Natural light can be more versatile than you might think, and with a good understanding of how to shape it and orient your subject within it, you can create a wide variety of compelling photos. This helpful video tutorial will show you three different natural light setups you can use for portraits along with some great tips to get the most out of each of them.
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.
This editing technique is something every landscape photographer should learn. It can be especially helpful when you're approaching an image with a few technical flaws.
There is a love-hate relationship when it comes to the rule of thirds. Some love it, others resent it. It is said to kill creativity, but it can help you get a more attractive image. I believe we often use the rule of thirds the wrong way.
Few of us will ever become truly great photographers, but giving yourself the best chance of it is still very much worthwhile. There is one method that is certainly a key ingredient, but it's often overlooked because it's not as interesting as buying new equipment or traveling to new places.
Modern cameras offer a wide variety of settings to change the behavior and customize to your own preferences. There are also a lot of basic settings you choose once and forget about it. Did you know there are settings you can ignore completely? I found eight of those.
Growing and sustaining a photography business has never been for the faint of heart, but it is possible to do if you have an excellent, multi-faceted plan. I recently collaborated with Lancaster, PA based headshot photographer Richard Waine to compile a list of 20 steps photographers can take to get their phone ringing, and build a business that stands the test of time. These tips will be presented in four installments.
Using flash for portrait photography is something that scares a lot of photographers, but once you master it, you will wonder how you ever worked without the complete creative and technical control it offers. If you are just starting out and unsure of how to get rolling, check out this fantastically comprehensive video tutorial that covers everything from the different types of flash through to how to use TTL and complex multi-light setups.
When it comes to dodging and burning, you probably think of using it on portraits, but really, it is a technique that can improve your photos in just about any genre, landscape photography included. If you are wondering how to apply it to your own work, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you how to do it entirely in Lightroom.
One of the beautiful things about landscape photography is that your camera settings play two roles: providing a technically correct exposure and just as importantly, allowing you to render the frame in the way your creative mind sees fit. There are some camera settings you need to make sure you have down, however, and if you are new to the genre, this helpful video tutorial will make sure you know what they are and how to properly use them.
If you have ever seen images of deep space objects like nebulae and galaxies while perusing the internet today, you may have wondered why they look the way they do. I mean, it’s not all difficult to point your camera up and take pictures of the night sky. But there’s a lot more to it than that.
Composition is something a lot of newer landscape photographers struggle with, particularly since it cannot be as easily codified as something like the right camera settings. If you are learning landscape photography and you want to improve your compositions, check out this excellent video tutorial that will give you five tips that are sure to set you on the right path.
Masking is an important part of any decent photographer's post-production process. Sometimes, the masks are easy, but other times, they can be painfully time-consuming. However, if you learn about this hidden tool in Photoshop, your editing life will instantly become so much better.
Have you found yourself cranking up the contrast slider and running a sharpening filter just to end up with a shot that fell short of your initial vision? Here are two editing swaps that you can make that will help your post-production be more precise.
Lightroom can be a more complex program than it seems on the surface, and some of its more hidden features can actually be the most useful, saving you a ton of time in post and increasing the quality of your images. This awesome video tutorial will show you five such lesser-known features and how to use them in your workflow.
Recently Adobe released Lightroom version 11 and with it came a completely revamped interface for masking. After a month of real-world use, this guide will help you get up to speed on anything you could possibly want to know about masking in Lightroom for 2022.
Creating something new is the most important ingredient for making art. But we can’t create something new when we just capture a scene in reality. The trick is bringing an artistic concept to your photographs.
Whether you’re shooting macro subjects like jewelry and flowers or landscapes on the latest high-resolution bodies, controlling depth of field can be essential. Focus stacking, where you combine multiple exposures at different focus points, can completely change the game when it comes to tricky depth of field situations. When you don’t have to worry about stopping down or picking what’s in focus, you can be even more creative. Fortunately, it’s easier than ever to properly focus stack. Check out this guide to the best field and post-production practices.
Ever wanted to make a complex mask in Lightroom but haven't had the patience to follow through? Well, using this simple technique, you can do it in just five seconds.
There’s more to focusing than half-pressing the shutter release. Focus is one of the three most important technical variables in photography; it can make or break a photograph. Here are ten things, some basic, some more advanced, to help you shoot better photos.
Each camera calibrates color differently. So, why not take control of your own colors using Lightroom's Calibration tool?
We've all seen the cute cat GIFs and the funny GIF memes. But, making your own photo-based GIFs is a great exercise and can be a fun way to spice up your photography work without having to dive headfirst into video.
No doubt, a good sunset picture is a classic that will never go out of style, but that being said, given the extreme dynamic range, it presents a challenge to the photographer when it comes to exposure. This excellent video tutorial features four great ways to ensure that you get a properly exposed sunset photo that captures all the drama and beauty of the scene.
As landscape photographers, one skill that always requires honing is composition. Essentially, we seek to find a bit of beauty in the chaos of nature and then capture it in a frame. Finding and capturing reflections is a great way to portray order and symmetry. Here I've compiled some tips and tricks that can help you master your reflection compositions.
There's nothing worse than losing photos because you either accidentally deleted them or somebody forced you to get rid of them. But fortunately, there is a way to recover them in no time at all.
Focal blending: is this a technique you use, or is it one that you consider cheating?
Landscape photography is one of the most accessible genres in photography. And, because of this, it's a great area to practice your compositional skills.
The art of boudoir photography can get lost in translation and become something other than what it was intended to be. Don't the photographer that fails to hit the mark and misses out on an amazing opportunity.
Are dull, flat skies ruining your photographs? Learn how to capture real clouds and dramatic skies in camera, no sky replacement or Photoshop needed.
Creating sharp photographs can be challenging, a vast array of camera settings and subject matter can make it tricky. But there are three ways to successfully enhance the sharpness of images using Lightroom.
In this video tutorial, watch as Dean Samed shows you how to cut-out figures for composite in Photoshop. This is Samed's preferred method which he says gives the sharpest results.
No more pen tool. Remove backgrounds from your photographs automatically with "zero clicks" in five seconds using this free tool, all with incredible accuracy and powered by artificial intelligence.
Have you ever taken a photo of a sunset and been disappointed at what it looks like on the camera? Well, follow along for some expert editing tips to transform them into gold.
Photographing forests is one of the harder parts of landscape and nature photography. This editing trick might change how you approach your subject.
Lightroom isn't just powerful editing software, it can organize your entire photo library so efficiently you'll never have to go searching for photos ever again.
Intentional camera movement is taking a photograph with a longer shutter speed and purposefully moving the camera during exposure. Most photographers swear by using a tripod for this technique, but I'm here to show you that you can do it handheld just as easily.
My love for street photography pre-dates my time as a photographer. But one thread that runs between all my favorite street photographers is a characteristically dark and moody aesthetic. Here are my top 10 to follow.
Winter is usually a high point for many landscape photographers but what do you do when the weather just keeps being gray and boring?
Lighting and taking a great portrait is certainly a challenge, but it is only half of what it takes to create a compelling image, as you will need to have top editing skills in addition. This excellent video tutorial will show you how to edit a portrait in Photoshop from start to finish.
Capturing technically sound and compelling portraits take the confluence of a variety of skills. If you would like to improve your portraits, check out this fantastic video tutorial that is brimming with a wide variety of helpful tips and techniques.
The good news is 2020 is over. The bad news is that 2020's woes appear to be coming with us into 2021. So, if you want to improve in photography, it's going to take more effort and focus than usual.
It’s a mystery as to why Lightroom doesn’t offer a quick and easy way to add borders to images when exporting files. However, there is a simple solution.
Ever had an overexposed photo that was destined for the trash? Well, hold up! You may be able to save that thing and turn it into a masterpiece. So before you hit delete, read on for a detailed look at how to save overexposed photographs in Lightroom.
What do you actually need to know to do landscape photography?
Ever gotten your images off the camera, zoomed in to 100%, and been a little disappointed with the results? Ever had a hard time figuring out what went wrong? In this series, we’ll look at the primary causes of poor clarity and how to address each. With a little practice, you’ll be able to glance at an image and know how to fix it.
The faster you can edit a photograph in Lightroom, the more time you have to go back out and shoot. The catch is keeping your edits high quality while also saving time, so I'll show you some essential Lightroom shortcuts that you can use next time you go to edit.
Good black and white portraits are timeless and will always be in style, but they demand a different approach than color portraits. This fantastic video tutorial will show you a few multi-light setups for shooting compelling black and white portraits with dramatic contrast.
The latest version of Photoshop is here, and it brings with it what is probably the most impressive array of new features and improvements to the program in recent memory. With all the new capabilities, you might be wondering what all is now possible. This excellent video will take you through the 21 most important new features and demonstrates what you can do with them.
It doesn't matter what kind of photography you do, the skills required in street photography are some of the most valuable you can learn. It's for this reason that you need to watch this free masterclass.
Our ability to perceive the environment around us in the visual spectrum, or visual perception, is a combination of molecular biology, neuroscience, cognitive science, and psychology. These various vision mechanisms often change how we perceive what we see and can even vary depending on the environment in which we see them.
