Whether you’re a nature photographer, travel shooter, or portrait specialist, you’re no doubt familiar with several “Rules” of composition that are intended to help add impact to your work. There are two common themes running through of all of these guidelines. One is to grab the attention of those looking at your photos, and the other is to guide a viewer’s eye through the image in the way you intend.
Many experienced outdoor photographers never leave home without a polarizing filter, whether they’re shooting landscape, nature, or travel photos. In fact, some experienced shooters claim this affordable tool is number one on their list of affordable photo accessories.
The easy-to-use Clarity tool is extremely helpful when editing outdoor images in Lightroom, Lightroom Classic and Adobe Camera Raw. In the tutorial below you'll learn how it works, why you should consider applying positive or negative Clarity, and the circumstances in which this straightforward tool should be used.
During a weekend jaunt to Dublin, Ireland, Shutterbug reader Andy O’Farrell had planned to enjoy a couple of days shooting around the city. However, a monkey wrench had been thrown into his plans courtesy of Mother Nature.
Serious landscape photographers tend to carry a lot of lens filters, including those for enhancing colors, to others that reduce the amount of light entering the camera and enable slow shutter speed effects. In the video below, you’ll see what an experienced pro says is the one filter he never leaves home without.
OK, be honest here: Your camera has an AE-L/AF-L button, right? Do you understand how it works? Are you using it regularly? If you’re like many photographers, your answer to the first question is, “sure,” to the second question, “I think so,” and to the third question, “not really.”
Once photographers set up a new camera, they tend to use the same functions over and over again, without investigating other capabilities that can really make a difference. In the quick tutorial below you’ll be encouraged to give an overlooked feature a try, and we’re convinced that better images will be the result.
When one of our favorite travel and nature photographers describes what he says is “Lightroom’s Most Powerful color grading tool,” it’s time to pay attention. And in the tutorial below, you’ll learn how easy it is to use.
Optimum image quality is the holy grail of all photographers regardless of whether they shoot portraits, landscapes, wildlife, or just about any other type of images. And when photos fail to meet expectations, it’s easy to blame our gear or the shooting conditions we confront.
Guess what? Even professional shooters screw up on occasion; so don’t feel too bad about making mistakes. The trick is to not make the same error twice, and one way to avoid that is to learn from the foibles of experienced pros.
Whether the view before you is an expansive vista, a majestic mountain scene, or a stunning seascape, there’s a good chance you’ll reach in your bag, pull out a wide-angle lens, and mount it on your camera. But that doesn’t guarantee a great image unless you avoid a few common errors.
The first thing most landscape photographers do upon arriving at a location is pull a trusty wide-angle lens out of their bag. It's true that telephoto lenses are growing in popularity for this purpose, but today's tutorial is all about making the most of whatever wide-angle prime or zoom that you own.
There are two ways to travel. You can go with a group or you can travel independently where you plan the itinerary and make the arrangements. One isn’t necessarily less expensive than the other because it depends on so many factors, but the main issue to consider is this: what will you gain by being part of a group versus traveling alone or with a friend or spouse?
Today’s modern digital cameras offer insanely high ISO options, and conventional wisdom is to avoid them and go no higher than at least two settings below the maximum. But according to one top pro, there are times when is OK to use the highest ISO setting available.