Education

If you're starting out in the photography industry, getting to grips with all the different aspects that make a good image can be quite challenging. For professionals, camera settings and lighting methods may seem obvious but if you're a beginner that may not be the case. Attending a workshop might just be the best thing to do when starting out.

One of the things Photoshop sells itself on is automated tools, the tools where it uses AI or an algorithm to do the work for you.

If you thought editing photos took up a lot of computing resources, just wait until you dive into video. If you are new to video and wondering what you can do to make your post-processing run as fast as possible, this helpful video will give you some tips to optimize both your hardware and your software to keep your editing running as quickly as possible.

Did your dreams come true this holiday season? Are you holding a shiny new camera, eager to mount a lens and run out to start shooting? Before you do that, be sure to read this list of 10 things you should do to make sure you maximize your experience with your new camera.

When you are working your way up the professional ranks of photography, you might start wondering if you should move into your own studio at some point. This great video examines the idea of whether you really need a studio or if you can continue to work on location.

It's Christmas, you finally got that camera you wanted, and you are ready to dive into the world of photography. How do you get the best pictures possible immediately, though?

No, this is not yet another article about the rule of thirds. Rather, it's about a simple composition technique I've used consistently over the years to maximize the impact of my images. Best of all, it's easy to duplicate.

The tone curve in Lightroom and Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) is a powerful tool. Subtle changes to the tone curve can make a big difference in the look and feel of your image. Here are a few tips and tricks that will make your tone curve adjustments easier and more precise.

The amount of work that goes into a Hollywood production cannot be overstated. These days, it is usually up to a VFX artist studio to finish off what the director had in mind. What happens when you take modern VFX artists and ask them to analyze how old-school special effect artists worked? Praise!

"But why male models," asks Derek Zoolander, which might just be the very question you are asking yourself right now. Why pointedly distinguish shoot styles between genders?

Sometimes, we love our images a little too much. Overconfidence can hinder you becoming a better photographer. Where does this confidence come from? What do we do about it?

One thing to remember when creating composites is that a couple of extra little details can make a huge difference.

I am not an event photographer; the thought of doing so brings out in me a flush of anxiety and perspiration. However, as Christmas Day approaches, being the camera owner of the family, I am thrust into the position. Here are four tips for getting through the day.

One task all photographers should take from the professional office environment is quarterly reviews. How do you know where you've gone if you haven't looked back? How do you keep track of progress without setting goals for yourself? Self-evaluations are an important part of the growth process.

When I first started out in photography, one of the things I personally struggled with was producing sharp results consistently. There are a lot of factors that can cause your images to appear blurry or appear to lack detail. Over time, as you develop your experience, you can minimize the number of shots you take that aren't as sharp as one would prefer.

The inverse square law is one of the most fundamental and important rules when it comes to lighting in photography, and understanding it can make you a better photographer. This excellent video will introduce you to the law and show you how its affects your work.

There is certainly no denying that Instagram has had a massive impact on the consumption and experience of art, but that impact extends beyond just the consumers of art to the very creators themselves. Is it for better or worse, and how is our experience of art going to evolve in the future? This fascinating video discusses these ideas and how Instagram is shaping the future.

It would be nice if we could all have access to beautiful shoot locations on a daily basis, but that simply is not possible for the majority of photographers. That does not mean you can't take interesting portraits in a boring location, however, and this great video will show you five examples of what you can accomplish.

Ever find yourself needing the inspiration to create an image, but you just can muster up any from anywhere?

Softboxes are some of the most fundamental and versatile lighting modifiers out there, and they are a great tool for anyone looking to learn how to use artificial lighting and build their skills. This educational video will show you five different ways to use softboxes and give you some helpful tips for using them.

If you are like me and you are at the beginning of your transition from stills to video then you will also like me, be eating up as much free education on YouTube as possible.

One of the most versatile techniques any photographer can learn is how to bounce light. This great video will show you an application of bounce flash to create indoor portraits with a more natural look than might be achieved otherwise.

Post-processing is your chance to really add your personal signature to a photo, and one of the most common styles photographers like to embrace is adding drama to their images. This excellent video tutorial will show you five ways to add more drama to your photos using Lightroom.

If you are new to videography, one of the most useful techniques you can add to your toolkit is shooting in a Log profile. This excellent video will give you five helpful tips to maximize your Log footage.

As the year draws to a close and photographers around the world obsessively check the tracking info for their eagerly awaited Peak Designs tripods, why not distract ourselves by taking some time to reflect on the best new books to hit the educational photography market this year?

When creating composites using various images from multiple photos, each part has its unique color balance. This is where most beginners tend to fail when creating a composite.

What do good coffee and good images have in common? Our taste and the ability to understand their ingredients need to be trained. But we can also walk into the trap of feckless consumption.

We all love photography, but that does not necessarily mean we love photography all the time. Sometimes, you lose interest in photography, and that is ok, and this great video discusses what you can do when that happens.

ND filters are one of the most common and useful accessories any landscape photographer can have in their bag. If you are new to the genre, you might be wondering how and when they are used. This great video will give you an introduction to ND filters along with some demonstrations of their usage.

When it comes to creating a successful landscape image, few things are more fundamental than composition and light. However, they are not separate, discrete ideas that have no bearing on each; rather, they are deeply intertwined and influence each other. This great video explores how light and composition interact and how you can use them to create more engaging images.

I'm not a portrait photographer, but it is one of the genres that I've been studying and practicing. This video by Chris Eyre-Walker reveals the insights of portrait photographer Ashley Joanna and illustrates the essence of portrait photography: the person in the portrait.

One of the funnest ways you can spice up a standard portrait is to add gels to your lights. This video will show you how to use them to create color portraits that help your subject really pop.

There are numerous ways to edit the colors and tones of your images in Photoshop, each with its own benefits and drawbacks. This great video will show you a lesser-known technique that can help you achieve vivid, saturated images that still look natural by using a combination of selective color adjustment layers in Photoshop.

If you are new to artificial lighting, you might wonder why some photographers employ complex multi-light setups for some portrait work. This great video shows you the difference between what you can accomplish with a single light setup versus using multiple lights, which will illuminate why more complex setups are often preferred.

If you shoot landscapes or anything involving scenes with a lot of depth, figuring out how to keep everything in focus can be a bit of a tricky problem. There are a few ways to go about this, but one of the most efficient ways to go about this is by using the hyperfocal distance. This great video will introduce you to hyperfocal distance and how to use it.

One of the most fundamental artificial lighting techniques is the use of fill flash. It is a versatile technique that can quickly and drastically improve your on-location photos. This helpful video will show you the basics of fill flash, both why and how it is used.

Every photographer would love to shoot at the lowest ISO their camera allows all the time to maintain the highest possible levels of detail and dynamic range. But sometimes, that just isn't possible; in fact, sometimes, you have to pump up the ISO quite high to get the shot. Do not be afraid to do that.

When you are new to landscape photography, it can be a bit overwhelming trying to learn how to combine all the technical elements with your creative instincts to produce successful images. This helpful video will go over some of the most useful advice new landscape photographers can hear.

There are different sensor sizes in existence. This is common knowledge for most photo enthusiasts, and often it is said a full frame sensor is the professional choice. Let’s see if size makes a difference for your type of photography.

Building an insightful and inspirational library of photography books can be daunting, both from the perspective of the choices entailed in selecting works for inclusion and because of the economics involved. Pinterest boards are a great way to start a photo "book" library for free.

As photographers, many of us are guilty of capturing images but rarely taking the time to create prints. For those of you who do print your images, you know what everyone else is missing. Recently, NYC-based fashion photographer Lindsay Adler decided to create her first fine art print collection.

We all have our favorite photography subjects, ways of shooting, preferred post-processing styles, and more. But if we want to grow as photographers, it is important that we not spend all our time just doing what we like without ever pushing outside of our comfort zones. This great video follows one photographer as he discusses how experimentation has helped him.

When you are new to artificial lighting, you might not have the equipment to tackle complex multi-light setups, but that does not mean you will not be able to produce professional results. This great video will teach you how to create professional portraits using just a single light.

At the beginning of the year, I worked on a client job for York Fashion week with local agency NIMA and videographer Beetroot Box. The brief was to create a teaser campaign for the upcoming event.

Whether you're shooting landscapes, outdoor portraits, or even architecture, natural lighting conditions can make or break your shoot. But what do you do when the sunlight doesn't cooperate?

Using rim lighting can be a great way to create a portrait with a very different look than the more standard shot. If you have not tried it before, this great video will show you how you can use rim lighting (even in a small space) for portraits and walk you through some problem-solving associated with the technique.

The internet is inundated with advice on how to improve your photography, and while a lot of it is good and can certainly help you become better behind the camera, it can be a bit overwhelming trying to take it all in. This excellent video discusses something a lot of us do not do that much, but that will help improve anyone's photography.

Spend any appreciable amount of time on the internet getting feedback on your work and you will likely have some harsh or unpleasant interactions. And yet, the harshest critic you encounter might actually be yourself. Is that the case for you? Check out this excellent video that discusses that issue.

Photography can often be a solitary pursuit, and as such, it might be hard to know what to do when you feel like you are stuck in a rut and unable to improve. If you feel like you are currently in such a place with your work, this helpful video discusses five reasons why your photography might not be improving.

Photography is a strange art form in that instead of creating from a blank canvas and only your own ideas and materials, you start with reality and take it from there. So, how do you approach the art of photography? Do you aim to represent or to interpret? This quick but thought-provoking video will give you some helpful things to think about the next time you are behind the camera.