At the time of writing this post it is a gorgeous spring day and I have no doubt our readers are out shooting and enjoying it. If you have opted to stay in, these six videos provided by Lastolite and taught by the best-in-our-business Joe McNally are what you should be watching... no studying. Seriously. If you absorb every bit of information/advice in these videos you will be a better photographer than you are right now.

Taking portraits at wide apertures and consistently nailing focus is is not an easy task. In fact, it’s a skill that must be practiced in order to master it. However, an aspect not often discussed in regards to capturing sharp images has nothing to do with the lens used or the f-stop. Here is the ultimate guide to capturing tack sharp images at wide apertures.

We all make mistakes. They are part of the learning process, and if we want to improve, we have to accept that we'll make plenty of them. Photographers are no different, but there's one big mistake I see so many photographers make time and time again, yet it's so avoidable.

A free piece of software that looks and runs like Photoshop sounds too good to be true, right? Here's what you need to know about this potential "Photoshop killer".

This Lightroom slider is not hidden in the sense that there is some special secret to finding it, but it is in a place where you probably would not think to look for it. This great video tutorial will show you how to take advantage of it to make your photos pop quickly and easily.

Just like learning in any practice or aspect of life, the more you learn, the more you realize what you don't know or haven't learned. It's natural; it happens. There's so much for all of us to learn. Here are a few mistakes that I couldn't believe I was making during my photography career.

When it comes to post-production, many photographers often get a wee bit trigger-happy on the saturation and vibrance sliders. But how does an extremely popular photographer approach saturation in Lightroom?

If you're like me and primarily use Lightroom Classic for your photo editing, you probably occasionally edit a photo in Photoshop. If you do, you might be making the same Photoshop file mistakes I made.

After a recent landscape session in the rain, I was shocked. Reviewing the files at home, I found that I accidentally shot in JPEG. Is all lost now? Let’s take a look at this very underrated format.

Working with a new model can be a brilliant way to practice and help someone else with their aspirations, but it's undoubtedly tricky. In this behind-the-scenes video, a veteran photographer works with a model on her first shoot and walks you through some of the difficulties and offers some tips.

The pin-up model was one of the most iconic styles of the 20th century, and even today, decades after its heyday, it is still a very recognizable and eye-catching look that makes for great portraits. In this great video tutorial, you will learn how a vintage nude pin-up portrait was conceptualized, lit, and photographed.

A good composition is a tricky and often elusive thing, particularly since it is not as easily objectively codified as something like the right camera settings for a given scene or situation. As such, any heuristic tricks to go about finding a compelling composition are worth knowing. This excellent video tutorial details one such trick and why it can be really useful.

A common saying among proponents of prime lenses when confronted with the versatility of zoom lenses is: "Zoom with your feet!" However, that does not produce the same effect. Learn about the difference between changing your crop and changing your perspective in this quick lesson.

There are many articles and videos on how to do certain things in Lightroom, but how often do you read about something that you shouldn't do? Let's cover a few of them.

There is an old quote that says, “If you want to shoot fashion, shoot in color, but if you want to shoot emotion, shoot in black and white.” I don’t know who said it, but I tend to agree. I do love myself a good black and white portrait. There is something special about black and white imagery which has the ability to cut through all the baggage and display both the inner beauty and turmoil which can be so easily hidden away by color photography.

I have always been a person who works smarter, not harder. Now that AI is everywhere, I’ve started to see where I can benefit from its use. This made me think: Can I leverage ChatGPT and ask it to help me create adjustment settings for Lightroom based on an idea?

The exposure triangle claims to explain the relationship between shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. At first glance, it looks like a useful diagram, until you realize that it’s not all what it's cracked up to be.

There's this nifty piece of software called Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, and in my time as an educator in the craft of photography I have seen its use frequently abused and mishandled. The issues affect beginners and pros alike, and stem from multiple issues, everything from technical oversight, all the way to a fundamental misunderstanding of what Lightroom is meant for. Read on for an overview of common misconceptions and mistakes with regards to this immensely powerful photo editing system.

The rule of thirds is the first thing that is taught about composition in photography. It seems to have some similarities with the golden ratio, but in reality, it’s something completely different. Let’s have a closer look at the history of these so-called rules to get a better understanding.

There are many different techniques for getting consistently sharp images, but I think this one is the best of them all. Take a look to find out why.

I recently returned from 10 days of camping in the Swiss mountains, having just taken one of my favorite climbing images. As is often the case, it was another lesson in humility: sometimes, you need the person in your photograph to tell you what you’re doing wrong. Here’s how it came about.

If you are interested in landscape photography, you might think that the first lens you should pick up is an ultra-wide angle zoom. Those can certainly be useful tools, but there might be a better first lens. This excellent video will show you a potentially better choice.

“A wide angle lens is the best for landscape photography.” Does that sound familiar? I am continuously surprised by how little I use the wide angle lens.

The second-best-selling photography book of all time in the “Digital Photography” section of Amazon has been made available for free download by its authors, who are currently celebrating reaching one million subscribers on YouTube.

Photoshop is a tremendously complex program, and as such, there is often more than one way to accomplish any one task. One of its most fundamental but overlooked tools is Curves, which many photographers shy away from due to its intimidating appearance. Nonetheless, once you master, you will be hard-pressed to find a more capable and efficient tool for many needs. This fantastic video tutorial will show you the ins and outs of the Curves tool and how to use it to edit your images.

There is a bit of an obsession with shooting portraits at extremely wide apertures nowadays, and certainly, that is a popular look for a reason. Nonetheless, always shooting at f/1.4 to blow the background to smithereens can become a bit of a crutch and end up making your work a bit one-dimensional. This awesome video will show you portraits shot at everything from f/1.4 to f/16 to show you the strengths and drawbacks of each aperture.

The default behavior of pretty much every camera is to activate autofocus through a half-press of the shutter button. This works perfectly well for most scenarios, but you can often improve your experience and hit rate by using a different method: back-button autofocus. This helpful video will show you why it is so useful and how to take advantage of it.

There are dozens of "How To" articles when it comes to portrait photography. Very few, if any, focus on things to avoid. With these quick tips you can steer clear of unwanted experiences and take your portraits to the next level. Here's a list that the professionals in the industry never share with you.