Sometimes our photographic progress seems to stop, and we need a boost for our creativity. Try one of these assignments to stimulate your photographic mojo.
If you look at the work of professional portrait photographers, you will probably notice that they frequently use more complex two- or three-light setups. Such setups certainly have their place, as they enable a lot of creative flexibility, but that does not mean you cannot take professional portraits with just a single light. This excellent video tutorial will show you an effective single-light portrait setup for taking compelling images.
As you progress in landscape photography, you might find yourself wondering how others get everything in focus within their images. In this article series and video, I'll go over how to focus stack while in the field and what to do once you sit down to process your images.
Whether you just bought a new lens from a reputable vendor or snagged a deal off an auction site, you’ve got to test it. Fortunately, you don’t need a crazy, dedicated setup just to check out your gear. In this guide, I’ll run through how I’d test a newly acquired lens in about 10 minutes, all without any fancy gear.
Vibrance and saturation perform pretty similar (though different) functions, and it can be difficult to tell the differences between them at times, but there are certain situations in which one will give you better results than the other. This excellent video tutorial will show you the difference between the two and how to use each of them to get better colors in your images.
Real estate photography is a relatively simple way to make money off your photography. That said, there are some very common compositional mistakes that I see lots of photographers making on a regular basis. Fixing these four things can greatly improve how your real estate photos show off a property!
Trees can be a fantastic and bountiful subject for landscape photography work, but often, they are far more intimate than the wide views you might normally work with, which can present its own set of challenges. If you are interested in photographing trees, this fantastic video tutorial will give you 10 helpful tips to create better photos.
Everyone has a pocket or two in their camera bag filled with odds and ends that they might find useful. If you’re the type of photographer that travels a lot or is often on-location you’ve probably developed a list of non-photographic items for various scenarios, based on your own experiences. Here is a list of all the things that can be found in my camera bags.
Atmosphere in images is both important and difficult to attain, particularly when the weather isn't obeying your desires for interesting conditions. Here is a tutorial on how to create your own fog brush for Photoshop and turn a bland image into something more moody.
It is easy to overthink landscape photography (as I am about to do now). For anybody prone to self-doubt, like myself, the act of landscape photography can be downright paralyzing.
Modern cameras are highly advanced machines, often with dozens of features and customization options to help you get the shot. With so many features, it is easy to overlook some of what you can do. Here are five camera features you might not know about that can help you take better photos.
Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom are tremendously deep editing suites that have been developed over so many years, it's hard to keep track of all the features. Here are some of the lesser-known tools courtesy of Adobe themselves.
The exposure triangle is one of the most commonly used methods for thinking about exposure, and while it is certainly very helpful, it is not perfect. This great video tutorial will show you a different way of thinking about exposure that helps encapsulate some information the exposure triangle misses or does not always make clear.
Landscape photography is a genre that often requires editing to complete your image more heavily than most others, and as such, there are a lot of places where things can go a bit awry during post-processing. This informative video tutorial details seven common editing mistakes landscape photographers make so you can be aware of them and avoid them.
Exposure bracketing is one of the most important tools to know how to use for landscape photography and is likely a term you've heard from every major name in the business. Find out why it's so important and just how easy it is to learn.
Reviewing your images only to find that the shots you've taken are slightly out of focus is one of the worst things in photography. But can you save those photos using Adobe Lightroom?
Adobe recently brought out a new feature called Super Resolution, which can increase the resolution of your images by up to four times. I tested this feature out on some heavily cropped images I'd recently edited. The results were fantastic.
The majority of us start editing our photos by working with the sliders in Lightroom or our editing program of choice; after all, they are right there when you begin to edit. However, that might not always be the best way to work. This fantastic video discusses why you should perhaps forgo the sliders more often and embrace a different approach to editing your photos instead.
The tilt-shift lens is probably one of the most special lenses available. It allows the photographer to turn, shift, and tilt the lens in many different ways. In this article, I explain when and how to use the tilt function.
The tilt-shift lens is probably one of the most special lenses available. It allows the photographer to turn, shift, and tilt the lens in many different ways. In this article, I explain when and how to use the shift function.
One of the most common ways to make money through landscape photography is to sell prints, but with such a crowded market, it can be tricky to stand out. This excellent tutorial discusses some of the best-selling types of prints as well as some helpful tips for maximizing your sales.
Want to make money with your photography? Why not take advantage of the myriad photography competitions to win cash, kit, or even more?
Knowing how to light, pose, and shoot a portrait is only half of what it takes to create a great image. In order to create a polished, professional portrait, you also need strong editing skills. This excellent video tutorial will show you everything you need to know to professionally retouch a portrait in Photoshop and to also add your own personal style to it.
Landscape photography often demands extreme levels of dynamic range and depth of field — frequently more than your camera or lens can deliver. When that happens, exposure bracketing and focus stacking are your best friend, and this helpful video tutorial will show you how they are done.
Portraiture is one of the most revered genres of photography, with many photographers dreaming of capturing great images of people. But, how do you get started?
Ask 10 different photographers how they save their images, and you will get several different answers. Which format is best for you and why?
There are times where you just don't have enough space, time, or material to cover your entire scene with an infinite backdrop. One workaround that you can do is to use as much as you have, and then extend it across the rest of the image in Photoshop.
Landscape photography is one of the lesser understood genres, particularly when it comes to the business side of things, even though it is highly popular as a hobby. This excellent video discusses 10 lesser understood aspects of being a landscape photographer.
Lens filters are essential for just about any landscape photographer's gear bag, giving you the ability to cut down on problematic reflections or take greater control over your shutter speed for artistic exploration. This great video tutorial will show you everything you need to know about using lens filters for landscape photography.
A few months ago, I wrote an article about using Lightroom calibration to create magic in your images but found out from many readers that this feature sadly didn't exist in Lightroom mobile... or does it?
Have you ever taken an image and wished you'd taken a step farther back or used a slightly wider lens? Well, there may be hope yet.
The wide-angle zoom lens is known as the “go-to” lens for landscape photography. It certainly has its benefits and in this article, I will explain how to compose for that distinctive dramatic look that a wide-angle lens can create.
Godox’s line of flashes, including the incredibly popular AD200 and V1, have become a mainstay of the on and off-camera lighting market. They’ve become so popular, in part, thanks to the surprising value and feature set offered at each price point. As a result, the AD100Pro, a new addition to the line, has quite the legacy to live up to. Has it earned a place in photographer’s bags?
In this video tutorial, watch as I show you how to create a commercial composite portrait in Photoshop. This is a full tutorial showing the process from beginning to end in real-time.
The horizon element in an image can be used in a variety of ways to accentuate a scene, whether it's a dramatic sunset or a glorious sunrise. But have you ever thought of removing them to create fine art minimalist photos?
Mistakes are good because they teach us what not to do. Photographers, like any other people, make lots of mistakes. Here are three I see time and time again. Which ones are you most guilty of making?
It is very easy to take your camera and shoot a landscape. But there is a big chance it will be a disappointing photo. There are six things you should take into account when photographing a landscape. I call it the six pillars for a good landscape photo.
Shooting bodies of water is both fun and challenging. In this article, you'll learn five techniques that will rapidly help you to improve your images of oceans, lakes, and rivers.
When you think of great landscape photos, you likely think of scenes with beautiful sunsets and gracefully floating clouds, and while those can certainly be fantastic, you might be surprised by the wonderful images you can get when you embrace bad weather. This fantastic video tutorial will show you seven tips for taking better landscape photos in bad weather.
When I teach someone photography, one of the things that I make sure the student knows is how the camera meters a scene. Once you understand how the camera meter actually works, you learn that your camera isn't as smart as you thought it was.
In this video tutorial, watch as Abbey Esparza shows you the best ways to use select and mask in Photoshop. Using select and mask can be tricky, to select hair, but this tutorial will show you how to do it in seconds.
Winter can be an absolutely wonderful time of year for landscape photography, but with the different season comes various changes in the look of your images and the way you should approach editing them. This fantastic video tutorial will give you a variety of tips for better winter landscape photo edits.
Cameras have several different shooting modes. The two most common for landscape photography is aperture priority and manual. Which one is the better choice?
If you've ever wanted to try food photography at home, then use these seven tips to improve your chances of getting some great food photos.
Dodging and burning is both a fantastic way to shape the light in an image and to retouch blemishes; in fact, it is the technique preferred by a lot of high-end retouchers over other more common methods. When working with subjects with dark skin tones, you will want to take note of a few differences in technique compared to working with subjects with lighter skin tones, and this excellent video tutorial will show you everything you need to know.
To have a publisher wanting to produce a book of your work is a dream many photographers have. But where do you start? What costs are involved? And is it really worth doing in the first place?
Tired of endlessly cloning out every little image sensor spot on your catalog of photos? Use this automated process to remove spots from hundreds of photos at once, and go put your feet up.
In this video tutorial, watch as Abbey Esparza shows you how she creates fantasy skin tones in Photoshop. This is a very versatile trick that can be used on a number of different types of images.
Children's portraits are a fantastic time to embrace your creativity to make a photo that shows the happiness of childhood. This excellent video tutorial will show you how to light, shoot, and edit a children's portrait from start to finish.
Because of the pandemic forest photography is more popular than ever. Forest photography is also one of the really hard genres of nature photography to be successful at. Fog and good conditions are usually necessary for success, but they are just not enough.
