Lighting How To

The holiday season is in full swing, and with it come numerous once-a-year opportunities for dazzling photos. And regardless of where you live, now is the perfect time to take a drive and photograph the festive lights and decorations that brighten up your neighborhood.

Many inexperienced photographers make a simple mistake than can compromise the quality of their photos, and that’s thinking of a camera’s metering-mode options as a set-it-and-forget-it feature. If you’re guilty of this common error, the video below is for you.

As one of our favorite pros insists, “Lightroom’s histogram is one of the most important things to understand in photography.” If you’re new to this powerful tool, the beginners guide below from our friends at The Phlog Photography will get you up to speed in barely eight minutes.

Travel and landscape photographers typically reach for a wide-angle lens when confronted with a compelling landscape. But choosing a telephoto provides an opportunity to create images that stand out from the rest—especially in iconic locations that have been photographed time and time again.

Whenever we post a tutorial from photographer Jordi Koalitic Shutterbug readers know they’re in for a fun time. We refer to Koalitic as a “trickster” because he’s full of goofy ideas for making unique attention-grabbing images.

There are numerous “rules” of photography and some are meant to be broken—including a few of the most familiar. But as you’ll see in the eye-opening video below from a trusted pro, you can avoid sabotaging images by using an oft-ignored trick.

We’ve all been taught to avoid shooting in direct sunlight whenever possible, to avoid blown-out highlights, harsh contrast, washed-out colors, unflattering shadows, and models with squinty eyes. In the shooting and editing tutorial below, you’ll earn how to meet these challenges and achieve beautiful photos.