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Enter your Best "Dark" or "Low-Key" images

Welcome to the April Critique the Community!  For this contest/critique, we are doing another abstract theme that should allow more photographers to enter. For this month we want to see your most "dark" or "low key" photographs.

How Are Fill Lights Used for Portrait Photography?

You can absolutely create professional-level portraits using nothing but a single key light, but once you move into multi-light setups, you get a bit more creative and technical control over the final image. One of the first ways to do this is by adding a fill light, and this excellent video tutorial will show you what it is and how it can be used to create better portraits. 

A Review of the Affordable and Versatile Samyang AF 45mm f/1.8 FE Lens

Samyang has long been known for producing sharp and highly affordable manual focus lenses, but in recent years, they have moved into producing autofocus lenses as well, while still keeping those budget prices that have endeared them to many photographers. At $299, the AF 45mm f/1.8 FE offers a lot of lens for not a lot of money, and this excellent video review takes a long-term look at the performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice. 

Do You Love and Hate Lightroom as Much as Me?

I have to admit it: I’ve never been on team Lightroom. This may be a bit of a low blow, but Lightroom has always seemed like the sandbox for those who couldn’t play on the big-boy playground: Photoshop, of course.

How to Photograph a Car Outside, but Make It Look Like a Studio

Car photography is a lot of fun and can be highly dynamic, but it represents one of the hardest products to photograph in a studio environment. Not only do you need a large studio that a car can be driven into, but you need huge lights to evenly light the car too. Or do you?

A Review of the Zeiss Loxia 35mm f/2 Lens

Zeiss lenses are known for providing sharp and contrasty images with silky-smooth bokeh, making them favorites of a lot of photographers. For photographers looking for a 35mm lens, one option is the Zeiss Loxia 35mm f/2, and this great video review takes a look at the lens and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in usage.

How To Make Custom Backdrops on a Budget!

Custom-made, hand-painted backdrops were all the rage a few years back. I personally could never justify the price of one, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t wanted to try it out.

A Comprehensive Guide To Street Photography

Street photography is not the easiest genre to get into, especially if you tend to have a more timid personality or enjoy working alone. However, it can be a tremendously interesting one, and even if it is not your primary pursuit, it can do a lot of good to sharpen your skills in many other genres. If you are interesting in street photography and wondering how to get started, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you everything from composition and lighting to gear choices and editing. 

How to Fix a Clipped Bird Wing in Photoshop

There are few things more frustrating than getting the perfect shot with a beautiful pose, lovely background, and perfect lighting, only to discover you accidentally cropped out part of the bird's wing. When that happens, Photoshop can come to the rescue. This helpful video tutorial will show you how to fix a photo with a clipped bird wing using Photoshop. 

Essential Gear for Waterfall and Seascape Photography

I love to photograph waterfalls, rivers, and seascapes. Those subjects make up nearly 50% of my portfolio. And when photographing those, I need to have proper footing to move around freely and focus on the subject and composition. So the topic of this article is proper water shoes that I finally found after testing several brands over the years.

Did You Know About This Tool in Adobe Lightroom?

I must confess, I don't use Adobe Lightroom to anywhere near its full potential. In this video, Nigel Danson walks through a lesser-known tool that is now a staple in his landscape photography.

A Reminder of the Joy of Photography

No doubt, the last few years have been stressful for many of us, and it can be difficult to remember how to destress and find peace and contentment again. Photography should be an escape, however, and this great video reminds us of that. 

A Review of the New Panasonic GH6 Mirrorless Camera

The Panasonic GH6 mirrorless camera is here, and it came with a variety of new features and improvements over the popular GH5. This great video review takes a look at the camera and the sort of performance you can expect from it in practice. 

3 Great Budget Canon Lenses

Canon's RF lenses have been highly impressive, offering fantastic performance and image quality while pushing the envelope of lens design, but on the other hand, many of them are quite expensive. There are some budget gems available, however, and this fantastic video will show you three great options that get you a lot of performance and image quality for not a lot of money. 

A Comprehensive Guide to Canon EF-M Lenses

At the moment, all of the focus on Canon cameras and lenses is on the RF line, but before that series existed, there was the EF-M line, which is still hanging around and offers small and impressively affordable bodies and lenses. If you are looking for such a setup, check out this fantastic video tutorial that offers a comprehensive guide to all the lenses in the EF-M system.

Canon Back to Their Best? A Look at the Canon R5 C

After a long period of mediocrity where Canon sat in the dead zone between going all-in on mirrorless and staying with DSLRs, Canon is back to producing superb cameras. Is this one of their best?

How To Remove Marks on Skin Using Photoshop

One of the most common things you will have to do when retouching is removing various marks and blemishes on skin. Sometimes, this is as straightforward as running an automatic tool over a small area, but for larger, less uniform blemishes, you need some more advanced techniques. This excellent video tutorial will show you how to remove a variety of marks in Photoshop while still retaining skin texture. 

The Advice You Don't Want To Hear That Will Make You a Better Photographer

There are a lot of products out there that promise to make you a better photographer quickly, whether by teaching you some well-kept secret or by offering a magic shortcut known only to seasoned pros. While those can all be quite enticing, the real secret to becoming a better photographer is something we do not always want to hear.