The histogram is that graph that accompanies your image. It tells you a lot about not only about the exposure, but also the contrast of your photograph. Knowing how it works can help you improve your photography, and it’s not a difficult thing to learn.

Lighting dictates an enormous amount about your final image, from mood and feel, to exposure and color. However, whether the light is hard or soft can also make a significant difference, and knowing when to use each is crucial. In this video, learn different lighting setups for each and the benefits of them.

There are lots of people who like and prefer a natural light look over flash, but sometimes the conditions outside may not cooperate with you to produce great results. Sometimes you have to grab a flash, here's a few ways you can get a more natural look when you do.

One of the biggest confusions that you might notice as you venture into astrophotography is that photographers and astronomers measure their equipment differently. Photographers tend to refer to their lenses in terms of their focal length, while astronomers refer to their telescopes by the diameter of their opening. Thus, a 75mm f/6 telescope has a focal length of 450mm. Meanwhile, a 75mm camera lens at f/6 has an aperture of 12.5mm. If a photographer is told that someone is shooting a 155mm lens hand-held, it would not raise an eyebrow, but an astronomer told the same thing would be incredulous! I can only barely lift my 155mm telescope onto its mount!

I've been a satisfied user of the Nik tools suite going way back to 1995 before Google bought, then dropped it. In 2017 DxO rescued the popular suite of editing tools, and they've never been better.

If you want to create a YouTube video for your photography, and you don't just want a talking-head on the screen for five to ten minutes, then you need to plan it out before you even turn on a camera. These YouTube creators with over 200K subscribers detail how they go about planning each of their videos.

At the alarming rate of destruction and wanton littering and waste that is happening globally, is it time for us as photographers to stop publicly announcing the location of our shoots?

Wedding photography requires you to be at the top of your game, as there are a lot of must-have shots and no second chances. One of the most important sets of images is the family formals, and this helpful video tutorial will show you how to shoot them quickly, effectively, and with as little stress as possible.

It has never been an easy task to make a profession out of something that is fun, and to keep that thing fun, and in 2021 photography is certainly no exception, but are our expectations wrong?

I make a habit of spilling as much ink as possible in this column towards extolling the virtues of making your gear purchases based on business needs rather than emotion. In today’s article, I will do the opposite.

Unfortunately, wedding reception venues are not really designed with photographers in mind and are often quite dark, but your clients will still expect high-quality photos of their special day. So, how can you ensure that you are getting top-notch images? This helpful video tutorial features a seasoned wedding photographer sharing five tips to improve your wedding reception lighting.

Camera gear has become remarkably advanced, but on the other hand, it has also become rather expensive. At what point are camera bodies and lenses simply too expensive? This interesting video discussion addresses the topic and if camera gear is simply too pricey nowadays.

It is incredibly important for stories to be told by people who have a lived experience of the situation. Mayeul Akpovi does just this with his incredible time-lapse videos of African cities.

We talk a lot about the many things it takes to be a successful photographer, including strong creativity, good technique, and excellent business skills. However, before anything else, it requires the proper mindset for success. If you struggle with that, this fantastic video essay will help you get back on the right track.

It might seem like a strange thing to reduce the size of stars in a night sky photo, but if you want to better show off deep-sky objects, it can help bring them to the fore. With so many stars in the sky, it can be a bit of a tedious task, however. This great video tutorial will show you three different methods for reducing the size of stars both easily and efficiently.

The ideal situation is to take a photo that requires no editing whatsoever. But those shots are few and far between. In most cases, it's important to edit photos in order to develop them properly, but how long is too long when it comes to image editing? I'll be taking a look using Lightroom.

Film photographers revere only one thing as much as the camera they're shooting with, and that's film stocks. Every film photographer has some favorites, but here are one photographer's picks that won't cost you the earth.

Videography has become more demanding than ever before in terms of expected quality. While much of this difficulty is found behind the camera, on location, your edit makes up a large part of it too. In this video, find out how one videographer makes his videos pop in the post-production phase.

Noise removal is a challenge in photography. In raw processing, it can leave images looking muddy. Then, Topaz DeNoise AI came along and changed the game. Now, On1 has launched their own specialist AI-driven software to snap at its heels. Will their NoNoise AI rule supreme?

Canon recently released a list of RF lenses that it cannot meet the demand for. Is this simply poor planning or a clear sign that its new lenses are exceeding expectations?

Landscape photography during the summer months can lead to a motivational slump due to the weather conditions. Bright sunshine, clear blue skies, long daylight hours, and busy locations can often lead to a drop in productivity and creativity for the landscape photographer.

The basic workflow for most photographers is taking a photo, pulling out the memory card, putting it in the computer, and importing photos into their processing application of choice. However, many professional studio photographers use tethering to more efficiently transfer their images to their computer, but it comes with a lot more benefits than just making the pipeline more efficient. This awesome video will show you some of the benefits and why you should consider implementing it in your work.

For most photographers, Lightroom is the place where their photos start and often, where they finish. When you are first starting in photography, it is probably the program you will first need to master, and this excellent video tutorial will show you how everything you need to know about editing a photo with it.

Last week, the head of Instagram declared that the platform is no longer an app for sharing photos. Photographers are now turning to Twitter in their droves. Why is Instagram abandoning its roots and what makes Twitter the best alternative?

Sensor size is one of the most fundamental and influential aspects of a camera, and often, when you buy into a certain camera system, you are committing yourself to a certain sensor size unless you spend a lot of money to switch systems again. So, what is the right sensor size for your work? This excellent video discusses why sensor size matters and what the right choice for your wants and needs is.

Nikon mirrorless shooters have two new lenses at their disposal, the NIKKOR Z MC 50mm f/2.8 Macro and the NIKKOR Z MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S Macro. While both offer the 1:1 magnification of a true macro lens, there are some major differences between the two. This helpful video review compares both options to show you which is the proper one for your work.

For the past several years, the film community has seen a surprisingly strong revival that has brought with it some new film stocks, the return of old favorites, and unsustainable high prices.

I’ve been a longtime Panasonic Lumix shooter, and while even though it may seem like Micro Four Thirds may be a standard that’s in its twilight, there are still a lot of good deals to be had for filmmakers on a budget: Witness the Panasonic Lumix G85.

There are a lot of keys that unlock great-looking video productions, and one, in particular, is your b-roll. Not only can it improve your story-telling and flow, but it can keep the viewer engaged and watching — something more important than ever in today's world of distractions. Here is how you can shoot a great b-roll sequence from start to finish.

Most photographers try their absolute best to avoid ISO noise in their photos and some spend an age trying to rid their images of it in image editing software. But it's not as much of a problem as you think and here's why.

Kit lenses frequently get a bad reputation as it is, but one photography instructor took things to the next level and banned them from her course. As is typical on the internet, outrage ensued.

Composition and camera settings reign above all in landscape photography, and a good image is made in the choices you make at that stage. This fantastic video tutorial follows a seasoned landscape photographer as he visits four different locations and discusses the light, his composition, lens choices, settings, and more that lead to his final images.

There's plenty of dumb stuff that people say when they get into photography. So, let's dispel some of the common myths that are floating around.

Canon has been blazing full speed ahead with its RF lenses, with two of the new models being the RF 800mm f/11 IS STM and the RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS USM. Both feature some of the company's latest designs and features, but offer vastly different capabilities and price points. Which one is right for you? This excellent video comparison takes a look at the image quality and experience of using both.

In landscape photography, a single scene can yield vastly different images simply by how you choose your camera settings. As such, this is a place where a lot of things can go awry. If you are new to landscape work, this helpful video tutorial will show you some common mistakes beginner landscape photographers make with their camera settings and how to fix them to create more effective images.

I love using reflections for my landscape photography. A nice sunrise or sunset with a reflection of the colored sky in a pond or lake is very rewarding. But you can find reflections everywhere. I tell you about it in this article.

Now that the Sony a1 is out, a lot of the market's attention has been turned toward Canon and Nikon, who are readying the EOS R3 and Z 9, respectively, for announcement. It looks like Canon's EOS R3 will arrive first, in just a few months.

Chromatic aberration is by far one of the most common lens issues you will have to deal with, particularly with cheaper lenses or wide-aperture primes, and it can be quite distracting if not addressed. Thankfully, most post-processing programs can handle it quite easily nowadays. This awesome video tutorial will show you how to quickly and easily remove chromatic aberrations with just a few clicks using Lightroom.

Datacolor has released a brilliant new bundle to help you manage your colors and deliver better results. The new SpyderX Create Kit includes the world's fastest display calibrator the SpyderX Pro along with several accessories including the ColorReader EZ.

Many photographers have made the switch to Canon's recently fleshed-out ecosystem, but that might not mean they have sold all their glass. Instead, there are many options for adapting Canon EF lenses to the new Canon RF mount. Here is a comparison of the three official Canon adaptors.

Now that all the major camera companies are heavily invested in mirrorless, a lot of attention has turned to the arms race of sorts between Sony, Nikon, and Canon at the upper tier of camera bodies. We have seen the Sony a1, we know the EOS R3 and R1 are coming, and now, it seems we know quite a bit more about the Nikon's upcoming flagship, the Z 9.

Every time a piece of software catches attention, a question many photographers ask is how useful it is in a professional workflow. This is exactly what this article is aimed to answer about Zoner Photo Studio X. I used it in a professional photography workflow and saw how it could be integrated.

Once you have the basics of using artificial lighting down, you can start to really explore your creativity and develop a recognizable personal style by exploring more unique ways of using lighting. This quick and to-the-point video tutorial will give a few helpful tips and ideas for creative lighting for portraits.

How do you go about choosing lenses for what you're going to shoot? In this video, Roger Deakins shares his methods. The rules aren't made up by filmmakers. It's about how you want your audience to experience the shot.

A photography workshop is a fantastic way to fast-track your learning, but going into it completely blind might cost you time and money, so it's essential you do these eight things before attending.

Photoshop offers a huge range of ways to make selections for extracting parts of a frame or creating layers masks, each appropriate for different situations. The Select and Mask workspace offers a very straightforward and powerful method for tackling a variety of tricky selection scenarios, and this helpful video tutorial will show you everything you need to know to get the most out of it.

Macro photography has many challenges that are unique to it, but when you can overcome them, you can produce entrancing photos of seemingly mundane things right around you. The learning curve can be a bit steep, though, so if you are new to macro work, be sure to check out this fantastic video tutorial that shows eight mistakes beginners commonly make and how to fix them or avoid them altogether.

As a long-time user of Silver Efex, I wanted to answer the question for myself: is the update to the Nik Silver Efex Pro plugin alone worth the upgrade? So, I downloaded the latest version of the Nik plugin suite from the DxO website and gave it a test drive. Here are my initial impressions.