angle photos by enlarging distant subjects in your landscape photos.

How to Capture Epic Timelapses

When I think of timelapse photography there are many things that come to mind, however, there is one person who in particular comes to mind and that is the one and only Michael Shainblum. In this video, he not only shares his approach, tips, and techniques but graces us with some incredible footage to cement the idea of just how incredible timelapses can be.

Mistakes That Hold You Back as a Photographer

Becoming a confident and consistently good photographer is a complex and long journey with plenty of stops along the way. If you find yourself at the start of that journey, check out this fantastic video tutorial that features an experienced professional discussing some common mistakes that tend to hold back budding photographers and how to get yourself back on the right track.

Five Mistakes That Ruin the Quality of Your Film Images

Film photography has enjoyed a notable resurgence in recent years, offering users a chance to take part in a different approach to the craft and enjoy a more tactile and nostalgic process. Just like digital, though, there are some common pitfalls that can derail the quality of your images. This excellent video tutorial discusses five such pitfalls and what you can do to improve the quality of your film photos.

A Comprehensive Guide to Architectural Photography

Architectural photography is a challenging and rewarding genre that requires a lot of technical know-how and specialized skills. If you are interested in architectural photography and ready to grow, check out this fantastic video tutorial that features an experienced architectural photographer sharing in-depth knowledge about everything you need to know to create stunning images.

5 Easy and Popular Wedding Video Effects

Wedding videography is a fun and challenging genre that will keep you on your toes and give you an opportunity to capture one of the happiest day's of a couple's lives. And while the footage you capture is obviously important, what you do with it in post-processing is just as important. This helpful video tutorial will show you five easy and effective effects you can apply to your footage to make your final product more compelling and exciting.

The Art of Noticing Potential Photos

One of the subtlest and yet most important skills an accomplished photographer has is the ability to look at a scene, no matter how ordinary, and find a way to portray it that captures the viewer's eye and imagination. How does one go about actually doing that? This great video follows one photographer discussing the process.

59 Lightroom Terms Every Photographer Should Know

Lightroom has grown from a cataloging application with basic editing capabilities to an advancing post-processing program capable of tackling a huge range of creative needs. If you are new to using Lightroom and feeling like the full gamut of features is a bit daunting, check out this fantastic video tutorial that features an experienced pro showing you 59 Lightroom terms and tools you will need to know in order to get around the program.

How Do You Make Unique Photos at Popular Locations?

There are some timeless, popular landscape photography locations that countless photographers visit every year. And while those places are certainly popular for a reason, the downside is that it can be quite difficult to create unique images that stand out from the thousands of others from the same spot. So, how do you go about rising above the crowd? This excellent video tutorial features an experienced landscape photographer discussing the issue.

How to Use This Powerful New Lightroom Feature

Lightroom has undergone some major transformation in recent years and has grown into a far more powerful editing platform, making it quite convenient for anyone who also uses the program to catalog their images and who doesn't want to round-trip between other applications. One of its newest features is Point Color, which revamps how the program approaches editing colors by offering far more control. This fantastic video tutorial will show you what Point Color is and how to use it in your own images.

How To Get the Most Out of Lightroom's and Photoshop's Masking Capabilities

Lightroom and Photoshop have taken some massive steps forward with regards to their masking capabilities in the last few iterations, and if you have not taken the time to dive into all the new features yet, you are definitely missing out. This fantastic video tutorial takes a look at some of the best new capabilities and offers a range of tips to help you get the most out of them, making your workflow both easier and more efficient.