Perhaps no piece of equipment has a bigger impact on your photos than your lens. There are some common misconceptions about lenses, however, and as expensive as they are, it is important to make sure you know everything you can about them. This helpful video tutorial discusses some common mistakes photographers make when thinking about lenses.
As photographers, we spend a lot of time trying to get the perfect exposure and discussing and learning a variety of techniques to do so. But what is a "correct" exposure anyway? Maybe it does not exist at all.
Can you emulate studio gel lighting with Lightroom's new masking tools? In short, yes, but is it as good as the real thing?
Finding success in a single area of the photography industry is no small task. And yet, R. J. Kern has managed to find success not only as a wedding photographer but now as a fine art photographer as well. I sat down with him one afternoon to pick his brain on his top five tips for emerging fine art photographers.
Photographing an object with a reflective surface can be a challenge, and you’d imagine that it gets even worse if the entire thing is made out of shiny metal. Here’s how to create perfect photos of cutlery with just a single speedlight.
Creating a compelling black and white portrait is about a lot more than simply removing the color from an image; it is an art in itself. If you would like to learn how to create such images in Lightroom, check out this fantastic video tutorial that features an experienced photographer guiding you through a seven-step process for creating compelling results.
Drones are more convenient and powerful than ever, and they can be a really fun way to find a new perspective and invigorate your creativity. If you are new to flying cameras and wondering how you can get better photos, this helpful video tutorial will give you seven tips to start you on your way.
Nowadays, your website is probably the most important tool in your business toolkit, as it is where the vast majority of potential clients will evaluate if your work suits their needs and initiate contact with you.
Photography can be a minefield when it comes to what warrants good advice and which rules you should follow. Street photography is perhaps one area where certain strong opinions on what’s allowed and what isn’t can sometimes be ignored.
A long time ago, I heard someone utter this bit of nonsense. Depending upon the genre of photography you shoot, there are good arguments for using manual controls and settings. However, there are times when your camera’s automated technologies prove the Luddites wrong, then automation is king.
Photoshop has some pretty advanced automated tools for removing distracting objects from your photos, and while they can get the job done a lot of the time, sometimes, you are dealing with such a complex and difficult background that you need to take control of things.
Most of us with Creative Cloud subscriptions use them for access to apps like Lightroom, Photoshop, and Premiere Pro, but you are actually paying for more than you might realize when you select a plan. This helpful video tutorial will show you where to find thousands of free assets that may have been hiding from you in Lightroom and Photoshop.
Creating a successful landscape photo often takes skills both behind the camera and at the computer, and of course, what you do in the field influences how you handle things once you are ready to process your images. This great video tutorial takes a look at a camera setting many of us never touch and how it can improve your landscape images quickly and easily.
Gear Acquisition Syndrome isn’t found in the New England Journal of Medicine, but it’s a reality for photographers the world over. But why?
Depending on where you live and what you shoot, you might not have a steady flow of clients at all times of the year. People like wedding photographers often have to deal with a period during which business is significantly lower or even stops entirely. That does not mean your income has to completely stop as well, however.
Skin tones are one of the most crucial parts of a portrait edit. Get them right, and they can elevate the image to another level. Get them wrong, however, and they can sink your image. If you are new to shooting and editing portraits, this helpful video tutorial will show you three steps to get better skin tones in Photoshop.
It always starts innocently enough: you buy a new camera and start taking photos. Then someone you know asks a favor and you’re all too happy to oblige them with all the photos you can snap.
When we start out as photographers, there are so many rules to follow and so many techniques to be applied. So, where do you start? What rules do you follow and what do you avoid? In his new video, Mads Peter Iversen tells you what to avoid and what considerations to make when framing your sho, capturing the image, and post-processing.
Waterfalls are by far one of the most popular subjects of landscape photographers, as they can add a nice dose of movement to an otherwise static image, making it far more dynamic and compelling. One of the most crucial choices you can make in this situation is your shutter speed, and this excellent video tutorial will give you some helpful tips for picking the right one.
The latest major update to Lightroom brought some major new features and upgrades, but perhaps most impressive has been the overhauled masking system, which greatly increases what you can accomplish and enables new editing workflows.
Every year, I run dozens of workshops for photographers, and there are always the same areas that even established photographers have not grasped. Learning the metering and exposure ropes opens a gamut of creative possibilities.
One of the most useful skills any portrait photographer can learn is the ability to balance both artificial and ambient light in a portrait. If you are learning how to work with artificial light and want to improve your skills, check out this great video tutorial that will show you how to balance natural light and flash to create better outdoor portraits.
Landscape photography is often about achieving maximum depth of field, fantastic sharpness, and gathering as much quality into one image as possible. Or is it? This photographer shoots everything wide open and has an excellent reason for it.
New gear is always exciting and can have a meaningful impact on the technical quality of your images, but those prices can add up quickly. Besides, there is a lot we can do to improve the quality of our photos with the gear we already own, and this fantastic video tutorial will show you many different ways to do so.
Photoshop is a large and intricate program, with multiple ways to accomplish what you want, and as such, it can be a little overwhelming to learn when you are first starting out.
When starting with photography, it is easy to be focused entirely on the technical side of the medium. However, paying close attention to your compositions is sure to bring your images to the next level.
While every new photographer has to master working with a camera, that is only half of making a compelling image, as it takes good editing skills to finish things off. If you are new to editing your photos, this helpful video tutorial will show you a range of techniques and methods for post-processing a portrait using Lightroom.
Composition is a fundamental word in many artistic disciplines and in photography, it's crucial. However, it's all too easy to get bogged down in rules and try to force images into preconceived notions of how they ought to look. In this video, Nigel Danson walks you through four of the rules he leans on for creating great images.
"Don't turn too much. It will ruin your photo!" This is what we have all learned about circular polarizing filters in our young days as photographers when we tried to get rid of glare. But how much polarization do we need? Too little polarization doesn’t lead to the desired effect, too much ruins the photo. So what?
When it comes to landscape photography, waterfalls are always a popular choice of subject, as they offer a great way to add some movement to an image and make it more dynamic and compelling. If you want to improve your own waterfall photos, check out this great video that will give you a helpful look at an experienced landscape photographer's process.
Before getting into the thick of this article, there is an important distinction that needs to be addressed when discussing the coloring of images (and video, for that matter), and that’s between color correction and color grading.
One of the neatest experiences after buying a dedicated camera is pointing it at the night sky for the first time and capturing beauty that is invisible to the naked eye. Doing so takes some specialized technique, however. This excellent video tutorial will show you how to take a compelling nightscape shot using nothing but a basic camera, kit lens, and tripod.
You can learn all the techniques behind the camera and in post-processing that you want, but if you are not making compelling images, all that work will not matter much. If you have been struggling a bit with creating interesting images, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you five habits that will help you create more eye-catching work.
One light, no studio. This quick tutorial will show you how to add a gel backlight to your portraits.
Firstly, I'd like to say this should all be done in-camera, but not everyone especially when starting out has access to multiple lights or a studio for that matter. So this quick tutorial may provide you with a little something to further enhance your portraits.
It doesn't matter what kind of photographer you are, chances are your images will benefit from being edited in some way. If you are serious about your pictures looking their best, these six key Photoshop techniques are well worth mastering.
Few camera shots are more readily recognizable than the Dutch angle (sometimes known as the Dutch tilt or canted angle), with its jarring tilt capturing the viewer's attention instantly. Where did this strange shot come from, and why do filmmakers use it? This interesting video takes a look at the history of the Dutch angle and its usage in cinema.
There are certain visual tools that almost any eye instantly responds to, and symmetry is by far one of the powerful you can use. If you would like to add another tool to your creative toolbox, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you some helpful tips and illustrative examples of how to use symmetry in your photography.
It used to be that full frame was the largest sensor size most photographers could reasonably afford, with medium format reserved for rental houses and a few rare creatives. However, in recent years, we have seen an explosion of relatively affordable medium format options that open an entirely new system to many photographers.
Of course, flash photography existed long before the transition to digital. However, most modern film photography is shot in natural light, whether out of an aesthetic desire or because working with flash and film is a bit of a lost art.
Lightroom's latest update brought huge upgrades to its masking features, making the tools far more capable and much easier to use. If you are wondering how to use the new tools and take full advantage of them, check out this fantastic video tutorial that takes a deep dive into the new masking panel to show you everything you need to know.
It might seem a strange thing to say, but there is something to be said for being willing to let go of the photos that are most important to you. This interesting video makes a strong case for why you should consider letting go of the photos that might matter most to you.
It is no secret that both Lightroom and Photoshop can be resources hogs that do not run particularly quickly, though in fairness, they are also pushing around and manipulating a lot of data. Between your CPU, GPU, RAM, drives, and more, there are a lot of places where an upgrade could possibly speed things up, but of course, you do not want to waste your money.
One of the beautiful things about mastering artificial lighting is that you open a huge range of creative options to yourself through the use and arrangement of modifiers. However, there are numerous modifiers available to photographers, and it can be tricky knowing which ones are right for your work.
It's time to release the fourth episode of our 8-part video tutorial series about long exposure photography, and how different filters can produce dramatic results. Remember, each time we release a new video, we also give away some awesome prizes. Read through this post to find out how to enter this week's contest.
It used to be that cameras had three or nine focus points, with maybe 30-50 on more top-level professional bodies. Nowadays, cameras have hundreds or even thousands of focus points with nearly limitless ways to combine and arrange them.
It is quite often overlooked when it comes down to creating a stunning photograph, although it has a big impact on the composition and even on the story of an image. We are talking about the right focal length. Avoid one of the biggest traps about focal lengths and find out how to impact your composition with the right lens.
Fall is here, and with it come trees awash in gorgeous colors, giving you the opportunity to create some truly eye-catching images. A drone offers you a way to capture a different perspective, and this helpful video tutorial will offer new drone users nine tips to get better fall photos using one.
The demand for video is always increasing, and photographers who are already skilled with a camera are in a natural position to learn how to shoot video and add it to their services. If you are wondering how to get started with video work, this excellent video tutorial will give you some hopeful advice to start on your way.
The wonderful thing about macro photography is that unlike other landscape photography, you can do it just about anywhere and find compelling subjects. If you are ready to head out and try it out for yourself, check out this helpful video tutorial that will show you a few tips and techniques for taking good macro photos.
Many photographers will spend multiple hours a week working on their images in Photoshop, and as such, finding even little places to save some time can add up to major time savings over the long run. This excellent video tutorial will show you the most essential keyboard shortcuts in Photoshop and how to use them.