Recent Education Articles

Post The Highest Quality Photos Onto Facebook With These Two Export Presets and Plug-In Options

We all work so hard preparing, shooting, retouching, and giving our all to creating our images. After everything is finished and the photos look amazing, we can't wait to share our photos to the world! But how do we know we're uploading the highest quality photos possible? Last year, I shared with you all a preset that I use daily to export photos out of Lightroom for Facebook. In this article, I'll add to my list of recommendations and show you two options that I swear by and have tested over-and-over to make sure I share crisp not only Facebook, but other mediums such as my website; so you can share the same quality!

The 3 P's of Landscape Photography

Creating a successful landscape image takes a variety of skills, some that don't even involve a camera. If you want to get on the road to success, check out this great video tutorial that will help you frame your approach to landscape photography through three major aspects.

7 Fantastic Tips and Tricks for a More Powerful Lightroom Experience

Lightroom is a deceptively powerful program, and you can accomplish a great deal in it without having to turn to Photoshop or some other application. This fantastic video tutorial gives seven great tricks and techniques for taking more control of your Lightroom experience and creating better images.

Eight More Things About Being a Photographer I Wish I'd Known Earlier

When I wrote "Seven Things About Being a Photographer I Wish I'd Known Earlier," I wasn't expecting such a strong response. I had far more than seven things I wish I'd known, but I tried to trim the fat and keep the article lean. Well, I liked the fat. So, now I'm compiling the trimmings into their own article, although I don't mean to infer that these eight are less important than my first seven; they aren't. I also can't guarantee there won't be a further set in the future. Make of that what you will.

Putting Together A Photoshoot Part I: Moodboard And Concept Development

When we first start out on any sort of endeavor, be it creative or otherwise, we all most likely begin same way: a head full of ideas, but a distinct lack of understanding and experience of how to achieve them. Over time, through the benevolence of others, and many hours of Youtube tutorials, our ability catches up and we reach the place where creativity meets experience

How to Crop in Lightroom to Create Better Photos

There is something to be said for getting composition right in camera, of course, but that does not mean you should never use the tools available to you in post-production, particularly the ability to crop photos to be just right. If you want to improve your portraits, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you three cropping tips that will quickly improve the quality of your photos.

Do This To Get Perfect Prints

Some time ago, I wrote an article about soft proofing in Lightroom and Photoshop. It's an essential step in any professional printing workflow. Today, I show the additional steps required to create perfect prints.

Bought a New Lens? Here’s the First Thing You Should Do

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.

Are You Using This Lightroom Tool in Your Workflow?

Color range masks are nothing new within Lightroom. However, they have become increasingly powerful the last couple of years, and you absolutely should be utilizing them in your work.

Glyn Dewis Shows You How to Save an Almost Unusable Image

In this valuable tutorial Glyn Dewis takes a quick snapshot and shows you how to pull detail from highlights and shadows to make it a beautiful image. Dewis mentions some great workflow tips and tricks in Adobe Lightroom as well as how to bring your image over, non destructively, to Photoshop camera raw.

Stop Obsessing About These Things in Photography

Photographers can be a passionate bunch, and with all that fiery passion comes a lot of strong opinions and obsessive habits. Not all of those obsessions really benefit you, though, and some can actually hinder your progress. Here are a lot of things to stop obsessing about as a photographer.

Landscape Photography Tips to Help Your Images Stand Out

Landscape photography is one of the trickier genres of photography due to the lack of control you have. Although you may have control over aspects such as composition, lighting can in the scene can prove a little challenging. Sometimes, you may end up with a picture lacking depth, and overcoming this issue could drastically improve your photography.

This Rarely Used Technique Can Give You Cleaner Photos

Back before we had spectacularly capable modern sensors and advanced post-processing programs, photographers had to turn toward more involved techniques for reducing noise, and those methods are still useful today. This particular technique can both reduce noise in your images and help you create long exposures in post, and this excellent video tutorial will show you how it is done.

Lightroom Tutorial: Travel Photographer Joe Allam Walks Through His Import Workflow

Importing photos after a shoot is often one of the more boring parts of an assignment and getting it done as quickly and easily as possible is often the name of the game. This has unfortunately led to a lot of Lightroom users not really using the Import function to its full potential. In his newest video, Joe Allam walks through his entire process in great detail, explaining why he does each step along the way.

5 Things That Derail Landscape Photography

Landscape photography is a challenging genre that takes a variety of different aptitudes coming together simultaneously to create successful images. As such, there are a lot of things that can inadvertently derail your process. This great video tutorial features an experienced landscape photographer discussing five such things and how to fix or avoid them in the first place.

Photographers Should Not Be Inspired by Photography

I am lucky enough to have hosted or been a part of workshops around the world. One thing I teach in my workshops is that photographers should not look at other photography to be inspired.

You Don't Need Expensive Gear to Enjoy Landscape Photography

No matter what genre you shoot, you can quickly fall down the hole of spending a ton of money on gear in the pursuit of the perfect shot. However, you can easily create high-quality, compelling images even with basic budget gear. This excellent video is an important reminder that you do not need a lot of pricey gear to create good photos and just as importantly, to enjoy the craft.

Sue Bryce Explains How To Photograph Curvier Models

Posing models is a challenge all on its own but adding a curvier model to the mix requires some extra considerations. Not all of us have access to the tall and thin models that grace the covers of countless magazines and in recent years there is a strong push towards representing a more average body type through the use of plus sized models. Let Sue Bryce show you how she tackles posing curvier models in this fantastic hour long tutorial!

Are You Making This Histogram Mistake? Here’s How to Fix It

Staring at a perfectly constructed histogram is like listening to an opera singer hit and hold a perfect note. But in trying to get that histogram to look like you're being told it should, you could be ruining potentially great images.

Creating Balance in Landscape Images

One of the trickiest parts of landscape photography is composition, particularly since you cannot control the position of any of the elements in your scene like you can with almost any other genre. A lot of the game is about finding balance between the individual elements, and this fantastic video tutorial discusses some great tips on how you can better achieve that.

The Difference Between Mechanical and Electronic Shutters

One of the nicest features of mirrorless cameras is the electronic shutter, which allows you to shoot in total silence, a fantastic option for situations where being discreet is key. That does not mean electronic shutters are without faults, however. Knowing when to use an electronic shutter and when to use a mechanical is important, and this great video tutorial will show you everything you need to know.

Lens Hood Basics: What You Need to Know

If you’re new to photography, you may be wondering what’s the big deal with lens hoods. Here’s a quick two-minute breakdown of why exactly you’ll find them attached to lenses everywhere.