Recent Education Articles

Face To Face: How Finding The Right Subjects For Your Photographs Can Make All The Difference

Have you ever gone to the see a romantic comedy and absolutely fallen in love? Have you ever gone to a romantic comedy and spent the majority of the film’s running time politely sneaking peeks at your watch? Have you ever realized that both movies were essentially the same story and wondered why you couldn’t get enough of the first, and got way too much of the second?

This Is the Difference Between Opacity and Flow in Photoshop

Photoshop is full of a wide range of tools and features, and a fair amount of them have some amount of overlap between their functions and capabilities. Two such tools are the opacity and flow sliders. If you are not quite sure of the difference between the two, this excellent video tutorial will get you up and running in no time.

Simple Ways to Use Flash to Create More Looks in Outdoor Portraits

There is certainly quite a lot that you can accomplish with natural light, but you're at the mercy of the weather outside, and sometimes, adding a bit of flash can go a long way to augment the light at hand or to even reshape it entirely. This great video will show you some different ways to use a flash to create a variety of looks when you're shooting portraits outdoors.

Learn How to Shoot in Manual Mode

One of the most essential skills any new photographer should learn is how to shoot in manual mode. This helpful video will show you everything you need to know to start successfully shooting in manual mode.

NASA Asks for Everyone to Pitch In to Analyze Almost Two Million Photos

Since the 1960s, NASA has accumulated 1.8 million photos from various missions and sources that it now needs help analyzing and placing into context. Volunteers have already catalogued 20,000 photos, according to CNN, but without a greater public interest, cataloguing the 1.8 million photos (and counting) would likely never happen. If you want to be a part of the cataloguing efforts, you can view the images at The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth.

Embracing the Blur: The Art of Unsharp Photography

The level of sharpness in a photo shapes the aesthetic and emotional impact of an image. While sharpness is often equated with photographic quality, the deliberate use of softness or blur can convey a unique, compelling visual story.

A Beginner's Guide to Autofocus for Action Photography

Action photography will challenge your skills as a photographer, but one thing you should pay particular attention to is your autofocus settings. If you are new to the pursuit and want to increase your chances of getting the shot, this helpful video will show you the basics of autofocus settings for action photography.

Easily Create a Product Shot Using Composites

I absolutely love shooting commercial work in the studio. Who doesn't? Shooting in a studio environment allows the photographer full control over the lighting and the subject. It also allows for full creative freedom over what you can composite into the shot if needed by easily matching up the lighting. Earlier this week I had a few hours of downtime and decided to shoot a bottle of Bacardi Dark Rum in my studio. Using a softbox I built myself a few weeks ago, I decided to take it on a test run using the bottle of Rum as my subject.

Photography Website Mistakes to Avoid

Few things are more crucial to a photography business than the website, as it is the place where most potential clients will go to see your work, to decide if you are the right fit for their wants and needs, and to initiate contact with you. As such, your website deserves careful attention. This excellent video tutorial features an experienced commercial photographer sharing some common website mistakes and how to fix them.

How I Added Fireworks to a Photo and Confused People

Composites are a funny subject to people. Lead with it, and they are impressed. Tell them after and they just might feel duped. I found this out the hard way when I took a bunch of boring fireworks photos and added them to a night shot of the glorious Niagara Falls. Let's just say a major upgrade to the background.

Common Photo Editing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

A well-edited photo can tell a story, evoke emotion, and draw the viewer in. But with so many editing tools and options available, it's easy to fall into habits that detract from the final image. By learning to avoid a few common mistakes, you can elevate your work and create photos that truly stand out.

Five In-Camera Tricks Filmmakers Should Know

If you're working with video, you sure know how much time can go into getting each edit just right — time that adds up very quickly. This helpful video will show you five in-camera tricks to get the transition or effect right while filming, cutting down on your post-processing work.

The Sad Truth About Filing a Copyright Lawsuit Against Stolen Photographs

Almost every photographer has found one of their images reproduced online without their permission. The first question you might ask yourself is "how much money can I get for this infringement?" However, copyright law can be extremely difficult to understand and there are many common or case law rulings that factor in on how an image can be used fairly or commercially. In this fascinating video, the guys at PRO EDU sit down with Joe Naylor with Image Rights and fine art photographer Peter Coulson to discuss how photographers can protect their art.

10 Landscape Photography Mistakes and How to Fix Them

Landscape photography is a challenging genre that requires good technique, planning, creative visions, and sometimes, just a bit of luck. If you would like to improve your landscape photography, check out this fantastic video tutorial that features an experienced photographer sharing 10 common mistakes landscape shooters make and how to fix them or avoid them altogether.

Learn How to Light and Photograph These Outdoor Portraits

Learning how to balance artificial light with ambient light is one of the most important and versatile skills for a portrait photographer to learn. If you are still working on that, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you a series of outdoor portraits shot using a combination of strobes and ambient light and how they were lit.

How to Improve Your Woodland Photos

Fall is here, and it is one of the best times to head out with your camera and capture some woodland photos. Before you do, be sure to check out this great video tutorial that features a seasoned photographer discussing a variety of tips that are sure to improve your photos.

An Effective, Professional One-Light Portrait Photography Setup

If you look at the work of top photographers, you might be fooled into thinking that the only way to create professional images is through the use of complex setups with several lights. However, you might be pleased and surprised to discover that you can create compelling portraits with just a single light, and this fantastic video tutorial will show you everything you need to know.

Want to Try Landscape Photography? Here's What You Need to Know

Landscape photography can be an incredibly rewarding genre for professionals and hobbyists alike, but just like any other genre, it has its own considerations, techniques, and gear you should know about. If you are ready to get started in landscape photography, this fantastic video will get you up and running in no time.

Surprising Ways That Bad Images Improve Your Photography

We all want to take better photos. There are countless ways of learning how to do that. Attending courses and workshops, watching YouTube videos, and reading books and articles such as this are traditional approaches. But there is one unexpected way too: embracing bad photography.

7 Tips for Creating Stronger, More Straightforward Landscape Photos

One of the trickiest parts of landscape photography is that unlike most other genres, you get no control over the arrangement of the elements in the scene, which can make composition a particularly tricky aspect. A common problem is an overly busy frame. What can you do to create simpler, more compelling photos? This excellent video tutorial will show you seven helpful tips to put you on the right track.

Lessons for Photographers From the Career of Movie Director Quentin Tarantino

As one of the most iconic screenwriters and directors of the last three decades, Quentin Tarantino has forged a career as a unique voice in films. Although his medium as a storyteller is moving images, there’s a lot we can learn from his path as photographers looking to find our own creative voice.

Don't Overlook the Usefulness of Your Viewfinder

It seems like a strange thing to say, but many people actually prefer to shoot using their rear LCDs. On the other hand, viewfinders have a lot of advantages over their rear screen counterparts, and if you do not use yours, it is worth reconsidering it, and this great video tutorial will show you many of the benefits you can get from a viewfinder.

6 Techniques for Manually Focusing Photos and Video

Autofocus has become remarkably fast and reliable, but there are still a lot of situations in which manual focus might be the best choice to get the shot. This fantastic video tutorial details six techniques you can use to ensure you can nail shots when using manual focus.

Why a Histogram Is Useful and How to Use It for Your Photos

The histogram can be one of the most useful tools at a photographer's disposal for dialing in the correct exposure and taking greater control of your edits. If you are unfamiliar with how a histogram works, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you both what a histogram is and how to use it to create better edits of your images.

Everything You Need to Know About the HSL Panel in Lightroom

The HSL panel is by far one of the most powerful ways to edit your photos in Lightroom and to develop a signature style. If you are a bit unsure of how to use the HSL panel in Lightroom, this fantastic video tutorial will get you up and running in no time.

Practical Tips for Simplifying Your Landscape Photography

Landscape photography challenges you to simplify complex scenes and find compelling compositions in nature. Whether you’re capturing vast skies, intimate foreground details, or isolated structures, understanding light, framing, and how to use natural elements to tell a story is critical.