Photo How To

Too many photographers avoid using flash because of a misconception that this versatile accessory is overly complicated to master, but today's quick tutorial from Newcastle Photography College will quickly allay these concerns and inspire you give basic flash photography a try.

Shooting on the streets of your local town or city is an accessible and engaging form of photography, offering unlimited opportunities for great imagery. Interesting buildings and monuments, colorful street signs, and attractive passersby are among the many possibilities.

Every photographer would like to receive recognition for the skill and hard work that goes into making great images, and one way to get some kudos is by entering and winning photo contests. In the video below, professional shooter Lorenz Holder shares his secrets for doing just that.

Shutterbug columnist Scott Kelby recently gave a great lecture on the ethics of portrait retouching, and offered some valuable tips on how to improve your people pictures without making your subjects look fake.

While the video below is billed as an “advanced” tutorial, using a camera’s built-in spot metering mode is actually very simple. And once you master this technique, exposure mistakes will be a thing of the past. 

Most of us photograph birds on occasion, regardless of our favorite genre, because these colorful and accessible subjects are just about everywhere you look—including in your own backyard. Inexperienced shooters typically concentrate on stationary subjects perched on a branch because of a common misconception that capturing birds in flight is far beyond their skills.

Have you ever captured a photo, looked at it on your camera’s LCD, and said to yourself, “Wow! This looks perfect,” only to view the image closely on the computer and find a bunch of distracting imperfections? If that’s a familiar scenario, this tutorial is for you.