Nature Photography How To

Today's beginners guide to macro photography is a great reminder that this unique genre should  be considered a year-long pursuit, rather than a Spring endeavor once plants begin to bloom. Summer provides great opportunities for capturing insects and other small creepy crawlies, there are mushrooms in fall, and don't forget about those ephemeral snowflakes falling in winter.

We're wrapping up the week with a rant by Australian landscape photographer Steve Arnold who laments the fact that, in his mind, Photoshop's best editing techniques are the most difficult to use. As he says, "Adobe keeps adding new features that nobody really needs, while folks ignore beneficial tools because they're not easy enough to use."

Today we're exploring a common culprit for disappointing landscape photos with blown-out skies and other key elements that are far brighter than the rest of a scene. The solution has to do with the fact that many photographers never take time to explore the obscure options buried in their camera's menu.

Whenever Adobe updates their software it seems as though one or two new headline features grab all the attention, while other second-tier tools and capabilities don't get the credit they deserve. Today's eye-opening tutorial with one of the world's foremost post-processing experts reveals six of these lesser-known upgrades you don't want to overlook because they can make your workflow faster, easier, and more creative.

I confess. I let my love affair with Cyanocitta Cristata become all-consuming, and placed my life in jeopardy. I cannot go out on my patio without facing extreme danger. I've spent a small fortune on arachis hypogaea (street name "goobers") just to feed her habit, and have been forced to become a prisoner in my own home because the Corvidae Family have a price on my head. 

Most photographers are at least tangentially aware of the benefits of shooting Raw to maximize image quality and provide enhanced post-processing flexibility. But what if you prefer to keep things simple, never make large prints, and typically display your image online? In other words, what are your options for shooting and editing Jpeg files for optimum results?