Recent Education Articles

A Beginner's Guide to Crop Factor in Photography

One of the most fundamental but frequently misunderstood concepts in photography is crop factor, or how different sensor sizes relate to each other. If you are new to photography and not sure of how crop factor works, this excellent video will get you up and running in no time.

Everything You Need to Know About Aperture

Of the many things you have to learn about in photography, aperture is by far one of the most important and fundamental to the way your images will look. If you are new to photography, this excellent video tutorial will show you everything you need to know about aperture to take better creative and technical control of your images.

A Five-Step Process to Shooting Moody Landscape Photos

A lot of landscape photos are vibrant, bright, and bursting with color, light, and life, but of course, that is not the only way to create a compelling image. Moody landscapes can be just as eye-catching, and this awesome video tutorial will show you a five-step process to creating them.

Helpful Tips for Better Drone Photos

Consumer drones have made remarkable strides in the last few years, and it is now possible to get professional image quality from affordable devices, opening entirely new perspectives and creative possibilities to photographers. If you are new to working with a drone, this great video tutorial will give you some helpful tips on settings and editing to get the best possible images.

10 Fun Spring Photography Ideas

Spring is here, and with the weather warming up and the outdoor world coming to life, there are numerous fun photography opportunities waiting for you. This great video will show you 10 ideas for springtime photography across a variety of genres.

Is Your Photography Website Doing Its Job?

If you want to make money as a photographer, one of the most important aspects of your business is your website. It is where most of your clients will first see your work and how they will contact you to hire you. Is yours doing its job properly? This great video discusses what clients look for in a website and what you can do to make yours better.

A Guide to Photographing the May Lunar Eclipse

In 2021, one of the astronomical targets you may want to challenge your photo skills on is the lunar eclipse occurring on May 26 (the evening of May 25-26). While lunar eclipses are generally not hard to see, since half the world can see the moon at any instant, not everyone can see the full extent of the approximately three-hour event. For this one, Pacific Ocean hemisphere residents are favored, but the west coast of the U.S. gets to see totality followed by the still partially eclipsed moon set opposite the sunrise.

How to Use Photoshop's Sky Replacement Tool and Add Your Own Skies

Photoshop recently implemented an automated sky replacement feature that drastically cuts down on the time and effort that goes into what was once a tedious task. This excellent video tutorial will show you both how to use the tool for the best results and how to add your own skies to the library.

10 Helpful Tips for Photographing Trees

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.

The Power of Reflexive Photography

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.

Using Fake Windows to Create More Interesting Light

When we learn about lighting, we most often focus on the quality of the light and all the things that contribute to that. However, light can be more than just that which gives you the correct exposure and renders your subject in a flattering manner. It can be used to add mood and interesting atmosphere to an image. This great video tutorial will show you one such example using a fake window to complete a shot's aesthetic.

Learn How to Shoot This Portrait With Off-Camera Flash

Outdoor portraits with a dramatic sky behind the subject are a popular and timeless look, but usually require an off-camera flash to get a proper exposure on your subject. If you are new to working with artificial lighting, this excellent video tutorial will show you how to use off-camera flash to balance ambient light and produce a compelling portrait.

Helpful Techniques for Better Landscape Photo Compositions

Whereas things that can be quantified, like camera settings, can be learned in a relatively straightforward manner, composition is a bit more nebulous and difficult to master. If you have been having trouble with your compositions, this excellent video tutorial will show you some helpful techniques to improve your landscape images.

5 Common Mistakes in Landscape Photography

Landscape photography is a tricky genre to master, but it is highly rewarding when you get things right and you are able to produce a compelling photo. This excellent video discusses five common mistakes landscape photographers make or traps they fall into and how to avoid or remedy them.

The Usefulness of the HSL Panel in Lightroom and How to Edit With It

The HSL panel is a tremendously useful tool for taking finer control over the post-processing your images, both from a technical and a creative standpoint. This excellent video tutorial will show you why the panel is so useful and how to incorporate it into your photo edits.

5 Beginner Tips for Photographing Models

The first time you photograph a model can be extremely daunting. Here are five tips to help you make sure that the first shoot is a success and you and the model get the most out of it.

The Struggle and Reward of Good Landscape Compositions

Composition is one of the subtlest and trickiest aspects of landscape photography, and it is something we all struggle with at one time or another. If that is something you have trouble with, be sure to watch this great video that follows an experienced photographer as he works through a difficult composition of his own.

Hard Truths Every Landscape Photographer Should Know

Landscape photography is a fairly unique genre, requiring loads of patience and often, a bit of luck. Whether you are new to the genre or a seasoned pro, there are some hard truths we all have to hear from time to time, and this excellent video essay discusses them.

The One Pivotal Trait That Can Help Determine Your Success

Let's be honest, surviving the dumpster fire of 2020 is a serious badge of honor. Regardless of where you are or what you had to do, you're here. A large part of that is due to a combination of passion and perseverance. There's a word for that.

Combining Flash With Continuous Lights for Creative Effect

“I only shoot natural light. I’m a natural light photographer.” I can’t even begin to count how many times I’ve heard some variation of this statement. It doesn’t get any less silly each time I hear it, though. Why would anyone want to box themselves into doing only one thing?

How Understanding the Inverse Square Law Will Make You Better at Lighting

The inverse square law is one of the most fundamental and important concepts in lighting, and as such, any photographer working with artificial light should have a good understanding of it. If you are new to it, this helpful video tutorial will show you everything you need to know, from the way the law works to the practical consequences it has on your photos.

How Do You Get a Photo Pass for Sports Events and Concerts?

Events like concerts and professional sports are some of the most exciting and desirable things to photograph, but they almost always require a specialized pass for access. If you are wondering how to get one, this excellent video essay discusses when you will need one and how to go about obtaining it.

6 Great Tips to Improve the Compositions in Your Portraits

While things like choosing camera settings are fairly objective, composition is a bit more nebulous and is often something that gives photographers a bit of trouble. If you have been struggling with your portrait compositions, this excellent video will give you six helpful tips that will improve your photos.

5 Camera Features You Might Not Be Using That Could Make Your Photos Better

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.

Everything You Need to Know About Sky Replacement in Luminar AI

One of the neatest capabilities of modern editing software is the ability to automatically replace skies in a convincing manner with just a few clicks, something that used to be a rather tedious and involved process. Nonetheless, there is still a lot of creative control over the process and things you can do to improve the final result. If you are using Luminar AI, this excellent video tutorial will show you everything you need to know.

3 Things a Landscape Photographer Wishes He Had Learned Sooner

Landscape photography is a genre that rewards patience and perseverance. If you are just getting started or have been struggling with your work a bit lately, this excellent video essay discusses three important lessons a seasoned professional wishes he had learned earlier in his career.

How To Create In-Camera Digital Multiple Exposures

Multiple exposures are a relatively straightforward and fun way to make interesting and unique photographs. While you can easily blend images during the editing process, creating successful multiple exposures in-camera can be a good challenge and a way to flex those creative skills.

10 Things a Photographer Got Wrong About Photography

We have all made mistakes and assumptions about photography that we have eventually come to realize were wrong, and the sooner we can recognize those and correct them, the better. This excellent video essay features a professional photographer discussing 10 things he got wrong about photography and what he did to fix them.

5 Techniques That Can Improve Your Landscape Photography

The beauty of landscape photography is there are so many ways to shoot the same scene and to express your creativity. If you have been struggling with your landscape photography a bit, check out this fantastic video that discusses five techniques that can improve your work.

How To Use Negative Space to Improve Your Photography

A lot of modern photography is very intricate, multilayered, and complex, with every space in the frame filled by an element that balances other aspects. On the other hand, however, a photo that makes good use of negative space can be equally compelling. This excellent video essay discusses how to use negative space effectively.

4 Ways To Get a Super-Resolution Photo

It was big news when Adobe introduced a super-resolution function in Adobe Camera Raw. Although this kind of enlargement is not new, many photographers were excited. I know four ways to get super-resolution. Which method do you prefer?

It's All About the Details: A Couple of Photo Processing Tips

Anyone familiar with Karl Shakur's work is aware of his creativity, extreme attention to detail, and recognizable style. This video he produced during the COVID shutdown takes a quick dive into how he achieves his consistent color grading and clean aesthetic using Lightroom and Photoshop (although I was able to accomplish all of these things using Capture One Pro).

A Novel Way of Understanding Composition in Photography

Composition in photography is deep if not fairly abstract subject matter, and beyond the Rule of Thirds and Golden Spiral, things can get very subjective or in need of contextualization. This video offers quite a different way of approaching composition, using a technique developed by graphic designers.

Helpful Tips for New Film Photographers

Film photography has seen a resurgence in popularity in recent years, and it is a fun way to explore your creativity and experience a different way of making images. If you are new to film photography, this excellent video tutorial will provide you with a variety of helpful tips to get you up and running in no time.

Does Sensor Size Make That Big a Difference in Your Work?

There is a lot of debate back and forth about just how important sensor size is in photography. And with professional-level camera and lens lines available in Micro Four Thirds, APS-C, full frame, and medium format, you might wonder which is right for your work. This great video compares APS-C to medium format for landscape photography, and you might be surprised by just how well the smaller sensor holds up.

5 Great Tips To Help You Make the Most Of Vintage Lenses

Using vintage lenses is a great way to produce images and footage that is full of character. Here are five great tips to help you get to grips when attaching a piece of history to your shiny new digital camera.

How to Adjust Facial Features Using Photoshop

It used to be rather tricky trying to adjust certain facial features in Photoshop in a convincing manner, but Adobe recently added a lot of semi-automated features for doing so. This helpful video tutorial will walk you through the tools, showing you how to use them and giving you a variety of tips for getting the best possible results out of them.

The Free Map App All Photographers Should Be Using

It doesn't matter what type of photographer you are, having the ability to accurately document and locate hard-to-find spots is worth its weight in gold. This app is about to revolutionize how we all shoot on location.

How to Remove Anything in Photoshop

One of the most common and versatile uses of Photoshop is removing objects from an image in a convincing manner. If you are new to the program, this helpful video tutorial will show you two useful tools that will help you remove just about anything when used in tandem.

5 Helpful Tips for Better Posing

While things like camera settings and light placement are quantifiable, posing is a bit more subjective and nebulous and thus is often one of the last things photographers really master. If you have been having a bit of trouble improving your posing, this helpful video tutorial will show you five great tips that will advance your images.

A Guide To When To Use Focus Stacking and How To Do It

Landscape photography often demands extreme depth of field, where everything from the nearest flowers to the farthest mountains need to be in focus and as sharp as possible. Often, this exceeds the laws of physics for a single shot, meaning you will need to resort to blending multiple images, known as focus stacking. This excellent video tutorial discusses when you should use it and how to do it.

A Different Way of Thinking About Exposure

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.

4 Important Aspects of Taking Sharp Macro Photos

No matter the genre, few things matter more to the majority of photographers than the sharpness of their photos. For macro photographers, sharpness is one of the top challenges, and this great video tutorial will show you four of the most important aspects of creating a sharp macro photo and give you a variety of helpful tips for ensuring you do so.

A Beginner's Guide to Long Exposure Seascapes

One of the most popular types of landscape shots is the long exposure of moving water. They are a great way to explore your creativity and expand your photographic palette into images that are not possible with more basic equipment. This great video tutorial will show you how to shoot long exposures of seascapes or other moving water.